The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-09-18
DANGER IN TALKING.
Managers Try to Keep Their Candidates
in the BACKGROUND.


Senator Barnum several years ago, has
much convincing History to back it. No
less than half u dozen nominees for the
Presidency, since Washington first as
sumed that honor, had their efforts de-
feated and hopes blasted by some unfort-
unate slip of the tongue or mistake of the
pen.
For that reason political managers al
most invariably prefer that the candidate
stay at home. In advising Mr.. Mckinley
not to go on the stump, Mr. Hanna is sim
pie trying to pofit by the experience of
managers in pevious campaigns who have
had the wreath of victor torny from their
hands at the very hour they were about
to place it upon the candidates brow, by
some accidental utterance, misunderstood
expression, unfortunate sentence or heed
less letter of the candidate himself.
GREAT STUMPERS.
If Mr.. Bryan is elected he will be the
first successful candidate for the presi-
den"y who went on the stump in the in
terest of himself Indeed, he has but
four predecessors among presidential
nominees of all parties since the Consti-
tuition was enacted who have thought it
wise to go before the public and plead
their own cause. Those four were
Stephen Douglas, Henry Clay, Horace
Greeley and James G. Blaine. 1t may or
may not be significant that all were de-
feated. 1t will also be remembered that
Mr.. Harrison said but little in his first
campaign, and won, whereas he charmed
the country by his ''rear platform"
speeches in 1892, but lost.
Yet it appeared then, as it appears now,
that the course takenoowas the best that
could be adopted. It. certainly seemed
the part of wisdom for Douglas to take
the stumpin 1860 because of his great per-
sonal popularity, which seemed to prom
Use that the more people he met the more
votes he would win. Consequently he
worked hard during the entire campaign
and made speeches from Maine to Cali
fornia Yet he was ingloriously defeated
by Lincoln, who had remained at home
and maintained n silence as profound as
that now being observed by the gentle
man at Canton
CAMPAIGN OF 1860.
AS there were several tickets in the
field for the Campaign of 1860, just as
there are to day, and, us the present cleo
ton promises surprises and confusion, it
will he interesting to note the division of
the vote in 1860. There were four can
didates in the race, namely, Stephen
Douglas, Northern Democrat; j. c..
Breckenridge, Southern Democrat; John
Bell, Wing, and Abraham Lincoln, Re-
publican. Though Mr.. Douglas almost
monopolized the attention of the country
by means of his frequent speeches and
continuous oratory, he was almost the
last man in the race at the finish. In re-
specU to the popular vote he stood second,
but in respect to the electoral vote he
was found TO be at the very bottom of the
list when the returns were complete, hav-
ing carried but one State, that State be-
ing Missouri. His popular vote, how
ever, amounted to 100000.
Bell received popular vote of 600, 900
and carried Maryland, Kentucky, Ten
nessee and Virginia. Breckenridge re-
ceived popular vote of 100000, and
the electoral vote of all the Southern
States not carried by Bell and Douglas.
The popular vote of Lincoln was found
to be 100000 and he had the electoral
vote of every Northern and Western
State, thus electing him.
LINCOLN'S SILENCE.
But note the course he pursued 1t
was one of silence and seclusion, as re-
markable in that particular as the tao
tics pursued by Douglas were remarka-
BILE for their brilliant aggressveness.
The managers of Lincoln's campaign
were in constant fear that their candidate
would do or say something that would ir
retrievably wreck his fortunes. Cover
nor Morgan, of New York, was an active
worker for Lincoln. He and Thurlow
Weed practically managed the Republican
campaign. Both men were familiar with
Lincon's history, but they did not know
the man. They knew that he was with
out experience in practical politics, and
they trembled lest he should make ia
tai mistake in word or action. Governor
Morgan's anxiety on the subject was so
great that he induced Weed to go out to
Springfield for the purpose of warning
Lincoln against the dangers of presiden-
tail politics. al
II thought" said " eed, telling about
the trip afterward, ''that was going to
meet simple, rustic lawyer, with merely
little more talent than the average rus
tic lawyer, and l had lot of things in
my.mind, which intended to advise him
to do. | expected to meet a man who
had everything to learn and knew moth
ing to teach. But hadn't talked to him
half an hour before was asking myself
in establishment, What manner of man
Is thisT knew that during his whole
life he had never entered into active poli-
tics, practical politics. knew that he
had never been consulted by local, State
or national politicians for advice. and
was consequently altogether devoid of
practical experience. The knowledge of
inns llitu maze me form an impression
that had babe to teach, but | soon
learned that he was giving me pointers
In two hours conversation he had man
aged to learn everything knew without
telling me anything he knew
WEED COMPOUNDED
AS it is to be presumed that Mr.. Weed
had pretty good idea of his own shrewd
ness and suhtility. it is easy to believe
that he was astonished ut Lincoln's sumo
rior tnlents in that line hut he rns Inn,