The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-11-11
RAILROAD CAMPAIGNING.
One Novelty Developed by This Years Presi-
dental Election.

The political campaign of 1900 saw n marked
development OF railroad campaigning. a form
of vote getting carried on notably by William
J. Bryan for tho Democrats and Theodore
Roosevelt for the Republicans. The earliest
form Of campaign speaking in the United States
was based upon the English method OF Par
liamentary contest known as speaking In the
h~ustings. the hustings being a place in which
the voting for Member Of Parliament Is car
ried on. subsequently. with the usual Ameri-
can regard for fair play, even in the most acri-
monious political contests. the favored plan
of campaigning was the division OF time, where
by rival candidates for the same ONCE would
appear before one audience. dividing evenly
the time for speeches. and having a chair
man selected with reference to his Impair
tiality rather than to his partisanship.
Tho most notable of these divided-time
campaigns was the ons held Jointly by Abra-
ham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas when
they were rival candidates for election No
United States Senator from Illinois. Mr..
Douglas prevailed in the contest. but as a re-
suit OF 1t Mr.. Lincoln became the Republican
nominee for President Of tho United States
and was elected In 1902 As the cities o. the
United States have grown In population, and
"a the indictments In them to violence have
increased, tho plan Of ioiNt political debates
has had to be abandoned. except in those States.
the number Of which Is steadily diminishing,
In which there arc no large cities
The next phase in the DEVELOPMENT Of cam
paien oratory in the United state. was that
Of sounding the KEYNOTE, "a r. was generally
called A political leader Of the importance
in public life 81 Roscoe Conkling Thomas
A. Hendricks, Oliver r, Morton, Horatlo Sew
y,pt,r ~ rIas Stirnpar EaCrra II papIla,rp
Samuel ] Tilden or James 4. Garfield would
select with tho aid Of the state Committee
OF his party a town or CITY in which. many
days in advance Of the occurrence, he was billed
Ia speak. The town selected was usually
a central ono and usually the capital.
The speaker, Pepublicln or Democrat. as
the case might be. would be heard usually
for two or three hours. during which he would
define In detail the various issues az the can
vaS= as his party was expected 20 understand
them. and many thousand copies 81 this speech
were circulated for the guidance ~ all cam
paiGn speakers on the same side Of the political
house. It was what was known ne so1rd'nc the
KEYNOTE. and there il no recorded instance Of
a campaign orator OF either party presumine
10 sol w on his own account any paramount
issues or anything resembling them after the
real KEYNOTE had been struck.
with the increase Of tho facilities OF railroad
travel, with the more general use ~ narlor
cars. private or public, with the introduction
on most Amcrcln railroads OF obser walton
care. the rear platform Of which is well suited
10 the requirements Of tho party campaicners.
the most effective system Of public speaking
this year has been railroad campaigning. By
this plan "a speaker may be heard twenty-five
or thirty times, perhaps. in a day. may visit
~
to audience Of thousands. where under pre-
viou- arrangements and conditions il was
possible 10 speak 10 only a few hundred
american electors have shown throughout
the present canvass a decided purpose to listen
rather To tho important men who speak briefly
than to the les notable orators whose yolu-
bilitv Is greater. They desire. too. IL seems.
to see as vel as TO hear and - rcad about the
candidates thov are asked to support, and
apparently, therefore. railroad campaigning
in American politics las coma to stay.