The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-11-03
Economic Highlights
Forecast Republicans Gain OF Fifty Seats In House
Democrats Losing Similar Number; Minor
Parties Remain At fifteen; Four Senate
Seats To Be Added To Re-
publican Roster
publican Roster

How will America vote next
Tuesday? What factors will in
fluence that voting? And how
viii the newly-eleeted Congress
behave2p
IS Newsreel recently put these
three questions to about two
score political correspondents
representing daily newspapers of
all shades of political opinion,
and to eight seasoned profession
a politicians, including Jim Far
ley and John Hamilton. Their
answers, tabulated in a late issue
of the magazine, cast an interest
ing light on a topic which, with
the elections just around the cor
ner, is engaging great interest.
The answers of the correspond
ents, when averaged, revealed
that they believed the Republi-
cans would gain exactly so seats
/ in the House, the Democrats
would lose so, and the represen-
tation of minor parties would re-
main at Is. The eight politicians
replies, when averaged, forecast
that the Republicans would gain
81 seats, the Democrats would
lose so. and the minor parties
would lose two.
But: groups forecast a gain of
four seats in the Senate by the
Republicans, at the expense of
the Democrats.
At the present time, the Demo
Gratis have the largest congress
sional majority in history. There
are 333 followers of the Donkey
in the House, as against 80 parti-
sans of the Elephant, and Is MEM
bers of minor parties. There are
II Democrats in the Senate, as
against Is lonely Republicans
and four members of minor par
ties.
If these predictions are borne
out, the Republicans will thus
make a decent showing in the
election-a gain of SO seats, even
in an off-year election, cannot be
discounted. However, there would
be nothing about that to cause
excessive back-slapping in the
COP ranks. 1t is a significant
fact that when Newsweek sent a
similar group of questions to
similar group of politicians and
political correspondents last
April, the consensus was that the
Republicans would gain go seats
in the House. Thus, on the basis
of the two sets of predictions, the
Republicans have lost strength
since Spring.
Reasons Why
Going into the second question
(what factors will influence the
voters, 90 of the men replying
said that the recession would be
the principal factor, and IL gave
it as the secondary factor. Eleven
listed the traditional mid-term
swing away from the party in
power as their first choice, six
gave Democratic dissension, and
six, the administration fiscal
policies. 1t is a notable fact that
none gave the Administrators
foreign policy as first choice, and
only one gave it as second choice
which indicates that in this
field the President has gained al
most universal favor.
In answering the third ques-
ton Chow will the NEGLECTED
Congress behave), six correspond
ents said that Congress would be-
have about as it did last session,
sevenl thought it would be ex-
tremely independent, and seven
more Thought it would be some
where between "a little more"
and extremely" independent
ThEEreat majority, 80 in number.
fdrkcast it would be "a little more
independent.