The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-09-06

Copyright. 1885, The S. S. Mcclure Coz
NEW YORK, Sept. 5.-There is prob
ably no piece of mechanism that re-
qutres such careful poise such nicely
IN handling, and such close attention
as the central national Organization Of
a great political party It is welded to-
gether from a thousand diverse parts;
1t consists OF wheels within wheels; and
the task Of keeping all these parts
working in harmony, OF making the
wheels revolve al at once and in the
same direction, requires not only a
master mind to direct them but able
Eeutenants TO carry out his orders.
There must be no friction. and ABOVE
= there must be no mistakes, for in d
political campaign a mistake once
made is often impossible of remedy.
To one who pictures the political
machine from the result it produces the
first sight of it is apt 20 be disappoint-
ing. The Republican national cam
paign committee occupies eighteen
rooms in the big white building OF the
Metropolitan Life association, which
stands in Madison Square, close TO
The eddying Whirl of the centre of the
great city's life. The rooms resemble
the offices Of a big corporation more
than anything else. There is nothing
OF the atmosphere Of intense excitement
that characterizes the nominating con-
veEton or the high-struigg enthusiasm
OF the political meeting. There IS less
noise and more business Only when
the work of the day is wei under way,
when the managers are at their desks,
and the long procession OF visitors be-
gins 10 arrive is added the element Of
picturesque that makes the scene fun
OF interest.
The day begins early at the political
headquarters BY eight O'Clock the
rooms are open, the attendants are on
F post. and The clerks and assistants have
begun to arrive. Half an hour later
the heads Of the various departments
begin TO come in. The first arrival is
& soidly built man who wears blue
suit and a somewhat battered straw
hat. His gray beard is closely trim
lhed and his blue eyes have a pleasant
look in them as he speaks TO mis- as
sistants. He is deliberate. even slow,
OF motion, but when he sits down at his
desk this air Of elaboration disappears
and he goes rapidly through the work
before him For half an hour the two
assistants have been sorting over q
huge pile Of mail that covers a table at
oDe side Of the room and now they
place a big stack Of letters before the
grey bearded man. who sits down at
the desk and pitches into the work
without stopping to take off his hat.
he is General Osborne, the secretary Of
the national committee and the man
who after the chairman, is chiefly re-
sporsible for the conduct Of its af-
fairs From 500 to 800 letters are re-
ceived and answered every day at the
headquarters and the majority of these
come directly to the attention of Cen
eral Osborne. He decides whether the
appeal Of the county or state COM
mittee Is Oshkosh shall be submitted
to the executive committee or politely
refused; he considers the suggestion Of
this politician or that for the conduct
of the campaign il some particular
state or section; and he is in constant
communication with the absent mem
berS of the committee. Beside
his desk is long distance
telephone giving direct connection
with the Chicago headquarters and re
ports are exchanged between the two
places once or more every day. This is
enough TO keep anyone busy, but it is
only part Of General Osborne's work.
He receives hundreds of callers, listens
patiently to their suggestions and tries
to send them all away satisfied. He
succeeds pretty well too, and the man
who wants to be placed in charge of
the campaign in his section or to have
the committee take up some pretty
scheme that he has devised goes away
smiling happily over the memory Of
the secretary'S cordial handclaSp and
the secretary's cheerful words, forget
ing, until he is well outside the building
at least, that so far as the advance
anent of his cause is concerned he is
exactly where he was before, so far
as can be ascertained- The chairman