The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-11-12
CAMPAIGN SECRETS.
How the National Committees Watched
One Another.

One Another.
Spies Kept Each Committee Informed of
the Movements of Its Adversary-Thc
Politicians Say That Politics Is Purely
Business Matter.
Especial Correspondence
WASHINGTON. Nov. 10.-Now that the
presidential struggle is over and the
country is counting up the votes, burn
ing bonfres of celebration and taking
care of the wounded, it will do no harm
to tell some Of the secrets of the cam
paign. Every campaign has it's secrets,
which find their way to the public after
the election. While the campaign is on
every avenue through which informa-
ton could possibly leak out concerning
the inside affairs Of thetwo great camps
is closely guarded Despite all the pre-
cautions taken by both the Republican
and the Democratic campaign COM
mittees in New York it is a remarkable
fact that each committee knew all the
time Just about what the other was do
ing. In running from one camp to the
other / found that whatever Mr.. Whit
pey and his associates of the Democratic
committee were doing was known with
in few hours to Chairman Carter, Mr..
Manley or Mr.. Clarkson at Republican
headquarters. It was rule which
worked both ways. Every night before
putting his weary head upon his pillow
General Manager Whitney knew just
what the Republicans had done during
the day, how much money they had re-
ceived, what they had done with it and
how much they still had left in bank.
How these secrets were carried do
not know, and probably not more than
four or five persons in all the world have
any adequate notion. My belief is that
each committee had spy in the camp
of its rival, possibly some man of high
standing who was being paid very
large bribe for his treachery. Yet, when
YOU come to look over the names of men
in the two committees who were on
confidential terms with the managers,
you can't find any one of whom you
would suspect such baseness. There
is no other way, however, in which
the secrets of the committees could
have been carried SO quickly and so
promptly from one headquarters to
the other. Some years ago prominent
Republican campaigner was actually
caught selling the secrets of his COM
mittee to Samuel J. Tilden. He was
suspected, and his associates hired de-
tective to shadow him. He was traced
to Mr.. Tilden's house in Gramercy park,
where he remained more than an hour.
After that he was debarred from the
secret councils Of his.1u1nmittee. Yet he
was never exposed, and today holds a
prominent place under the government
and is looked up to as a great party
| leader.
One thing which strikes the acute OBJ.
server very forcibly is that the manage
ment of these national campaigns has
become purely business matter. The
side which has the most money, the
most earnestness and energy, the smart
| est operators, wins. This is the theory
| of the politicians. The campaign man
| ayers have little faith in the intelligence
| of the people or of the influence which
discussion and thought about the ques-
tions of the day may have upon the re-
suit. To state the case more accurately,
| the professional politicians believe that
the issues of campaign are generally
standoff-that is, their effect balances.
What one side gains on the tariff the
other RECEIVERS on some other question.
| If the issues cause loss to one party in
certain locality, in some other locality
the other party will be the gamer. The
law of average applies even to the mat
ter of assertions from party fealty, of
which there have been an uncommonly
large number in this campaign. After
all these things have Offset each other
there remains margin of votes which
is to be manipulated and controlled only
by fine work, by organization, by use OF
| money and other influences Of more
practical nature than the views which
a man holds upon the leading questions
of the day.
Here is where the professional cam
paigner steps in. Here is where he finds
use for enormous sums of money. In
| watching Jn6 progress VI bnlS cdmpaiSH
! I found the managers on both sides
| placing more confidence in a check for
S10,0 Oo signed with name which made
it good at the paying teller's window,
than in such letter as that of Judge
Gresham, in which he announced his in
tention to vote for Cleveland, or such a
letter as that which George Ticknor Cur
tbs wrote, taking himself out of the Dem
ocratic ranks and putting him in synpa-
thy with the Republicans. Of course
the campaign managers welcome all
such letters, from big men and little,
Just as they welcome everything which
| makes votes for their side, even in the
most trivial of ways. But as between
a letter of this nature and check for
$4,000 1 believe they would all choose
the check every time.
This is humiliating. It is disgrace
to the American people that money
should be such a powerful factor in the
manipulation of our popular elections.
| 4 Ii.