The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-11-03
.sTICKERs -
Important Bits Of Gummed Paper That Have
Much to Do with Elections.
Boston Globs

Boston Globe
The Independent voter is responsible
| for great many things in modern poll
tics He not only refuses TO be tethered
within party lines, but he establishes a
| little party of his own. When he spies
| the name of a man on a regulation ticket,
and knows that the man is unfit for the
office he is named for, he resolves himself
| into a party of one and sets about to de
| feat that candidate. Years ago, when the
| independent voter was as scarce as a hens
teeth almost. he contented himself with
| occasionally drawing his pencil through
the name of an Objectionable candidate
and writing the name of suitable person
| for the office on the margin of the ticket.
Political managers cut the margin 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 'Esticker. or plaster,
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 a thousand used
now where there formerly were only ten.
It's great knack to print political
sticker as it ought to be. The paper has to
made specially for it. of strong fiber,
the gum should be of clean sort that a
person can wet with his mouth without
poisoning him, or without leaving an un-
pleasant taste on the tongue, and then it
must be very adhesive or it can be pulled
off without spelling the ballot. See here;
I'll 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
candidate pasted over will come off with
it." He did so, and sure enough the paper
of the original ballot was fairly split in the
the attempt to tear off the sticker. That
sticker means business, you see"
The demand for tickets must be very
larger"
Yes The last state election / figured
up about eight million stickers were
printed. Every candidate. and great
many friends of candidates. order them;
both democratic and :epublican. Eight
millions look very large, but when one
man alone orders 500, 900 it counts up.
But doubt if there ever was -as many as
IS, 100000 ordered at one time as / saw
by an item in one of the papers Why,
there won't be $4,000. 900 stickers used in
the whole New England states, with New
York added in. That would be an enor-
nous number
i 'sThe sitcker has arrived to the dignity
of special machinery for making it, has it
not?"
Eyes. 1t is quite simple thing to
print sticker. but to put it in convenient
shape, all cut, ready for use. special ma
chinery has to be used, a machine that win
cut hundred thousand at once. That's a
good deal better than slittingthem up with
a scissors, one at a time"
Inquiries in rather large printing estab
lishments showed that the political stick
er" has grown not only 10 be power in
the land, but source of income to the
printer.
There is another matter connected with
the "'sticker that is tritiing annoyance.
It's common use so mikes up the ballots
that on the night after the election it is a
most puzzling job to sort and count them
This frequently causes delay in getting
news, but the independent voter cares not
for that. He is simply bent on voting as
he pleases, and the sticker helps him to
do it.