The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1944-08-31
lllzzzYzzl!s
TXNzTU
l0NH

NORTH soutl
The saying, east is east anc
west is west and never the twair
shall meet" might well be applied
to elections in our country by
substituting the words north and
south.
There have been exceptions. In
1928, Florida, North Carolina
Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia all
backed Herbert Hoover against
Alfred Smith. But in practically
every other election since the
South supported Grant in 1872
it has been a foregone conclusion
that the Republican candidate
starts the race by spotting his op-
ponent to the 124 electoral votes
of the II states referred to as the
solid South. In addition to the S
states named above, the other
members of this group are Ala
bama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisi-
ana, Mississippi and South Caro-
lima.
To keep the record straight,
Oklahoma did vote Republican in
1920, giving Harding a small ma
jority, and Louisiana supported
Hays in 1875. I believe that COW
ers all exceptions since the cleo
ton of President Grant.
In the northern camp there has
been greater fluctuation-which
was most evident in 1896 when
all but two states-Vermont and
Maine-voted for Roosevelt. Yer
mont is the only state in the ma
ton which has never voted Dem
ocratic, Maine having ventured
into the Democratic fold in 1912
when, because of a split in the
Republican ticket, that state gave
a plurality to Wilson.
PROTESTS absence
I have recently been studying
a poll on the coming election. It
seems safe to say that the South
will once again stand solidly be-
hind the Democratic candidate.
There has been considerable re-
bellion against the New Deal in
some quarters of the South, but
not enough to indicate much prob
ability of Mr.. Dewey getting any
of the 124 electoral votes which
President Roosevelt has carried in
his vest pocket ever since he went
into the White House.
One southerner queried in this
poll said. mine out of ten of the
people here are condemning the
New Deal but they'll still vote for
Roosevelt when they 60 to the
polls" Another said, 'The Dem
ocrats who object to the New Deal
will not protest by voting for a
Republican. If they protest at
all, it will be by staying away
from the polls"
The election totals show that,
although the South has been I'm
the bag" for the Democrats in
most every election year, the one
party tradition is not to the liking
of a good many southerners. It
may be a long time before the
South will support a Republican
ticket, but it is quite possible that
a Republican by any other name
might attract a good portion of the
southern vote.
INDEPENDENTS $50
AS for the North, which is tradi-
tionally Republican, there has
been considerable shifting back
and forth. There is much less Of
the sectional loyalty to party dis
played in the South. But there
are many towns in the North
which always have given almost
100 per cent support to the Re-
publicans. In one town with
which I am acquainted, there was
one individual who for years was
pointed out as a sort of a curios-
ity and referred to as 'the Demo
GRAFT"
Although there are certain vir-
tues attached to being affiliated
with a political party, the blind
loyalty to the Democrats shown
in the South and the comparable
loyalty to the Republicans dis
played in some northern towns
does not seem to be a healthy
condition. When northerners
and southerners both want q
President who will work for the
best interests of he country as g
whole it would seem much more