The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-15
A UNIQUE JOB IN POLITICS.
THE SEEGEiN7-iT-IRNS Or
NIIIOylL CONTENTION.
lie Il Really the Business Manager OF t"o
Meeting OF Ills Party and Has "hr'e"
and Lnborious Duties Long work :"
Preparation Large Sums spent ny HIM.

''f ssN'bt wv" h'"ht1 s''
Preparation Large Sums Spent by hi"''
In N. eye Of the public, the permanent cha'
man Of a national convention Is by far the most
Important officer of such n gathering bn' 'he'e
Is one other finctionary who is quite aS mus
~l"nSable and often has greater acunai po"''
tn" chairman has no patronage, or next 'o none
nj his command, but this other iuh'uohn'S'
officially known as the scrgeant-atarms gives
II ou, in chunks Ills title would be far more
accurate were he termed the conventions pnSi'
ness manager,
The sergeant Al arms Is appointed by the con-
yention's sub committee Of the National Com
mit,ce. All matters Of general convention policy
are discussed and settled by the sub
but the CARRYING out Of the details Is ihfusted
10 the sergeant solely. In short the
sergeant at arms is in the way OF dong either
a good deal Of good or n good deal oil harm, ac'
cording To his lights. Financially, MS resl"ns'
hlli,lrs are heavy, since, besides the large amounts
he pays out In local expenses, he mas TO arrange
IN a measure for THE expenditure Of several lines
rs much more, and thus the total expenses OF a
convention may b. greatly Increased or decreased
by the sergeant at arms. II certainly may DE
said with truth that he must be a man OF excep-
tional judgment, great capacity and unusual
executive force.
Naturally, one of the first things TO which the
sergenntat arms must give attention Is the puid-
ing in which the convention is 10 be held IL Is
not sufficient that it shall contain a big enough
auditorium to seat the delegates and Others IN
attendance, II mus, have many auxiliary features
that are possessed by few OF the great halls, IL
is not too much, perhaps, 10 say that there is only
one building in the United States not built or
remodelled expressly for the holding Of a nauonGl
convention. tha, could he used lof mat PHtl"Se e
without many changes ana addlliolls ms "
Madison Square t,anlen, IN New York In 1870
a building had To be- specially erected for the he
publican Convention in ~. Louis, the city inca
having no structure at all adapted 80 convention
uses, This made lhe total convention cost oi
that year very larE", but the building remained
after the adluu rnmeatOt IN" con,ehuol' ana VIII
he available for any like national gatherings
that may hereafter be held in ST Louis
Many thousands Of dollars mus, t. Slfhi ON
convention H. To be- held this year, Deiote II
will be ready for the big gathering The auditor
ium It's Il must lie remodelled, a number OF walt
ing, sub commitlee and other special rooms must
lr put IN, new sanitary and ventilation systems
must l- provided and facilities for the correspond
ents and reporters must h' created These III
Clude desks and seats in the big hall, a wnung
room Just oil the hall, rooms Tor the upt rhtor>
81 the two biz telegraph companies and the press
associations and the installation ul wires ana III
struments.
In making the hail ready for the convention,
then, IN" sergeant al arms must nave dealings
with architects, hullupr r., electric Oltiltter r., plumb
rrS and all SORTS Of tAdeSp"uple, besides me news
papers, the press associations and the telegraph
companies. and this part ul his duties alone VIII
test alike his patience, his tact and his capacity
for work. one Of the most difficult tasks OF the
sergeant at arms will De To satisfy the neH Spdl%rS.
Readers Of the full convention reports mat VIII
APPEAR IN the newspapers next June ana July
may occasionally give a thought or TWO 10 me
immense amount Of labor involved in the daily
presentation Of The news hot from the bat but
no one who has not had something to do with the
uHfk can huNp unN save thp most INADEQUATE
notion of the preliminary detailed work that alone
makes them possible. To begin with, the ser
geant at arms must be absolutely impartial IN
arranging the press facilities. That is he must
see Ia 1t that no one newspaper, press association
or telegraph company has undue advantage over
any Of the others. OF course, greater facilities are
given To the Z reat M wspapers 0f New York. Chica
~, Philadelphia and Boston than to papers III NE
smaller towns,
arms were fully Indicated by the foregoing para
graphs he would have comparatively an easy time.
but his work would b. only PARTIALLY done were
he To- stop with getting the hall III good order and
making the arrangements for the press. Pro
yIding for the comfort and convenience 81 The
delegates Is really the most Important oil all ms
tasks. This involves arranging the seats IN the
body Of tie hall and The galleries So that all shall
BE- satisfied, and furnishing the various sub
committee rooms and the like There are nck,
cts aud badges u he Iruted, and, though You
mlEhtut think II, thls l. a Job Of no small mag
ntlde Giving out the contract for printing
the tickets Is one Il the first things attended To-,
J u HhN tllFtAAN VI lHh' hlNA ~ W. ~ f''''
can sergeant At arms # tbs years Convention,
and probably 10y the corresponding Democratic
functonary also Arrangements have also 10
be made by tie sergeant at arms with the hotels
as 20 headquarters iUr Tie various delegations,
and WITH the railroads concerning rates II fare
and the running Of special trains; Cordial reia-
tilns must le CuluN atcd with the local police
and fire departments, and there are almost mum
herless other matters If detail that the conven-
tons UNDERSTANDING must see carried through
10 a sue, eSstul finish.
The appointing of assistant Sergeants alarms
is by no means one Of the least uf hls troubles.
There are generally 100 II these at least, appor
toned among the various States, and the demand
for places on. the stall II tie c"nventIun'S mana
ger Is extremely lively. \nmlnally he decides
who shall serve, but actually his decisions are
based uJ"n the recommendatlons Of the dele
gates. Each Of these il almost sure 10 aSk Tor
more places than can be- gi'en, and the sergeant
a. sometimes has a hard time To- nNoll max
ing enemies IN rejecting those for whom places
cannot ho iou"d.
At Grst blush Won might wonder why any one
would put up a fight To- be nm assistant sergeant
al arms, sine" no ray, not even expenses, accom-
mnins appointments Of this sort, and some Of the
apppintccs, at least, have To work like beaver,
from the beginning 10 the end of the convention,
helping 10 keep things in order But iut the brief
spac" IL tim" during which the convention is In
session the assistant sergeant alarms Is a per
son OF som" consequence. lie wears a badge
which admits him to oil parts of the convention
hall, h. j. in great dcmcnd among thoS" IN attend
his face is reasonably SURF 10 become more or
less familiar 10 SOM ot III" party magnates. More
than on holder IT pity government place has
mndr his start on thr r'mun'ratiyc side II politics
~ serving "a deputy sergeant at arms at cOnven-
ton time.
Mter the deputy sergeant at arms come the
doorkrpIprS. They ar not So numerous as the
deputies md their number varies according to the
matur, " the hall IN which the gathering is held,
the rule being 10 aprulnt two one Tor day service
and the Other iyr night service, for each door.
They are drawn from the ranks Of those generally
known as h%enchmHn, though the term Is not used
here In any hrlltlIng :, nsc, The dOOrkeppers,
like the deputies. serve without Jay and for simI-
Ter considerations; their facilities Tor making them
selves known 10 the real powers in the party are
not much less than 'hOS" afforded the deputy
s"TErants AT arms, but they have less chance
10 sec The fun ON the floor 81 tEc hall because their
duties keep them outside at the doors much Of th.
time II is possible, however, for the clever door
keeper 10 slip INSIDE some Il The time, and, ~
course, the day man can Se the proceedings Of
thu night sessions, and vice versa.
.AS might w. cOnlecturcd, The sergrant.at arms
has 70 have many other assistants besides those
who help while the convention IL actually IN lns
sion. In he weeks Il his preliminary labors
he has 10 transact as much business rs the mana
ger Of a great commercial enterprise, and this
requires typowritrrs. rookkocierS, messengers.
CLERKS and %nll.round assistants Of several grndes.
II also requires rather eytcnSiv" ufic' facilities.
and u. g.. Nlswell II Wisconsin. who WILL be
sergeant NJ arms. Il III" Republican convention
this year, hn1 already chosen his hoaduuartnrs
NJ ON # the Philadelphia hotels. When The
convention Is NJ hand h. Las likewise tr anray,
n CORPS ~ w%nichrcu 0rd sctuhwomen 10 keep the
big building in HUIl' ui' urtnr.
Though he Is kept constantly busy all through
The weeks " preparnlinr, his real rush doesn't
come Ill the first day Of the convention From
then till tho adjourn mcnt he is the most harassed
he isn't a physical wreck by ii" tim" the gathering
| diSDsrspS its hpCauSr he il blessed with nm inn,