Weathervane

Should onetime Governor Frank O. Lowden of Illinois be inclined to grasp at straw votes, he might be pleased and proud at the indications of the first such political weather-vane reported in the 1927-28 campaign.

Last week the Publishers' Auto-caster Service (an organization supplying news items to 2,000 small-town weekly newspapers) published the result of a straw vote in which 362,210 voters in 29 states named their men for the Republican and Democratic presidential nomination. Though President Coolidge ran first among the Republicans with 87,176 votes, Mr. Lowden was a close second with 80,066 votes. Since President Coolidge had the advantage that goes with incumbency of the office, observers were surprised at the Lowden showing. Mr. Lowden's strength, however, was partly discounted by the fact that the vote represented rural sentiment.

President Coolidge and Mr. Lowden together polled about 85% of the entire Republican vote (some 200,000). Senator William Edgar Borah, pugnacious Idahoan, ran a poor third with 14,525 supporters, Vice President Charles G. Dawes received 9,938 and Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover, 8,445.

Democrats polled some 160,000 votes (40,000 less than the Republicans) with Alfred Emanuel Smith comfortably leading with 53,751. Senator James A. Reed, eloquent Missourian, ran second with 41,185. William Gibbs McAdoo, declared politically dead by Smith followers, stirred in his grave and captured 37,245 ballots. Governor Albert Cabell Ritchie of Maryland, Wet champion of states' rights, totaled 26,113 and Governor Alvin Victor Donahey of Ohio, very dark horse, polled 3,766.