Nov. 4, 1908 (Wednesday)

TAFT SWEEPS TO VICTORY; TIMES MAKES AN EARLY CALL: William Howard Taft won yesterday's voting for president handily, and today's New York Times printed the map above that shows how the electoral votes fell. (Note: The slightly darker territories of Arizona and New Mexico have no electoral votes, yet.) It wasn't in the Red-State-Blue-State vein. Rather it was black and white, with the darker colored states belonging to the Republicans. To what extent will it be a mirror opposite of the 2008 electoral voting based on today's historic presidential election?
The Times notes that the Republicans might be losing their grip on some states; once-robust margins are lower in Ohio, Iowa and Indiana, for example.
Not surprisingly, crowds gathered near the Times building to get election results as quickly as possible. The Times had no problem calling the results QUITE EARLY. In fact, as the paragraphs at the right show, the paper sent a "ribbon of silver light" to the north as a signal of Taft's victory. That announcement came at 6:10 P.M., much earlier than anyone would dare to do these days, right?

Nov. 2, 1908 (Monday)

NEW YORK TIMES WANTS TO GET THE ELECTION RESULTS TO THE PEOPLE FAST: In an ongoing effort to meet a demand for FAST NEWS DELIVERY, the New York Times has mounted FLASH LIGHTS atop the tower of the Times Building in New York City. A photograph in today's paper (above) shows how it will be done. The top of the tower is 400 feet above the sidewalk. If Republican William Howard Taft is elected, a searchlight will be flashed to the NORTH of the building. A flash to the SOUTH means that Democrat William Jennings Bryant has been elected. The results in the race for the governor of New York will be broadcast on an east-west axis. A flash to the WEST means that New York's Gov. Charles Evan Hughes has been reelected. A flash to the EAST means that Chanler has won.
In addition, the returns from "all the doubtful, as well as sure, states will be bulletined as fast as the telegraph wires can bring them into the Times Office." Those results will be simultaneously displayed on THREE BULLETIN BOARDS in the Times Square area. The Times also promises a feature which it calls the "telautograph." Times cartoonist Hy Mayer will draw pictures for the observers who congregate on 42nd Street, in front of the Times Building. The bulletin boards will also show "the latest moving pictures" when returns are not being shown.
Times officials estimate that the lights on the tower will be visible from as far away as 20 miles. They also promise that it has made "a series of special lanterns, as powerful as can be made, embodying all the modern improvements in lantern manufacture" for the bulletin displays.