Evening star., 1944-09-14
Maine Elections Tell
Little, Says Writer
Barometer of National Trends
Upset in 1910, Lawrence Holds
BY Dapid Laurence

upset III A11U, LaWIenCe I1OlQS
BY Dapid Laurence
The Maine elections have come and
gone and nobody is any the wiser as q
consequence.
It Is true the Republicans won the
sovernorship by bigger majority than
they did In any year since 1928, and 1t
Is also true that the congressional dis
tricts went heavily Republican. But
there is something strange about the
electorate In the State Of Maine which
is no longer explainable by looking at
the September election figures For
years, Maine has been good barometer
of national trends and while the presi-
Dental results have often differed from
the gubernatorial figures of September
In the same year. the fact that Maine
was strongly Republican has never been
doubted
In 1910, however, something peculiar
happened In Maine. 1t has never been
satisfactorily explained to observers in
politics The State went Republican
for the governorship In September by
about 10000. But Wendell Willkie
carried the State by only 1900 in No
vember. What happened to the Re-
publican vote in the intervening months,
and why did Mr.. Willkie fail to keep
the September majority in such
heavily Republican State as Maine,
whereas out in Nebraska and Kansas
he got even bigger majorities than the
1895?
Two Explanations.
Only two explanations have ever been
advanced concerning that reversal in
1910. One was that the sudden influx
Of war workers into the State of Maine,
especially in shipyards, accounted for
the increase in the Democratic vote.
The other explanation was that Maine,
which has large population that once
emigrated from Canada, was deeply
concerned about the Allied cause In the
European war. 1t was said after the
election that many of these former Ca
nadians who had now become American
citizens doubted whether Mr. Willkie,
with his strong isolationist support In
the Middle West, would be as interested
in helping the Allied cause as President
Roosevelt.
Time, of course, has erased such
doubts and Mr.. Willkie has turned out
to be even more ardently in favor of
international cooperation not only
than any Republican, but any Demo-
crat. 1t is true, nevertheless, that
during the campaign of 1910, Mr.. Will
kies background was questioned and he
lost votes because of the nature of the
support being given him in the Middle
West by certain elements in the Re-
publican party. The Eastern Seaboard
States were very much concerned about
the war in Europe at the time, espe-
cially after the fall Of France 1t will
be recalled that in october, 1910, there
was talk of Britain surrendering and
the British fleet coming to Canada for
refuge. All this may have stirred up
the people of Maine more than 1t did
the people of Nebraska and Kansas.
Maybe there Is a lesson in what hap
pened in Maine between September and
November, 1910. Gov. Dewey is getting
substantial support in the Middle West
today from some Of the very same
elements which gave Mr.. Willkie heavy
vote In 1910. Gov. Dewey Is apparently
aware of the handicaps Of an over
enthusiastic isolationist support and he
has done much to remove any suspicious
that he plans to 60 with that wing of
the party. Indeed, lately Gov. Dewey
has seemed to be trying in matters of
foreign policy to adopt as much of the
Willkie program as possible. +
Pleasing to Independents. !
This is pleasing to the independent
voters and is helping his cause. 1t may
help him carry the State of Maine bs
larger majority than Mr.. Willkie did
but the significant thing is that th'
trend which made its appearance il
Maine in l940 and did cut down by al
unprecedented amount the normal Re
publican majority also appeared il
other Eastern States whose big electora
votes the Republican party lost fou
years ago and will need even more thi
time to assure victory.
AhciC 10 llo UOuDJ tildl any eleCJlOl
in State Is a strong indicator of trend
because the polls of public opinion. afte
all, take small sample while here is
State in which large vote is cast ant
the figures are available to comparl
with other years. No doubt the Repub
licans have improved their position s,
far as September is concerned. But
remains to be seen how much they VII
improve their position in Novembe,
1914, as compared with November, 1914
There will be a normal and natura
elation in the Republican camp, bit
when the doors are closed and nobod
from the other side is looking or lister
ing, it will be admitted that the result
in Maine, after all, do not tell verf
much and nobody can place any bet
on national trends any more on tn
basis of September figures,
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