The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-11-24
I T7I7TT
''Stiekers."

The independent voter Is responsible
for a great many things in modern poll
tics. He not only refuses to be tethered
within party lines, but he establishes o
little party of his own. When he spies
the name of man ON regulation
ticket, and knows that the man is unit
for the Office he is named for. he re-
solves himself into parry Of one and sets
about to defeat that candidate. Years
ago, when the independent voter was as
scarce as hens teeth, almost, he con-
tented himself with occasionally drawing
his pencil through the name of an objec-
tionable candidate and writing the name
OF a suitable person for the office on the
margin of the ticket. Political man
ayers cut the margins of their ballots
down so close that there was no room
for the Independent voter to be indie
pendent. From this and number of
like causes sprung the ''sticker," or
..paster," the convenient little bit of
paper that has been such a power in the
land and such deadly enemy to unfit
and unpopular nominations. They are
no new thing, but there are thousand
used now where there formerly were
only ten. It's great knack to print q
political sticker as it ought to be. The
paper has to be made specially for it. Of
strong fibre, the gum should be of a
clean sort that person can wet with his
mouth without poisoning him, or with
out leaving an unpleasant taste on the
tongue, and then it must be very adhe-
sive or it can be pulled off without spoil
inc the ballot. See here; In put this
sticker on the ballot, and it won't be
there thirty seconds before the surface of
the ballot with the name of the candi-
date pasted over will come of with it,
He did so, and sure enough the paper Of
the original ballot was fairly split in the
attempt to tear it off the sticker. THAT
stickcr means business, you see."
1.-The demand for stickers must be
very large"
"Yes. In the State election for 1881
1 figured up about 5000, 600 stickers
were printed. Every candidate, and
and a great many friends Of candidates
order them, both Democratic and Re-
publican. Eight millions look very
large, but when one man, alone orders
100000 it counts up. But doubt II.
there ever was as many as p, 600, 600 or
dered at one time. as saw by an item i'm
one Of the papers"
The sticker has arrived to the Dig
nifty of special machinery for making it.
has it not?'
Eyes. 1t is quite simple thing to
print sticker, but to put it in convent
ent shape, all cut, ready for use, special :
machinery has to be used. machine
that will cut hundred thousand at
once. That's good deal better than
Sitting them up with scissors. one at . :
time"
Inquiries in rather large printing es-
adjustments showed that the political
sticker has grown not only to be q
power in the land, but q source of profit
to the printer.
There is another matter connected
with the '.sticker'' that is . trifling an
noyance. It's common use so. mikes
up the ballots that on the night after
the election it is = most puzzling job to
sort and count them. This frequently
causes delay in getting news. but the in
dependent voter cares not for that. He
is simply bent on voting as he pleases,
and the sticker helps him to do it--Bos-
Eoy1 GLnhp