The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-07
CAMPAIGN LITERATURE.
How 1t Is Prepared and Sent Out
from Chicago.
TWENTY-FIVE TONS A DAY POURED
FORTH.

1t Is Printed In Almost Every Language,
and is Sent to the Uttermost Parts of
the Land.
(Chioago Times Herald.
One hundred and fifty million doou-
ments on money. the tariff and the other
issues of the campaign. enough reading
matter to supply every man, woman
and child in the United States with two
documents each, have been distributed by
the Republican national committee from
the Chicago headquarters. All OF the
great printing presses in Chicago could
not print half of them in a month. Their
aggregate weight is 1900 tons. Sixty
great freight cars would be required to
haul them from one town to another.
These figures are sufficient to show
clearly that the present presidential cam
paign is cam paign of education as no
other In the history of American politics
has been. The Democrats have not dis
tributed as much matter, but they have
been also active and enough has been
distributed by both parties to enable
everyone DESTROYS of knowledge to be
fully acquainted with the issues.
Three floors of big building on
Wabash avenue are occupied by Captain
Thomas II. Mckee, the chief OF the
document department, who has charge
of the work of distribution. Under him
are employed a large force of men, whose
number varies from day to day accord
Ing to the exigenoies of the situation.
Sometimes Captain Mckee has had as
many as 40 men working for him, but
at the present time the number has
dropped TO eighty-ive or ninety.
These distribute the food OF campaign
literature with which Chairman Hanna
has hsen deluging the country. Over at
fhe Auditorium Perry Heath. e. V.
Smalley and the Others prepare copy for
the printers. This copy consists of argu-
ments of all sorts on the currency, the
tariff and other subjects which may be
designed to win votes for MCKINLEY.
Then 1t Is printed. Not more tnan
fourth of the documents are printed in
Chicago. Captain Mckee says they all
would have been printed here, but the
printers of the city have not been able
to handle any more of them than "a
fourth, nor could they If their presses
were kept busy from the opening until
the close OF the campaign. So the docu-
ments are printed in every part II the
country-in New York, Philadelphia.
Washington, Cincinnati, Clevelan4, and
in every big city from the Atlantic
Ocean to the gulf. All the work is done
in union Offices and every document
bears the typographical unions label.
One hundred sand forty five separate
documents are Issued by the literary
bureau. These cover every phase of the
Republican platform. By far the great
majority are on the money question, per-
haps as much as three-fourths OF the total
number. The tariff Is the subject Of the
next largest ndmber; then comes reci-
procity, foreign relations, pensions and
good govern ment, with number OF mis-
cellaneous subjects, such as the opinion
of Democrat, newspapers on the Chicago
platform and candidates. BeSides those
In English, there are documents printed
In other languages. In German there
arc twenty seven documents. There are
seven in Bohemian, seven in Swedish,
six in Norwegian, three 10 Finnish, nine
in Italian, eight in French, i've in
PolisA, three in Dutch, and two in
Hebrew.
These documents arrive at the rate of
million or mure day and are distribute
ed Just as fast as they are received. They
are of all sizes, from little by 4-inch
leaflets of fur pages to the big Rspub-
hean campaign Textbook, pamphlet of
vser 400 pages. The work of distribut-
Ing them began on Aug. II, week after
the arrival of Captain McKoe in the city.
He selecJed and trained his staff, and
with the experience which he gained at
Washington as superintendent OF the
congressional document room he has in
auxurated a wonderful system of dis
tribution which succeeds in handling
from eight to twenty five tons of matter
day in such way that he can tell at
any time just how many copies OF each
document have been distributed. where
they have been sent and other details
Most of the documents are distributed
through the state committees. The field
is divided thoroughly. The township
committees send to the county commit
tees the names OF people to whom it
might be we'll to send literature. These
In turn send the names TO the state COM
mittees, and the committees, as well as
some private persons, mike requisition
upon the document. Captain Mckee
ships his matter to the state committees
and these attend to them for distri bu
ton.
Captain Mckee sends each person q
long slip, which contains the names of
bn6 vdIlUus uOOuluCAt6 WulOu lssucu
by the literary bureau. On these slips
the chairman Of the state committee
marks how many he wishes of each
document. As they are received they are
stamped with nun boring stamp in the
order of their reoeips The date Is also
affixed, as well as information whether
they are intonded to be shipped by
freight. express OF mail. The big pack
ages are shipped by freight The middles
sized bundles, weighing twenty pound
or so, go by express, while the small
packages go by mail. These orders are
ttsn sent to the shipping clerk, who,
with his assistant, gathers together the
matter requested and sends it to
the packing clerk. He and his assist
anita wrap IL up or tie it in packages for
mail or express. Captain Mckee has in
shis department three carpenters who
do notaing but nail up great boxes of
matter to go by express. The packag
or boxes are then taken to the marking
caork, who writes the address on the
packages. 1t is then ready to be loaded
Into the big wagons, which are at the
other end of the building, standing in
the alley, waiting to receive the matter
for the EDUCATION of the voters. The mat
ter comes In at the Wabash avenue door
and rnoo ont ho a1Jav door foct &c