Straw

POLITICAL NOTES

Straw

Another straw vote was harvested. Editor & Publisher, trade weekly of journalism, polled the executives of 925 newspapers throughout the U. S. Their composite prediction: Hoover, 16,271,276 popular and 387 electoral votes; Smith, 12,863,936 popular and 126 electoral votes. (126 electoral votes is low; John William Davis got 136 in 1924, James Middleton Cox got 127 in 1920.)

In St. Joe, Ark., a shrewd gasoline-pump man on Highway 65 put signs on two pumps--Hoover Gas and Smith Gas-- same price, same grade. He then kept tab on the gallons bought at each pump. Customers bought heavily to boost their candidate. Smith led.

The fourth week's standing in the straw poll taken in 40 out of the 48 states by the Literary Digest (weekly opinion reporter) was:

Hoover: 1,210,869 popular votes, 425 electoral votes.

Smith: 688,829 popular votes, 42 electoral votes.