November 5, 1944;

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1944:

RACINE, WIS., SUNDAY, NOVEMBER: 5, 1944.

Attack Aimed

At Relieving

Cologne Peril

PARIS.—(U.P.) —

German tanks  a n d   i n f a n t r y  counter-attacked the American spearhead probing into t h e Cologne plain below Aachen S a t u r d a y a n d regained

n e a r l y half of t h e 2 ½  miles won b y t h e First a r m y in a thrust southeastward from Vossenack Friday.

The highway town of Schmidt, c a p t u r e d  b y  t h e Americans at the h i g h water mark of their t h r e e -day-old attack, fell i n t o  t h e  h a n ds

of t h e Germans striking back to  b l u n t  an incipient threat to Cologne, 27 miles to t h e northeast.

Thunderbolt fighter – bombers swarmed to the support of Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges' forces a n d knocked out t h r e e of 10 G e r man tanks leading the counterattack.

Resistance Stubborn.

United Press War Correspondent Jack Frankish reported the F i r s t army setback in a dispatch from the H u r t g e n forest southeast of Aachen, out of which t h e doughboys burst in t h e first few hours of their attack Thursday.

Two-Way Blitz

Rocks Reich

LONDON—(U.P.)—

Two big fleets of American bombers from Italy a n d Britain dealt crushing blows S a t u r d a y to nazi  w a r  t a r g e t s  along

a great arc swinging through northwestern, w e s t e r n  a n d southrern Germany into Austria.

More . t h a n 1,100 Flying Fortresses a n d Liberators of t h e B r i t -a i r - b a s e d 8th air force hit oil plants, rail yards, a n d other objectives between t h e Baltic coastal area and t h e French frontier.

The 15th a i r force i n I t a l y sent i t s forts and Liberators against Regensburg,' Munich and Augsburg in southern Germany and Linz, Austria. The two-way attack on the reich, engaging perhaps 2,500 U. S. w a r - p l a n e s , w a s one of t h e most widespread of the war. After throwing 500 fighters against

American raiders Thursday, the German air force put up no resistance against t h e planes flying from B r i t a i n Saturday.

The great force of Flying Fortresses a n d Liberators, escorted by u p w a r d of 800 Thunderbolt and Mustang fighters, hit synthetic oil plants and oil refineries in Hamburg - Harburg area a n d  at Gelsenkirchen; unidentified objectives at Hannover, and rail y a r d s  a t  Saarbrucken.

Poll Indicates

GIs May Tip

Election Scales

By GEORGE GALLUP

Director, American  i n s t i t u t e  of

Public Opinion.

PRINCETON, N. J.—The soldier v o t e m a y b e  t h e deciding factor in many states where poll samplings show a n e a r l y  e v e n  division of sentiment

for Roosevelt a n d Dewey.

The effect of this soldier balloting c a n  b e  seen  b y  t a k i n g  Massachusetts as an example.

Estimated Turnout.

I n Massachusetts, w i t h a total of 2,275,000 eligible civilian v o t e r s  in t h i s election, t h e Associated Press estimates a  t u r n o u t  of 2,000,000 at

t h e polls Nov. 7. On t h e basis of interviews with a cross-section of t h i s civilian population, t h e  i n s t i t u t e ' s semi-final report last week

showed 50 per cent for Roosevelt i n Massachusetts, 50 per cent for Dewey.

Crucial Soldier Vote.

Similarly, i n a s t a t e w h e r e Dewey happens to lead w i t h 51 or 52 p e r cent of the civilian votes, a  h e a v i l y democratic soldier vote could operate to r e d u c e  t h e  r e p u b l i c a n figure to something even closer t o t h e 50-50 line, a n d make t h  e election  a  t o s s - u p  i n  t h a t  state.

GALLUP BATTING AVERAGE

IN 115 ELECTIONS

The  i n s t i t u t e  h a s  made 115 pre-election surveys during the past n i n e y e a r s that come out on the  r i g h t  side 102 times, and on the wrong side 13 times, for a batting a v e r a g e of .900.

I n  t h e s e  115 elections the average  e r r o r  h a s  b e e n  b e t w e e n  3 and 4 percent.

The following table summarizes the record of accuracy in all the 115 elections:

No. of                       Margin of

Elections                      Error

20                        . .. . . . 0 . 1%

39                        . .. . . . 2-3

31                        . .. , . . 3-6

19                             . .. 6-10

6                             . .. 10-15

In this y e a r ' s election it is the  i n s t i t u t e ' s  aim to keep its average s t a t e - b y - s t a t e  e r r o r  t o  3-4  p e r c e n t

I n  view of the' r e l a t i v e closeness of  t h e  r a c e in many states, and the unknown factor of t h e soldier vote, it is to be expected that many s t a t e s  i n  t h e 
 i n s t i t u t e ' s survey will be found to  h a v e  b e e n  placed on t h e wrong side.