The day after the 1948 election, Editor Henry P. Slane of the daily Peoria Journal (circ. 68,000) sent Pollster George Gallup a bristling telegram: CANCEL OUR SUBSCRIPTION. Like Gallup, Elmo Roper, Archibald Crossley and all the pollsters who had confidently predicted a Republican victory, Editor Slane had a morning-after headache. With the editors of some 30 other U.S. dailies who canceled their subscriptions to the polls, Editor Slane cried: "Never again!" But like many another swearing-off, it didn't take.
"I hate to admit it," said Editor Slane last week, "but we are using Gallup again." So were many of the other papers...