Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1894-05-19
she Is A GOOD ADVERTISED
Mrs. Lease Turns Newspaper No.
toriety Into Coin.
Sbc PopuIist Orator Could Give Isarnuns
Pointers In the Art of Keeping he
fore the Public--Mode~k
MIR. Lease.

TOPEKA, Kan, May 12.-7Mrs. Mary
Elizabeth Lease takes great pride in as
serting: 81 am the best advertised
woman in the world" She has made q
study OF the art of advertising, and has
proved very apt pupil. for she never
neglccts an opportunity to give herself
publicity. Whenever the newspapers
fail 10 talk about her as much as she
thinks they should, she devi,,es some
plan TO give the reporters material for
good story about her; and she is al
ways successful. Advertising pays, she
says, and the fortune she has aInassed
during her public career of foar wears
is, she declares, substantial evidence OF
that fact. Early in her career her ad-
vertising methods lacked the ear marks
of genius that they now possess. Her
strokes were wanting in that boadness
which now characterizes them.
1t was in the campaign of 1890 that
the attention of the public was first
attracted to Mrs. Lease She wee then
the Leading oratorical attraction of the
farmers alliance. She made a speciality
OF Senator John j. Engalls. whose down
fall she was especially Interested in
accomplishing She ssed the same
weapons on the platform that had ac.
complished SO much for her chosen poll
~tYcBl enemy and it was not long before
comparisons were being made between
Mn Lease and tho dramatic senator
The papers said she had done as good
job in sliinning Ingalls, as Ingalls, had
accomplished in skinning rebels. There
was nothing she could say that was
bitter enough when referring To tho
then senator. She hrnted the diction.
ary for words with which to express
herself and succeeded in finding plenty
that attracted more than passing
notice. she became the heroine
OF the new political party
and attained Il widespread notpriety.
The mere announcement of her pres
ence at a meeting always insured a
large crowd. People of all political
parties went to hear her and those who
at first went through idle curiosity
afterward went to admire. when In
gals was finally beaten in the legis-
latue she promptly claimed the credit
for having been the first 10 begin the
fight against him. During that cam
pagn Mrs. Lease received Sl5 for each
speech, invariably in advance. Now
she values her services at much higher
figure and on her recent lecturing tour
through the eastern states she is said
to have been paid $500 night.
1t was in the campaign of 1890 that
she first indicated desire TO be elected
TO Office. Just before the populist state
convention that year she announced
herself candidate for the nominat tior
of congresswoman-at-l large There
was great deal said of the announce.
men and much speculation was in
dulged in as to whether IL she should
be elected to congress she would be de-.
died her seat. She maintained that she
whould not, but as the call for her to
try 1t on did not appear to be loud
enough to suit her, she announeed just
before the convention that she would
not be candidate. Then she Claimed
TO have discovered that there was o
strong demand for her to serve the peo
pie in the capacity of United States
senator and she announced her candi
dacy for that position. She remained
In the field up to the day of the elec
tion and withdrew, as she said, to make
II impossible to elect democrat.
The first announcement Of Mrs.
hChSS Noh''NoS1 ipi cohkICsS VIII
made in the New Era, an antiadminis-
tration paper, edited by Cyrus Corning
and owned largely by Mrs. Lease her.
| self, From little paragraph in tho
New Era suggesting that she would be
more certain of election than any ono
who could be named by the populists,
her boom has grown in n few days To
large proportions and it is meeting with
great favor in the very quarters where
one would naturally look for the most
serious opposition. 1t is not at all proba
BILE that Jerry Simpson will ever recover
from his present illness sufficiently to
| permit of his making another cam
paign, II, indeed, he RECEIVERS at all
| There is little populist congressional
timber in the district and the only per-
son mentioned in connection with the
| nomination aside from Mrs Lease are
Senator'S Lands and Forney. Should
either of these be nominated it would
necessitate a special election for state
| senator and as the districts of both are
close there would he danger of the
| populists losing one vote in the state
senate, which might endanger the
election of populist United States
| senator.
This year of all years will be the
most auspicious for women candidate,
In Kansas. The campaign for equa,
suffrage is to be pushed with vigor and
the sentiment favoring the political
equality OF woman is very strong iu
both the republican and populist par
ties However irregular 1t might appear
in other states, there would be nothing
thought of nominating a woman for
congress in Kansas. 1t would be &C.
cepted as a matter OF course, and Mrs
Leases nomination in the Seventh dis
trict would very likely result in her
| election