Politics

It cannot be said that Dartmouth students were vitally interested in the recent election. Perhaps an easily explained distrust of the two major parties is the cause or it may be the absence of the privilege or possibility of voting for the greater part of the group. During the two campaigns immediately preceding this one, student Democratic, Republican and Progressive clubs were formed. Nothing of the sort was in evidence in 1928.

The Dartmouth investigated the leanings of the undergraduates politically and found that 834 students were for Hoover; Smith was the candidate of 290, and Thomas of the Socialist Party attracted 27. In 1924 the figures, says a Dartmouth editorial, were Coolidge 713, Davis 309 and LaFollette 142. If national liberal magazines of The Nation or New Republic type are to be trusted, the liberal candidates this time were Smith or Thomas and in 1924 were Davis or LaFollette. Hoover, it can be seen, in The Dartmouth polls, did much better against the liberals than did Coolidge. Politically at least the student body seems to be going conservative.

Among the faculty Hoover got 122 votes in the straw ballot, Smith 74 and Thomas 7. In 1924 it was Coolidge 70, Davis 65 and LaFollette 35. Judging by New Republic standards again, the faculty is also more conservative than in 1924. It might be said that in the town of Hanover, while Smith got more votes than any other Democrat has in the history of the town, the Republicans turned out in greater numbers than ever before to give Hoover a landslide vote.