The Portland daily press., 1900-10-20
TRICKS OF CAMPAIGN ORA
TORS.
Inter- options Are Arranged Before
hand and Answers Made Up-One
Trick That Failed.
New Orleans Times-Democrat.)

New Orleans Times-Democrat.
Interruptions seem to be the order of
the day at political meetings this fall, .
remarked an old campaigner the other
evening. sit would be Interesting to
know how many of them are really 'on
the square, . ''What do you really mean
by 'on the square?' - asked a boy orator
in the group. why, my dear fellow, -
replied the old campaigner, "don't you
know there is nothing more effective
than the squelching Of a smart aleok who
thinks-hs has a public speaker freed by
some embarrassing question? II the
retort Is pat and witty it will win over
an audience quicker than a week Of solid
argument, 1t needn't n cessariIy be an
answer. All that is essential is that 1t
should have the quality of repartee, and
the spectators Will howl with delight.
Everybody likes to see a fresh man worst
d. But, on the other hand, If the chap
on the platform has no rejoinder ready he
is lost. The moment he begins to foun-
der or dodge he might as well turn out
the lights and 60 home. His name Is
Ishmael, alias Dennis.
$50 you will readily understand" con-
tinued the old oampaigner, with a twin
kle in his OF eye, 'that 1t is much better
and safer to carry along ones own inter-
rupters, as part Of the show, than to leave
them to more brutal chance, I'm told,
by those who know what's what, that
the practice has become quite general
among professional spellbinders. and next
campaign wouldn't be surprised to Sc
ads in the papers, running about like
this
'Wansed-First-class interrupter to
travel with orator during state campaign.
Must furnish his own gags. Preference
given 60 gent who does not object to
being kicked out Of the hall. Address,
stating lowest salary, Wellington Wind
bag, care State Central Committee.
but, joking aside, the old campaign
er went on, "there is nothing nsw in the
trick of prearranged interruption. The
! first time l ever heard 1t employed to my
! personal knowledge was during the CleVe-
land-Harr1son campaign Of 1888. One OF
the exciting incidents Of tnat strike, as
W may LOAlC4uOOLg was UuO
Of the so-calIed dudley letter, lnstructing
the Repu blican managers in Indiana to
! buy floating voters in blocks OF five. >
/ The Democrats Immediately raised the
cry of corruption and the Republicans
replied that the letter was fake. While
the issue was still red hot l happened to
1 be in Indianapolis and attended q big
Republican mass-meeting. One of the
speakers was a young politician who
has since acquired national eminence,
and who is. personally, a rattling good
fellow. When he was in the midst of his
address.a man in the audience suddenly
yelled: What about the Dudley letter.?
/ 'The Dudley letter is the letter F., re-
piled the orator, without a moment S
hesitation, and it stands for forgery and
fabrication
''Of coure, the effect was electrical, and
for fully five minutes you couldn have
beard yourself think for the applause
After the cleo ton met the speaker in
the cars. We had been school boys togeth-
er and talked freely. Chatting about the
campaign, l CHANGED to refer to the
mass-meeting episode, and he IaughingIy
admitted 1t was a 'put-up job That
Dudley affair was very ticklish subject,
said he, and l felt sure several people
would be present for the purpose of
| spr1nging it on me. So l arranged to
/ have q man there to anticipate them. and
/ allowing AOW AO WOO40 4OLAA LIS Nu0SO1OU
l had my retOrt all ready to shoot back.
If 1 had left the interruption to chance.
it might have been SO pbrased as to shut
out my little play on the word letter. -
Suppose, for instance, some chap had
said: "HoW about the Dudley instruc-
tions?' I saw the point and ADMIRED
| his fOrethOught. Since then have known
the trick to be- worked over and over
again, and could tell some funny stories,
ii L WASH t afraid of giving away a few
OF our mutual friends.
81 remember one case in which a Ger
tain bright young spellbinder arranged
With ward heller to ask him i've or six
questions in the course OF his address at
an open air gathering. He prepared a
series of Witty replies, and would, no
doubt, have made thu hit Of his life had
it. not been for the fact that the opposition
got wind of the programme, and bribad
his confederate to divulge the list Of in
terrogatories, 1t was easy to anticipate
the answ srs, and the conspiratOIs there
upon prepared a set Of rejoinders-in
other words, replies to the reply. They
were on hand at the night Of the meet
ing. When the first interruption took
place the speaker came back at the Eel
low SO cleVerly that it fairly took the au-
d1ence's breath away; but before the ap-
plause could begin man in the thick
of the crowd chlmed in with a piece OF
r0parbeo GnaG completely destroyed the
effect of the original retort. The spell
binder, who had expected nothing of the
kind, was SO disconnected that he lost the
thread of his talk, and the audience
which can always be depended upon tC
side with the last man, promptly hooteC
him. At the next interruption the
comedy was repeated, and at the thirC
the orator threw up the sponge anC
retired in confusion. When he found ou1
what had been done he was as mad as
wet hen."