The Portland daily press., 1888-07-31
COST OF A CAMPAIGN.
Work of a National Committee In the
Great Presidential Battle.

The headquarters of all recent Presiden-
tial campaigns have been in the city of New
York, now the acknowledged commercials
political, social and brain centre of the
United States, says the New York Sun.
The pending campaign will be directed from
this city. Already the National Democratic
Committee has fitted up quarters at 10 West
Twenty ninth street, and the Republican
National Committee win not be far behind
with new headquarters for the campaign in
West TweDty-fifth street, near the Hoffman
House. The Democratic Committee have a
whole building, and will at once get to work
with large force of clerks and assistants to
do the active work Of the campaign. There
the Executive Committee will have its rooms
the paraphernalia Of the campaign will be
stored, and the sinews Of war expended.
How much does 1t cost to run a Presiden-
tial campaign? We have no annual reports
to guide us. The committees are close cor
porations. They work largely in secret.
They do not blazon either their receipts or or
expenditures on the h0usetops. They get
contributions from sources that would not on
any account be made public, and they expend
money for purposes that may appear to be
remote from the legitimate campaign work.
We can therefore hardly expect to arrive at
1t costs.
The preparation and circulation of docu-
ments Is very important part of the work
OF national committees. The literature of
each campaign Is OF necessity of very lively
character. 1t generally consists of reprints
OF memorable speeches by distinguished
party men. Often these speeches are the APP
parent outcome of Congressional debates,
and nominally prepared to be spoken in the
halls OF Congress with reference to some
pending legislation. They are generally
crammed with statistics, and no party ever
tailed to be prepared with voluminOus ar
ray Of figures to show that the other party
would bring ruin and desolation upon the
country, ana that all its representatives had
been wasteful and extravagant, if not cor
rupt. Portentious columns of arithmetical
calculations are printed by the CARLOAD and
shipped to all parts Of the country to be dis
tributed at the local headquarters. The adj
vantage OIL the Congressional speeches is
That they can be sent free through the mails
as parts of public documents, thus saving
the printing and postage.
But vast quantity of other matter besides
speeches is sent out to rouse the intellectual
sense or to IRE up the political heart of the
as to conduct an investigation. the probabili-
ties are that the interests of the party have
not been kept in the background while the
investigation proceeded, and the foe is shown
up by an impressive array of official reports
ana co eho sa Of the opposite party.
III the enemy has written any letters or
made any speeches calculated to benefit the
cause, Il becomes the duty of the national
committee to hunt them up and see that
copies Of them are widely circulated, SO as to
pring the enemy to confusion. OF course,
tne enemy VIII kick, and declare that the
speeches or letters are garbled. and then the
enemy's national committee must send ont
other speeches, letters and circulars. and
thus there accumulates an enormous pile of
printed matter. good deal of which finds its
way 20 the waste-paper basket, but all of
The Tilden campaign was the most re-
markable in the history of the country for
documentary work. Long before the nation
a. committee got into working trim Mr.. TIL
aen aaa GRAINED what was facetiously
most ehhcient adjunct. His keen intellect
comprehended fully the value of accnrafe
Information. He knew all the schemes of
the enemy to misrepresent the issue and
Defog the voter with sophistries. He coy
vigorous. pamphlets, which were sent IN
every direction in liberal quantities, and
when the national committee got organized
his plans were adopted and carried out. The
result proved the wisdom of his forethought.
IL was 70 be expected that his vast fortune
would be used in his own behalf, and many
wild stories were circulated as to the amount
which was emptied from "Tilden's barrel"
The fact was that in this legitimate work he
expended about $250,0O0 The literature of
that campaign did much to set the PRINCIPLES
and history OF the Democratic party clearly
before the country.
The indications are that the pending cam
paign Will be memorable one for its docn-
ments. The fruitful topic of the tariff will
give occasion for momentous piles of
speeches, tracts, rhymes, statistics, and facts
on that inexhaustible topic.
Generally the national committee of each
party issues political text book containing
its platform and various key notes of the
for the guidance of speakers and
the enlightenment of the voters.
A most important and costly work of the
national committee is the sending out of
speakers and the payment of their expenses.
These speakers must be men of reputation,
whom the people will flock to see. They
must be men of strong physique, capable Of
standing the rack of travelling ana speaking
for months. OF course, these
spakers must be paid. Sometimes they get
90 % ihucn as 500 night, which is indeed
nn oua s price for professional man. They
ba iso,n piace to place, making substantially
ioca Iuc sReecn, and yet varying it for each
from the National Committee and are cam I.
1r1neu az 70 the pecularities of each locality.
nhey talK Inherently to the farmers from
" nat tney 90 10 the city people AS rule
tnose speakers are preferred who are full Of
anecdote and know how to point noiitica1 !
argument with a joke. Such men az Sunset \
Cox and Col. Bob Ingersoll are in great De-
mand, and generally talk themselves hoarse
before the campaign is over.
The National Committees must keep up a 4
wide correspondence. They are obliged to