From the desk of Mary Paynton Schaff
Let’s travel back 100 years and find out what Election Day 1908 was like in Walla Walla. The presidential battle served up William Howard Taft for the Republicans, and William Jennings Bryan – who was appearing for an impressive third time on the Democratic ticket. The Tuesday, November 4 Evening Bulletin (before its merger with the Daily Union to create the Union-Bulletin) ran a number of election-themed stories under the enormous banner headline “HEAVY VOTE == TAFT LEADS“.
Especially of interest? One article highlighted the use of brand new voting machines in New York, noting that “the [election] result will be known almost as soon as the polls close.”
And we were fascinated by “Walla Walla Bets Heavily on Election,” which claims that $35,000 in bets had been placed mostly on the outcomes of the various state and local Walla Walla elections. That’s over $798,000 in today’s money according one inflation calculator! Of course, a Taft victory was so expected that betting odds had to be raised 3-1 before there were any takers in the crowd for the presidential election. Taft went on to win in a landslide victory for the Republicans, winning Washington State with 105,000 votes to Bryan’s 58,000.
Read highlights from the Walla Walla Evening Bulletin here. (Note: part of the microfilm is difficult to read, especially on the right side)
Further reading:
United States Presidential Election, 1908. Wikipedia
William Howard Taft and Republicans win general elections in Washington on November 3, 1908. Historylink Essay 5578. (See also Historylink essays on the visits of President Taft and William Jennings Bryan to the Alaska Yukon Exposition in 1909)
The Gear and Lever Voting Machine from Vote: the Machinery of Democracy, an online exhibit from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Historical Presidential Betting Markets by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf. October 2008. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #14377.
