Evening star., 1940-10-28
Political Forecusters
Left at the Post
DisiIIusioned Dope Sheet
Fan Coils off
All Bets

ran SollS Orr
All Bets
To the Editor Of The Star:
There is fine flavor of humor to be
extracted from a dope sheet covering a
race just run, and read on the way back
from Laurel. But am poor man and
this is expensive literature. One can
get a cheaper kick by going to the files
Of The Star of four years ago this Oc-
tober and perusing the political dope
that was cumming up the wires just
before the. last running of the Grand
Presidential Futurity. Take your issue
of Sunday, october 25, 1896, just nine
days before they went to the post. Here
are some headlines, quoted at random.
Read 'em and weep: Democrats Suffer
Nevada Detection" Race Close in Colo
RADIO" Roosevelt Faces Rhode Island
Loss" Washington Shift to Landon
Sharp" Roosevelt Loses Popularity"
Republican Strength Shown in Florida" I"
Pennsylvania Is Battleground-Con-
tinues Doubtful" New Mexico Close"
'Landon Tightens California Race"
Maryland Continues Doubtful" Octo-
Der 26: North Carolina Claimed by
G.. o. p"
And what, pray, thought the experts,
those hard-boiled seasoned railbirds who
hold the stop watches, get ali the low
down from the political stables and
never let their own wishes impair their
vision. Take old Clocker Gould Lincoln.
He's been up Boston way and on October
81 you headline his report: Bay State
Seems Sure to Be Found in G. O. P.
Column" And two days before the
same keen dopesters last-minute five
star best bet you captioned: "Repub-
licans Sure to Carry Jersey" On October
% you let us in on some of Paul Mall
Ions inside stuff under the headline:
Edge Given Landon in Michigan-Vic-
tory in Massachusetts" About the same
time another Handicapped, once a
trainer under the Hoover colors, figured
out new system. 1t was based upon a
set of past performances of the Literary
Digest poll, and involved an intricate
computation of shifts in votes, with
graphs and charts. After contemplating
them this Handicapped gave your read
ers the benefit of what might be called
the Consensus" Quoth the old Handi-
capper: "Of the graphs and charts and
computations that have come before
my eyes, almost none arrive at any re-
suit seriously contrary to the simple re-
suit on the surface of the Literary Digest
poll, which is that Landon is rather
strongly in the lead" Coming Just
eight days before Mr. Landon was buried
under the most astounding landslide of
American political history, Handicapper's S
figures must have been a great help to
those wishing to get down a little last
minute wise money. But it was prob
ably left to our old friend Paddock Dave
Lawrence to go farthest out upon the
limb which 27,000,000 voters were about
to saw off right under him Paddock
Dave threw away all charts and figures.
He went out and felt their fetlocks. His
hegira in search of the low down only
equaled Mr.. Wilkes present political
perambulations. From New York he
wired you this hot bit of info Tam
many was laying down on Roosevelt On
october 80 he slipped you a last-minute
track special which you blithely passed
along to us readers under the heading
Jersey Swings Again to G. o. P" Then
arriving home just as the bugle was
sounding, Paddock Dave let us in on the
real Mccoy. He called attention to the
fact that he had picked four winners
out of the last five starts. He wouldn't
predict the 1886 winner. He feared the
Republican entry might be carrying too
much weight. However, he was coming
along fast-so look out for photo fin
ish-and then watch his dust in 1910.
Having visited all but the Southern
States, Paddock Dave concluded with
this caution to any who might want to
plunge on the favorite: The protest of
the American people against the New
Deal will be a shock and a surprise to
the Roosevelt regime; it will be the mar
rowest margin of popular votes that any
presidential contest has been won by
since 1916"
However, don't stop the dope-we do
like to read it. But I'm not putting UP
any money. DWIGHT T. SCOTT.
Editors Note-Reader Scott is unkind
in producing old prophesies But The
Star will continue tc print its political
forecasts despite the hazards. Our read
ers are asked to accept them, not for
their infallibility, but for the good faith
in which they are made. In the past
twenty years "Clocker Gould Lincoln
has been 100 per cent right in calling
the winner, although he has been fooled
in the details Of how far apart they
would be at the finish)
Roosevelt Criticized
For Ignoring "Challenge."
To the Editor of The Star:
On the front page of tonights Star I
read with great amusement Franklin
Roosevelt, jr's, efforts to smooth over the
r-l,r co.