The age-herald., 1900-06-18
CAMPAIGN LITERATURE
160 Million Pieces of It Sent Out to Win
 Votes in the Last Election

L. A. Coolidge in Ainslee's Magazine.
 'It has been said that the distribution of literature has come to be about the most important feature of national commit tees work. This phase of campaigning has reached truly colossal proportions. The head of the literary ureau of a national committee must be man of rare judg- ment of varied resources and of unusual executive ability. The head of the repub- lican literary bureau in 1896 was Perry s. Heath, now assistant postmaster general The head of the democratic bureau was Daniel McConvile of Ohio. Documents were sent out from both headquarters by the ton. The republican committee distri- buted over 160 million pieces of literature' Over 16000 packages were sent by freight or express, and over 130 carloads of printed matter. In the shipping department alone 2'5 people were employed The distribution by the democratic committee was almost equally large
 "The work has been reduced to a science. Each committee has lists of voters which are furnished originally by the various To- cal committees in states and congressional districts, and these lists are so arranged that so far as possible, just the right kind of document will be sent to each voter, and just the right kind of argument will be presented to each mind The republi-
 
 today each have at least 3,000,000 names their lists By far the larger proportion of documents distributed speeches in con- gress which go out under congressional franks, thus reducing immensely the ex- penditure for postage. Of such great ad- vantage is this that in the congressional session immediately preceding a presiden- tlal campaign many speeches are made, chiefly with view to their distribution Entire books have been inserted in the Congressional Record in this way In a recent congress Tom Johnson, the million aire congressman from Ohio, printed part of his speech Henry Georges book on Progress and Poverty and this was sent out by the hundreds of thousands under congressional franks. Of course, the tfonal committees have to bear the expense of paper and printing.
 This class of documents is far from comprising all that go out. The literary bureau of a national committee is a great workshop. The republican committee in 1896 employed twenty-seven writers, most of them specialists the tariff, on cur rency and on other topics of political na- ture, and these men were kept busy at headquarters constantly preparing timely material as the occasion might demand. Much of this work was sent out through the newspapers, and three or four columns of matter for this purpose were prepared every day. Statements, cards, explana- tions. interviews were distributed to the press in the guise of news. One of the rooms at headquarters lined with books of reference and two or three men were kept busy all the time responding to telegrams from all over the country asking for information on all sorts of questions
 A speaker assigned to talk in a given - town would pick up the local opposition paper his arrival and find a statement about the tariff about the currency which he thought he ought to refer to on the platform that night. He would tele- graph promptly to headquarters for exact information, and within an hour or two he would receive reply telling him exactly how he could meet the point which had been raised. Similar inquiries would come daily from editors of newspapers in remote districts which lacked reference facilities oftheir own The press bureau was high ly important adjunct to the literary depart ment Over 12,OO0 newspapers were fur nished with plate matter, patent insdes and occasiational editorials. Bulletins were sent daily by telegraph at the expense of the committee to 100 morning newspapers and to 150 afternoon prints. These bulletins ranged all the way from 100 to 300 words in length.
 There were special departments for al- most every conceivable class of population. Men were kept busy preparing documents in German, Swedish Danish, Polish and Hebrew. which were to be sent to localities which had charge of all questions relating ed to prevail. There a colored bureau which had charge of all questions relating to the colored vote and sending out litera- ture to convince the negro that his inter- ests lay In continuing to support the re- publican party. There woman's bu- reau under the charge of Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, who had fifteen women in her de- pertinent preparing for distribution litera- ture calculated to affect favorably the fem mine mind. For 1t is recognized by the politicians that, although there are few states where women are allowed to vote, there is not one in which they do not exer else a great and sometimes decisive infiu- ence upon the ballot There were depart ments to look after commercial travellers, bicycles, savings institutions and life in- surance companies"