Evening star., 1902-09-12
MILLIONS OF SPEECHES
WORK OF THE REPUBLICAN CON-
GRESSIoNAL COMMITTEE.
Documents Sent Out From the Union
Building in This City-Cam-
paign Methods.

There are about twenty-five employees Ii
the literary bureau of the republican con-
gressional committee in this city engaged
in placing speeches in envelopes prepara
tory to sending them to nominees for Con-
gresS fyr distribution. Up to the present
time about three million copies of speeches
have been received here, and more than
two and half millions have been distrib-
uted. Every copy of d document intended
for circulation is placed in a franked en-
velope ready for mailing. These are for
warded to congressional istricts in bulk,
and the address is placed on them by the
republican nominee who is making the fight
for election.
This distribution does not indicate that
the congressional committee is making any
unusual effort in the distribution of cam
paign literature this year, although it is
no criterion of what may be done before
the ballots are cast in November. The
campaign is dragging along just now. The
republicans are not at all scared They
are working mechanically according 10
approved rules. 1t has frequently happen
ed that three or four weeks before the
election has taken place a scare would
be tnaugurated which would result in set
ting printing presses at work and the send
ing out of myriad of documents. There
has been no such scare yet. Besides the
distribution of about two and a half mil
lion speeches the committee has sent out
$1,000 copies of its campaign books. Speech
eS that now being sent out are those
of Representative Hamilton of Michigan
on trusts; Senator Galinger of New Hamp-
shire on the tariff Representative Charles
B. Lands of Indiana on the Philippine
question; Representative Cannon of Illi-
nois reviewing important legislation of
the last session and of Representative
Cooper of Wisconsin on civil government in
the Philippines
Campaign Methods.
Campaign methods change like every kind
of organized effort There is this year some
tendency toward giving preference to work
by spellbinders rather than to the printed
page. \ speaker will talk to a couple of
thousand of people, and they all hear what
he has to say. He may make two speeches
a day, though one good set address repeated
in effect daily to a large audience is pretty
good work, except in the heat Of the cam
paign. These campaign speeches have a
definite cost, and when this cost is placed
against the cost of sending out sufficient
number of speeches to guarantee that an
equal number of people read them the rea-
tive advantages of the two methods of
reaching the people can be compared. Just
now the popular campaign orator is more
In vogue than are printed speeches. 1t is
not likely that the record of the literary
bureau Will reach that of some former
years.
In 1886 the republican campaign commit
lee sent out u bDn(0 documents In 1900
they distributed 6,7i5,0D0 speeches, but in
1900 the distribution by that committee was
rot so large as four years previously be
cause or the unusual activity of the ma
tional committee. The national committee
III 1910 broke all previous record by sending
out from Chicago 10000 900 COPIES Of
speeches ard documents, not counting post
ers. On years. such as the present cam
pa1gn, never call out the full fighting
strength of the party, and this is shown bY
a reduction in its literary output.
Preparations for Big Business.
The committee has made every prepara-
ton for doing an enormous business in doc
unents should it be deemed necessary as
the campaign progresses. II has under
rent the entire second floor of the Union
building. which is especially convenient fer
Its purposes. branch post office 5
located on the first floor of the building
The force at work there now IS lost in The
big room. and yet 1t Is capable of placing
daily. -.
Besides employed there is a large
waiting list. and it only REQUIRES a word
from headquarters TO allow an increase in
facilities sufficient TO send out half a mil
hon or million speeches daily This was
the case IN chicago in 1899. A small force
was running along there and as late as Oc-
toper II scare was sent out from the
republican headquarters, and in a day
printing presses were started up and 1iD
additional clerks We're called in to dispose
of the documents turned out The big
work room of the committee in this city
VIII probably not be fully used, but it has
been secured TO provide against all ext
gency of the campaign.
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