Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-24
How the Republican Cam
paign Was Run.
A GOOD ORGANIZATION
DEFEAT OF 1900 TAUGHT A
VALUABLE LESSON.
Wilcox's Home Rule Party Had No
Such Perfect System and Lost
in Consequence.


HONOLULU, T. H, November H. 1902.
Explanations now in order in Hawaii,
the election having ended with a crushing
defeat for the Wilcox royalist party, and
Delegate to Congress r. w. Wilcox has
added his explanation to those of others.
ut was because we lacked the money, the
sinews of war" said the delegate. 1--WE had
nothing to fight with but our convictions
and our tongues. We had no organization
1--WE fought hard for what we thought to
be best and with the means at our COM
mand we did the best we could. But at the
best 1t was mob fighting a trained army.
You cannot organize without money. and
the republican party was the rich and pow
erful side
The republican party of Hawaii has, in
fact an organization which Mark Hanna
might be proud of in its field. The result
of the election undoubtedly is due largely
to the manner in which the fight was con-
Quoted. and 1t is splendid example of
what thorough organization can do. Two
years ago the republicans in Hawaii went
down to defeat, and the ballots were
scarcely counted before there was gen.
eral demand for a thorough organization
of the party, and the work for the next
campaign was begun Immediately after the
defeat. 1t has continued ever since. There
since Wilcox was elected with a home rule
legislature during which the republican ter
ritorial central committee has not been at
work on every island of the group.
The Unit of Organization.
An organization was perfected with the
precinct club the unit of organization,
and every voting precinct had its club
formed. Next above the club was the dis
trict committee. then the territorial central
committee, and above ALL of course, the
convention, elected by the precinct club
members. The system worked smoothly
and well. and when the actual campaign
began the party was ready.
1t was striking contrast to the home
rule system, under which Delegate Wilcox
and Senator Kalauokalani assumed abso
lutte dictatorship. They named the men
who had seats in their party convention
and they refused to have primaries any
system that gave the rank and file of the
party a chance. This was the cause of the
tai bolt from the party of Prince Cupid,
the successful republican nominee.
A Campaign of Education.
The campaign once begun the republicans
made 1t campaign of education" with
vengeance Those VINO have seen an Amer
lean national campaign in progress, and
especially those who have seen it from the
national headquarters, where the busy ma
tional committee always has a literary de-
partment, know that the sending out of
campaign literature Is one of the great
works of the campaign. The same Is true
Of state and territorial organizations. But
IL figures We're compared Hawaiis repubH-
can organization probably did as much in
the campaign of education" line, in proper
ton to the field for labor. any other
committee. Among about 1900 voters no
less than 740O0 campaign documents in
English, Hawaiian and Portuguese were
distributed. The most widely circulated
document of all was an address by ex-
Senator John NJ. Thurston, which was
translated into Hawaiian. Six thousand
buttons bearing a portrait of Prince Cupid
were distributed, and they were worn in
button holes all over the islands.
In addition to the dissemination of liter
allure the republicans showed great activity
in speechmaking. Their campaigners Wis.,
tied every nook and corner of the Islands.
Molokai was visited three times, and the
speeches at the leper settlement carried
that former home rule stronghold by 127
TO 80.