CLIMBING ON THE BANDWAGON

NATION-WIDE polls are a matter of national concern. Such polls have become a strong influence in connection with legislation and with candidacies. They are recognized as a potent, if not the most powerful, agency now used to influence public opinion. They have been copied locally by newspapers and propaganda groups. Certain polls are widely quoted in legislative bodies where their validity and correctness of interpretation are assumed. It now appears the duty of legislative bodies to appraise and understand the methods used in polling public opinion, to measure the actual and potential results, and to consider the possible dangers of an uncontrolled, private manipulation of public opinion, for financial profit. It is claimed that the polls represent a cross section of the voters and that the results are subjected to scientific handling, so that deductions are a trustworthy guide to public opinion. I have been led to believe that public opinion is, very naturally, influenced by these polls, and that they create opinion rather than measure it. The fairness of the polls may be open to question, regardless of the integrity and ability of the pollers. The selection of the questions, the way in which they are formulated, and the approach to the individual may be used to create a certain reaction in the person polled. I am convinced that voters like to climb onto the bandwagon and that polls greatly increase the bandwagon vote. I am aware that this may not seem to reflect most creditably upon the intelligence of those who are, in mass, the bulwark of our democracy, but we can improve conditions only by first facing the facts. I know there are sturdy characters among us, men and women who form their own opinions and fight for them to the last ditch, voting regardless of results. I fear their total number is a small percentage, not sufficient to change the result in a closely contested election.