Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-01-08
THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE,
INTERVIEW WITH LADY RANDOLPH
CHURCHlLL-HER CAMPAIGN.
A wen-DisclplIRsd PhaIanx Of Lady Cam
yassers-The Various Methods'Of Po-
litical WOrl-Ths Grand COun-
ciI-TitIes-Badges.

ONbSH
1t is evidently no freak of fancy that
has induced Lady Randolph to throw
herself with such ardor into the breaches
Of birmingham politics, nor from any de-
sire to emulate the famous campaign Of
the duchess of Devonshire, but a serious
and carefully-directed effort. Lady Ran
dolph Is the general Of a well disciplined
phalanx OF lady c%anvassers, who are
helping to return her doughty lord to the
PEDESTAL Of power. "Only q fortnight
ago" she informed me, II opened a habi-
tation here in Birmingham, and our
forces now include 500 ladies. From this
500 d number of ladies are active canvass
ers, making a house-to-house visitation.
The way of it is this: Each lady proposes
to be responsible for a certain section of
a certain ward or of a certain street, and
each has a little book in which she iots
down her memoranda. l mention the
fact that we have 500 ladies enrolled on
u staff, but OF course the men are
numerically a much stronger body. I
myself ? l work very hard, and without
having any special section visit doubtful
cases." doubtful cases' no doubt being
synonymous with waverers.
USEFULNESS OF THE LADIES' LEAGUE.
ut is only within the last few weeks
the usefulness of our league has been
recognized. We were laughed at by
candid friends who now"-this was heap
ing Goals of fire on their devoted heads
appeal to us for help. We have visited
some of the poorest houses in Birming-
ham, and encountered some Of the rough
est of its people, but we have only one
case in which a lady was received with
anything but the greatest courtesy and
%politeness, even by our opponents. They
listen to us, they hear our arguments,
even If they do not always carry convic-
tion."
"Would you tell me, Lady Randolph,
what arguments you use?" swell, l tell
them what our side thinks Of the ques-
tons of the day-it may be the church,
it may be free trade, or it may be the
landlord, and as Isay, they agree with me
or not, as the case may be. l trust that
they agree" Lady Randolph has also
visited some of the principal factories of
the town. "The masters were good
enough to allow me to speak to their en-
ployes, whether they were of our per-
suasion or no. And l found by this means
that l was able to get over the ground
with a greater rapidity." II presume
that lady canvassers have many good
qualities which u mar possesses not?"
Without committing herself to any state
ment which might be rash, Lady Ran
dolph is decidedly Of opinion that "a
woman perhaps evinces more tact than a
mar" in many cases; and this no doubt
is true enough, and Lady Randolph re-
CARDS the personal house-to-house vista
ton and the little chats with the electors
or their wives as a means toward a polit-
zeal education.
AN ENGINE FOR EDUCATING.
1--WE have no colors," replied Lady Ran
dolph to my question, "but we have q
badge, and one firm has manufactured
10000 within n short time" Lady Ran
dolph Churchill then explained the or
ganization Of the league, producing from
a dainty velvet-covered volume some
of the primrose "leafie6s" or Cardboard
let's, for, ITO avoid the proved waste and
uselessness Of political leaflets and pam-
plets, printed in the ordinary manner
the Ben Primrose issues are all on card
board" But how much more sumptuous
is the exterior Of a "Ben Primrose Elec-
ton Talk" with its admirable portrait Of
the talker within a garland of the flower
that blooms in May. "The league is
called into existence to bring Conserva-
tives in friendly and united work for the
advancement and maintenance of those
constitutional principles which have
made England what she is. Also to
maintain the cause of religion and mon
archical government, as against atheism
and republicanisn," and as the duchess of
Marlborough (who was present. tersely
and APPLY put it, "as an engine for edu-
eating the masses" That the organiza-
ton is widespread may be judged from
the following particulars set forth by
Lady Randolph Churchill in a recently
written introduction to the rules and
regulations Of the body:
The primrose league, a conservative
association much derided in its infancy,
can well afford to be laughed at now, al
though only in its third year, as it num-
bers many thousands of members, and is
enrolling thousands per week, not to
speak Of its "habitations" or branches"
which are springing up in all parts of the
empire-even as far as India, New South
Wales and Canada-close on 800 habita-
tons having been opened since June.
In view of the general election, a ladies'
grand council was formed, which is in
direct communication with the central
Office, The committees in the various
towns arc called h~abitations ahabitation
being mueh like q Masonic lodge, except
that its operations are by no means Sc
cret. The ladies are danes, y the gentle
men "knights,' companions" "almon-
ers," or "haroingers," and the badges are
jewels, probably of Birmingham manu-
facture. And Lady Randolph concludes
by remarking the fact "that women who
have no vote should help largely to con-
tribute to their influence in canvass
ing, as proving their disinterest-
edness, and should lend weight to
those powers of argument which they
are known to possess, and in which they
q infuse all the persuasive character
istics of their seX,-Pall Mall Gazette.
Another Brand from the Burning.
A %Stonington, Conn, man who has
chewed tobacco over fifty years has sud
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