The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-24
MAKING CAMPAIGN BUTTONS.
An Industry Which FIourishes Every
Presidential Year.

campaign specialties has developed as a
feature of national elections of greater
Industrial importance than is commonly
realized. Every four years nowadays
there is set at work small army OF
labor just to- turn out these specialties
The employment holds steady for Period
ranging from four to six months at full
time and good wages.
The Republican National Committee
alone has ordered approximately 100000
Mckinley and Roosevelt buttons from
June 20 to the present time. This is prob
ably less than half the total number the
committee will order before November b.
And this again Is but fraction OF the
whole campaign button business. Many
of the State committees order an indie
pendent supply of Presidential buttons,
the Democratic National and State COM
mittee have to be supplied with Pessi-
bly, an equal number, and nearly every
one of the nominees upon the many State
and Congress district tickets all over the
country has few thousand lapel minia-
lures of himself struck off.
There is a regular demand for buttons
of different sorts. and sizes, which keeps
the faatories running between times. but
the hey-day of the button makers is the
Presidential campaign Activity in the
trade begins with the first suggestion of
a candidate likely to meet with favor in
the nominating convention. This candi-
date orders a few thousand buttons, to
be scattered around for the purpose CT
demonstrating a public sentiment" faT-
orable to him. Each of his rival ear.ii-
dates follows suit, and the button fac
tories start under full blast. This is only
the preliminary business, and the button
maker in the mean time sets himself to the
task of picking the winner" y.
There is competition in the button
business. as in all things; and the shrewd
button man knows that the manufacturer
who is on hand the moment political
convention adjourns with barrelful of
buttons ready made, bearing the right
portrait and an appropriate motto, Will
get the cream of the campaign trade. BY
much practice, certain button makers
have gained a reputation for being very
accurate political prophets. Betting
odds have been known to turn few
points upon tip that 1.-The button man
banked on such candidate as the choice
of the convention. Not only en- the ma
tional tickets do the button men try their
hand, but on ali the party conventions of
most of the States they make predictions.
They are more familiar with the promi-
nent men and with local political condi-
tions in the different States than the ma
iority of the long time national cam
paigners.
Immediately after the conventions have
framed their tickets the button man VINO
has been successful in the game of guess
ing nominees begins to get orders, and,
so long as he can turn them out quick
enough to suit the demand for his but
tons is practically unlimited. The IN
lucky guessers have only to wait how
ever until the height of the campaign to
catch some of the overflow on rush Or
ders.
The largest OF the button factories is in
this city From 500 to 600 OF its employees
are kept busy on exclusively campaign
work from July / right up to election day.
That factory is now, according to the
statement of It's proprietor. turning out
political buttons and badges at the rate
of approximately 100000 a day.
The process of button making IS largely
mechanical and quite simple. The port. ait
is not a photograph on celluloid. as it al'-
pears to be in the best work. but simply
an ordinary cut OF color print on papec
protected by a sheet of transparent cellu-
loid The pictures are run off in large
sheets on regular printing presses and
are then cut out and pasted on the metal
backs of the buttons. The metal part has
a convex front and when the celluloid film
is fitted snugly to 1t It makes the portrait
perfectly resemble "a photograph upon the
film itself. A ''stem" by which TO hold
the button in a buttonhole is fastened to
the metal back In such way as to hold
the film tight, and the button is finished.
The pay of the button makers ranges from
s12 to s1s a week, according to the char
aeter Of their work. When on sale in
small quantities such buttons would go for
about l cent apiece. In the wholesale
manner that the campaign committees buy
them. however, the price Is very greatly
reduced.
Next to the campaign buttons in impor-
lance come the campaign Autographs.
These are customariIy confined to like
nesses of the Presidential and Vice Presi-
Dental candidates The demand for lith-
osraphs has largely increased in the last
two or three campaigns, since the custom
arose among the more jealous partisans
OF displaying portraits of the favored cam
iiIates in every window of home Office,
and factory.
aside from Autographs. buttons, and
printing. there are many incidentals that
coEle in to help out industrial activity dur
ing a campaign. The banners s, torches, and
uniforms. and the calcium lights and
searchlights which are used at the hust-
ings represent large contribution to the
wages of labor. Then there is practically
no limit to the number of novelties that
use may be found for if the designers are
only bright enough to get them properly
before the campaign managers. a new
idea which was only matter of some
printing on white cardboard was suggested
to certain Democratic lead, IS in this city
the other day, with the result that orders
for 200, coo were placed in half an hour.