Kansas City daily journal., 1896-10-30
KANSAS TOPICS.

chased itself around on his physiognomy.
You may tell the boys that II they Keep
up their present lick there can be no ques-
ton but Mckinley will carry Kansas by a
tirre majority"
How much majority does your poll OF
the state show?" queried Topics.
THAT is something we do not give out
Let me tell you something about polls con-
fidentially." said the Republican chairman.
as he wheeled his chair around and bit or
two inches of 4 dry" cigar. Polls are
not taken with view of determining ma
jorites. AS a matter of fact. We did not
even foot up the totals of the first poll
taken in Kansas. They are taken for the
purpose. of determining the trend or puohc
sentiment. They show us where work
must be done. what men have joined the
enemy. what recruits We are getting, ana
what the influences are which are operat-
ing to make changes either way. Another
good result is the organization they are
the means OF effectinG among the local
party leaders. Their very smallest use Is
the totals which they give U.S. 1t IS mani
festly impossible for a complete poll OF any
state or county to be taken. The local
committeeman who do the work cannot
know everybody, and neither can they
learn with betting accuracy how all OF
those they do know are going to vote.
Let me point out to you one of the things
We have learned through the two polls tax
en- in Kansas. AT the first poll reports
from many of the counties were gloomy
Lots of free silver Republicans were listed
as of The Popocrats were on the Of
fensive and we were on the defensive.
Now from the second poll. taken by pre-
cisely the same men. everything Is renort-
ed as coming our way with a whoop. More
than Seventy-tive counties report assured
Republican gains over two years ago. The
boiling Republicans have been Sifted out
and they are found to be far less in num-
caI he
are on the run everywhere. Only five
counties out of the 100 furnish reports
which are in the slightest measure dis
couraging, and they are getting better
every day. l do not believe in giving out
figures Let the other fellows blow; we
will saw wood. We shall not let up in the
slightest degree until the last vote is in the
box, Let the boys understand that this
fight is won if they keep working until =
o'clock on Tuesday night"
In spite of the sneers Of the Popocrat
committee. it is becoming more and more
apparent that the middle-of-the-road Popu-
lists in Kansas will cut an important fig
ure in the coming election. The claim OF
Secretary Abe Steinberger that the middle
of-the-road vote will reach 10000 Is clearly
an eXaggeration. but possibly not more so
than Breidenthals prediction that the mid
dIe-of-the-roaders will not poll 800. In
Steinberger's office is file of letters which
he recently turned over to the Topics man
for inspection. There are more than 1000
of them and each of the writers pledged
himself to vote the Watson ticket, besides
naming others in his locality who will do
the same. Considering his limited time and
the poverty of his election fund, Stein
berger has put up a campaign little short
of marvellous. Every Populist voter in the
state has been reached with literature pre-
senting the middle-of-the-road side OF the
case. In a recent interview Breidenthai
congratulated his committee upon the fact
that few of the Popocrat papers were sup
porting the middle-of-the-roaders, and that
| therefore the Populst voters could not be
| reached as they refused to read the Re-
| publican papers which were printing mid
! dle-of-the-road stuff. Mr.. Breidenthal was
| reckoning without his host. On Friday
| night Steinberger sent out the last OF Io,ocO
| packages of mail addressed to Populists In
| Kansas. Each of these 10000 voters re-
| ceived Tom Watson's address urging loyal
| Populists to vote for his electors. together
| with a variety of pamphlets and papers
| denouncing the Abilene sell-out to Democ-
| racy. There Is no attempt to deceive-voters
| in this literature. 1t boldly presents Its
| purpose on the title page OF one or the
| pamphlets in these words: mo watson,
| No Bryan"
|
| In the list OF reports from Democratic
state chairmen given to the public by Ma
| tional Chairman Jones on Wednesday. was
| one from Chairman ]. Mack Love. Of Kan
| sas in which he claimed the state fot
| BRYAN by 10000 majority. For all that J.
| Mack Love or his committee know about
| the state of Kansas, he could have made
| the estimate 10000 or 75O00 with the same
| degree of accuracy. OF all the happy-so-
1 biaI, how rod
| political history of Kansas. the one put
| up by the Popocrats this year is certainly
| the worst They have no organization
| worthy of the name, and the campaign has
| run itself in a hit-or-miss sort OF way
| which leaves the leaders in total ignorance
! of the real situation. They have taken nc
| POLL of the state. They do not know hall
| the time where their own speakers are
| They disappoint audiences by breaking en-
gagements and then curse each other fol
| bringing affairs into such topSy-turEy
| condition. As an Illustration. they had
| Congressman Bailey, Of Texas, billed In
| two Kansas towns on the same night
| when he wasn't within n thousand miles OF
| the state and had no intention Of coming
The only man in the aggregation who
| knows how to run a campaign is Johr
| Breidenthai, and so far as anyone car
| discover he is holding himself entirely
| aioof the present campaign-a fact which
| was significantly set forth in his letter tt
| w. d. Vincent. The only consultations
| which have taken place between Breiden
| thai and Love have been In the nature OF
| quarrels. Doster. Boyle and other of the
| campaigners refuse to recognize the au-
| thority of the fusion committees. and speak
| when and where they choose. regardless ol
| the routes marked out for them. Chair
| man Love has devoted his energies to two
1 things both of which he has accomplished
| fairly we'll One is the collection of 81
| assessments from country postmasters, anC
| the other is getting into the public prints
| with predictions that Kansas will give
Bryan 1000 majority. Seated in his room
| on the third floor of the fusion headquar
| tiers building, he can take his pen in hanG
| and figure out majorities with readiness
| which is only equaled by its recklessness
| But even in this he came to grief the othel
day. One of the newspaper reporters who
| had received his regular weekly prediction
| of lOOO0 for Bryan asked him how the
congressional districts were going. Tit
| question was put so innocently that out o.
hand Chairman Love gave him the figures
| Instead of footing up 1900 they fell shor
of 17.ccO.
The Topics man got at the private figure.
| of Mr.. Love and his associates the othel
| day, and they gave Bryan 10000 majority
This result was arrived at by the follow
| ing system of reckoning: In 1894 the Re
publicans had $4,000 votes; the Populists
1lS,0O0; the Democrats. 26,0 900, and the Pro
hibitionists. 5000. First. Mr.. Love give
Gratis and takes 2l,0cO for the Popocra
| ticket This leaves the totals. Republic
] an, $4,000; Popocrats, $4,000. Then with
bold stroke of his pen he subtracts l2.o
free silver Republicans and adds them t,
the Popocrat vote. leaving the totals: Pop