Evening star., 1936-10-24
Augurs of Victory
Digest Poll Supplemented by ''VerboIogists" Point
and Seafaring Representation.

spread interest in polls and in the
election.
The Digest. in its latest installment
Of returns, points strongly toward Re-
publican victory. 1t gives Landon vl-
most 100000; Roosevelt nearly
100000. That is, Landon gets s4.8
per cent of the total, Roosevelt 40.7
per cent, Lemke gets 348 per cent,
and all others combined los. 1t is
probable that in the one week re-
naming, Landon will fall somewhat
and Roosevelt gain, for returns are
now coming in from large cities, in
which Roosevelt is strong. But taking
that and everything else into account,
1t is likely the end of the Digest poll
will see Landon with upward Of So per
cent of the total vote.
Many objections have been raised to
the Digest poll. The Digest asks each
voter how he voted in 1882. Most Of
the voters tell. The returns show en-
their face that Of those now voting in
the Digest poll, more were Republican
in 1882 than were Democratic in 1882.
Taking into account the fact that the
Democrats won overwhelmingly in
1882, it is inferred that an undue pro-
portion of Republicans are represented
in the present Digest poll. To this the
answer is made that an analogous
condition existed in the 1882 Digest
poll with respect ecShe 1928 vote-and
this did not prevent the Digest's 1882
poll from being approximately correct.
All the objections to the Digest poll
seem to meet satisfactory answers. It
Is hard to discount its significance.
Abstruse Graphs Submitted.
am obliged to think that about
every statistician and bookkeeper in
the country is making analyses of the
Digest poll. Many Of them send me
their intricate calculations accom-
panied by abstruse charts and graphs.
Examining these computations, many
of them exceedingly complex. has re-
quired me to use muscles which I had
not previously exercised since passed
college condition in trigonometry
find myself grateful to certain read
erS who have sent me representations
simpler in nature. One-I take him to
be what might be called "verbolo-
gist"-says that no presidential can
didate whose name ended in "on"
ever lost. Consequently. he says, Lam
don will win as did Washington, JET
ferson, Madison, Jackson and the two
Harrisons-though the latter Harri-
son, in 1892, failed to benefit by the
magic of his name when he ran a
second time. But maybe Mr.. Landon
doesn't intend to run FOR a second
term.
Another admirably simple prognos-
tication comes to me from somewhere
on the ocean, from the schooner Ter
ragram. This is an omen which Mr..
Roosevelt, as seafaring man, should
take account Of. 1t appears that ships
use an international code of signals
put out by the Government hydro
graphic office. Each signal-there are
thousands of them-consists Of three
letters. In two cases the letters hap
pen to correspond with the initials of
two men conspicuous in politics. One
of these signals runs:
"A NJ L-adjust compasses."
While this, like the old Roman
auguries. is somewhat cryptic. it would
seem to suggest that Alfred M. Landon
is about to steer the ship of state
This inference is strongly borne out
by the other signal:
IF D R-must go into dry dock"
(Copyright, 1866