Evening star., 1896-07-18

Every device known to the trained politi-
clan is going 10 be used to catch votes.
Ard not the least effective of these will be
the theatrical display of simplicity and
poverty which will be worked up by the
campaign speakers for both parties to in
fuence the granger vote and the vote of
labor.
A few years ago, when D. r. Francis,
leader OF the gold forces in Missouri was
a candidate for governor of his state, the
republicans put forward Nick Ford
long. lank backwoodsman. / was on the
floor of the Merchants Exchange in St.
Louis when Candidate Ford made speech
from the rCstrum. His lank fig Ire his ca
dayerous face and his generally bucolc
appearance aroused the brokers and yner-
chants to much quiet merriment They
nudged each other and chuckled under
their breath and winked and in many other
ways showed their contempt for Candidate
Ford. Perhaps the fact that Candid lte
Francis had been a trader on the exchInse
for many years influenced the Judgment Of
the members. But the bucolic Ford came
within comparatively small vote of car
rying Missouri, and the republican man.
ayers of that campaign have said ever
since that II the national committee had
given them little money and few speak,
ers they could have carried the state for
republican candidate for .he first time
since reconstruction days
Senator Cockrel. one of the leading fig
ures OF the democratic convention, retains
ms popularity In Missouri largely through
his simplicity and his genial manner to all
who come to Washington from his state
Inc Senator Is just as plain and simple to-
day as he was when he first came to Wash
ington from WarrensburS.
But campaign simplicity Is not all nat
ural- Much Of it Is assumed for the pur-
pose OF making votes among the farmers
and laborers. That the plain people have
no sympathy with wealth and display was
indicated plainly enough by the feeling
aroused twelve years ago by the ''Belshaz-
zar FEAST given to James G. Blaine which
many people still think cost him the elec-
tion- At least 1t cost Mr.. Blaine a great
many votes all over the country and par
dcularly in New York state.
Effect of an Old Overcoat.
Many are the devices adopted by candi-
dates and their friends to cajole the farmer
or laborer voters. The friends of Gov.
Bradley of Kentucky believe his success in
the last election was due In a great meas
ure to an ancient overcoat which he wore
when he was stumping the state This
oVercoat, which was hopelessly dlapidated,
MI Bradley displayed as an evidence tha.
he was cot an aristocrat The ingenious
mountalneers saw IN the grease-stained
garment proof positive that Bradley was
one OF the people," and they voted for him
IN such number that he was elected-the
nrst republican governor ever chosen in
kentucky. 1t is hardly necessary to saw
mat this overcoat is not the one which Mr.
bradley wears when he is not campaien-
ing. 1t Is simply one of his political '.prop-
erues He keeps 1t at the exec utive man
sion. however. for use in emergencies
Mr. Bradley,s campaign device was by no
means new. 1t is practiced in some form
In almost all the western states and In
some or the southern ones. Few newspaper
readers nave forgotten the socklessness Of
Simpson-Jerry Simpson of Kansas 1t was
exaggerated In some of the neWspaper
stories about him; but there is no doubt he
made his best play when he made a poine
with the FARMER pcpuliSJS of his district of
the fact that he wore no socks ! wonder
how his constituents would have felt if
they could have been with me not long
after the meeting of Congress and seen
their soCklesS representative returning from
the launching of one of the vessels of the
new navy at Philadelphia. The simple
kansan was sitting in one of the cars OF
Special train of the Pennsylvania railroad
drinking champagne and eating sweet
DreadS-aH at the expense of the Cramp
shipbullding firm. 1t was not long after
his initiation into Washington ways be-
fore Mr. simpson was riding a bicycle
believe he never aspired to belong to the
Smart set" but he certainly learned to
wear socks and great many things less
practical
Most of the western and southern men,
oers or congress are converts to the silk
hat habit. and some ludicrous results are
10 be seen about the streets of Washington
and the hotel corridors of New York
Senator Tom Carter of Montana, lately
the chairman of the republican national
committee, wears silk hat in the east:
but he returns to the black slouch when he
Is among his own people. Montana would
not like to believe that Tom Carter had
become a dude" and to the frontier mind
fCppery Is indexed by the silk hat Some
years ago newspaper man met Marcus
Aurehus Smith, delegate to Congress from
Arizona, wearing silk hat and putting
away at a cigarette. Smith," said the cor
respondent, Il m going to write letter for
western paper describing your appear
ance on PENNSYLVANIA avenue wearing
SILK nat and smoking cigarette. Do you
think your constituents will take these
things as an evidence of mental or moral
preseryation?'
My boy" said Delegate Smith, you may
say what you please about the cigarette.
The Mexicans down my way smoke them
all the time, and no one thinks anything of
hat. If the people of Arizona thought 1
wore a thing like this in the east they
would retire me to private life at the next
eleCtiOn-or sooner"
He was not In jest, either 1t would be q
pretty serious thing for some men to- be
caught by their constituents wearing silk
hats Mr.. Reagan of Texas, once postmas-
ter general of the confederacy, then Unit
ed States Senator. and now railroad COM
missioner of the state of Texas used to
tell on himself how he wore a silk hat un-
thinkingly, into Texas town. He always
carried his slouch hat with him. and
when he reached the borders of the state
of Texas. he put on the soft hat and con-
signed the silk hat to a box. On one oc-
casion he forgot all about the soft hat, and
went sailing into his home town with tie
silk hat on his head. Mrs. Reagan saw the
hat just as the Senator climbed into his
carriage She snatched it from his head
and thrust 1T under the carriage seat So
the Senator drove home without a hat
But he always thought Mrs. Reagan saved
MS political life by her presence of mind
barometer of Public Feeling.
The late Secretary Rusk was a man to
get out among the people. He had been
one OF them, and he could cooper a barrel
as well as drive stage coach He told me
once that he could foretell the result of an
election with almost absolute accuracy be-
cause he made IT a habit, when he was in
Wisconsin. TO sit around country stores
whiting and swapping stories with the
farmers. There was no better barometer
OF public feeling just before election, he
Said. than the farmer. He told me aftex
HErrison's defeat that he had expected the
result because he found the farmers were
against the republican party in that elec-
ton. Mr.. Rusk always made a personal
canvass when he was a candidate for ONCE
IN Wisconsin
Baby kissing was the speciality of the
late Representative ONeill of Pennsyl-