STUDENTS TAKE STRAW VOTE FOR PRESIDENT

At the smoker held in College Hall on February 10, a straw vote was taken by the students assembled, to determine the political sentiment of the College. The matter • was taken seriously by all and was valuable to this extent, at least, that it made the undergraduates crystallize their opinions into a decision. The students were asked to name their first choice for president and also to name their first choice from the opposite political party. The ballot determined this: That while there was a large majority of votes for Republican candidates, there was a considerable difference of opinion as to the best candidate within that party, Taft and Roosevelt receiving nearly an equal number, with the few remaining votes scattered. For first choice, Taft led with 181 votes, Roosevelt closely following with 171. Next came Wilson, the only Democrat able to give these two any anxiety. He received 124 votes. Following him were two more Democrats, Harmon and Clark, with 14 and 11 votes respectively. La Follette was able to poll but seven, and the remaining 18 votes were widely scattered. There were four socialists who voted for Debs, though one of them was evidently conscience-stricken, as he wrote on the ballot: "For the party, not the man." A large majority of the Taft and Roosevelt men gave their vote for second choice to Wilson. A summary of the first choice, second choice, and party choice follows:

FIRST CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT Taft 181 Roosevelt 171 Wilson 124 Harmon 14 Clark 11 LaFollette 7 Underwood 4 Debs 4 Marshall 3 Hughes 2 Beveridge 1 Bryan 1 Foss 1 Gaynor 1 Knox 1 Total 526

FIRST CHOICE BY PARTY Republican 363, 69.0% Democratic 159, 30.2% Socialist 4, 8% Total 526

SECOND CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT Wilson 249 Taft 86 Harmon 52 Roosevelt 40 La Follette 21 Clark 17 Bryan 12 Underwood 5 Gaynor 3 Debs 2 Baldwin 2 McCall 2 Marshall 1 Foss 1 Hughes 1