The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-11-19
What
Happened?

time mas elapsed since the electloIl
-, to give us some
Wnot thing of a perspec-
Happened? tive, something OF
an understanding
of what happened November 8. In
that record-breaking vote for the
reelection of Mr.. Roosevelt, there
lie covered perhaps the greatest
number of reasons why votes were
cast as they were, ever to influence
a national election. The results left
the Republicans stunned; they were
surprising even to the Democrats
and that is no secret.
! have consulted with numerous
among the better informed polit-
ical students and political writers
concerning the basis for this deluge
of votes that came so nearly max
ing the electoral college unanimous
for Mr.. Roosevelt that there had
been only one time in history when
the opposition received fewer votes
in the electoral college than Gov
ernor Landon will receive. The in
quiries have brought almost as
many different answers as there
were people interviewed. Each one
of these persons was thoroughly
convinced that his diagnosis was
correct and yet after hearing all of
them I have a conviction that each
one was only partially right. 1t was,
in my opinion, a combination of
reasons that brought about such an
enormous vote for election of Mr..
Roosevelt. The various reasons en-
tering into that combination were
influential individually only as re-
CARDS comparatively small per-
centage of the population.
How else can it be explained? I'm
less separate reasons operated in
various sections of the country and,
indeed, upon segments of voters in
those various sections, no such thing
could have happened as the cleo
ton, for example, of Henry Cabot
Lodge, a Republican, to the senate
in Massachusetts,, while Mr.. Roose-
welt carried the state overwhelming
ly for himself as Democrat. There
were other instances where Repub-
licanS won in statewide elections
while the states electoral vote went
to the President.
This necessarily shows that even
in states that normally vote a
straight ticket, either Democratic
or Republican, there was some APP
peal which Mr.. Roosevelt had for
the voters that was non-existent in
solar as the lesser candidates were
concerned. In other words, there
were split tickets and if this ever
proved anything, it surely proved
this year that the nation was over
whelmingly in favor of Mr.. -Roose-
welt personally.
I think that, as always, the ma
tional ticket carried many men into
the house and senate, only it is quite
apparent that the percentage of rep
resentatives and senators elected
this time on the strength of the
national ticket was larger than
usual. I mean that instead of local
personalities carrying the national
ticket, the national ticket swept in
the local personalities because it is
the tendency of vast majority of
voters to vote straight ticket.
What have just said seems real
ly to complicate the whole picture.
It seems to complicate it for the
reason that such a paradox as the
election of Mr.. Lodge in Massachu-
sets occurred within this deluge
of votes.
But whatever else can be said,
nothing can overshadow the conse-
quences of the vast power handed
to Mr.. Roosevelt. He is in complete
control and has right to feel that
anything he does will be accepted
b. large majority of the popula-
ton. With the exception of George
Washington, who was elected Presi-
dent by the unanimous vote of the
electoral college, and James Mon
roe, who had all excepting one cleo
toral vote with him, no President of
the United States has ever been
awarded such verdict.
So, it strikes me that the out
standing question before the United
States today is show will Mr.. Roose-
welt use this authority?" 1t is in his
hands to become a man of history.
a man who will stand out among all
of our Presidents if he uses his
power wisely. 1t is to be suggested
In the same breath that if he mis-
uses or abuses that power he can
easily become just as infamous.
/ said above that there were so
many reasons influential in bring
= ing about the I'M
ooWe usual vote for Mr..
Reasons Roosevelt that i t
was almost impoS-
sible to enumerate them. Never
theless, shall try to set down some
of the more important ones that ap-
pear to have been operative. It
must be remembered that these
larger reasons embrace numerous
and sundry variations Each of the
important reasons is made up of a
number of less important and less
significant and even less influential
reasons. Each of the larger and
! each of the smaller propositions had
its effect.
I do not want to have it appear
that the order in which name these
various reasons has any signif-
canoe. In fact, I think it would be
utterly foolish for anyone to attempt
to say that one particular reason
was more influential than another.
How, fer instance, can any one in