Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-01-14

pay or for their bare expenses, or
they may be paid regular salaries.
These men may or may not be public
speakers, but they are supposed to
possess influence with certain groups
of voters, or they may be thought ca
pable OF of presenting their side of the
political question in a better light than
the average writer or speaker. For
instance man may be popular with
locomtive engineers and possess a GER
tain influence over them. He goes
among them and endeavors to infiu-
ence them to vote the ticket of the
party for which he is working. Such
men, while frequently unreliable and
false to their employers, gather a
great deal of information, and the stu.
dent should consult with them as to
their work for the purpose of compar-
ing it with information obtained from
other sources.
Distributing Literature.
The committee on literature has not
been idle during this time. The work
which has begun long before the hold
ing of the conventions has been en-
larged and increased. Documents
bearing on national and state issues
are usually furnished by the national
and state committees, sometimes d.
rect to the people and sometimes to
the county committee for distribution.
This is very important work and re-
quires careful attention. 1t sometimes
happens that the literature sent out
by the higher committees may, in the
opinion of the county committee, prove
hurtful to the party in their county,
owing to local opinion on some minor
issue or owing to the personal unpopu-
larity of the author Of the document.
In such cases the documents should
be returned, with proper explanation.
Literature should not be allowed to &C.
cumulate, but should be placed in the
hands of the voters as early as posi-
BILE. The higher committees should
be kept informed of the class or kind
of literature most likely to produce
good results and an accurate account
of all distribution should be kept.
Literature bearing on local issues
is usually prepared by the county
committee, and is distributed either by
mail or through the precinct represen-
tatives. The best plan is to have it
printed in the local newspapers and
distributed in the usual manner.
The student should practice writing
such matter, but should never put it
forth without inspection by the local
bureau. He should also practice writ
ing proclamations, manifestoes and
newspaper interviews for the use of
the committee, but should never let
them go out on his own responsibility.
He should be on the lookout for every
scrap of political information, and
should when possible write it out
ready for publication in the papers,
first submitting it to the proper au-
thority in the committee.
The student should note the kind of
literature sent to each locality. This
memorandum compared with the cleo
ton returns frequently proves valua-
BILE as determining the effectiveness of
different kinds of literature. In fact,
he should note everything of conse-
auence done in each locality, for this
same purpose.
The student should at this time be
able to answer the following ques-
tons:
Give the names of the speakers on
the committee list.
Give the names of the walking dele
gates and other agents of the commit
tee.
Describe the special features adopt
ed by the committee and their effect
up to date.
Give your opinion of the general
progress of the campaign up to this
time.
Make a prediction as to the result
of the election. giving the vote by pre-
cincts or districts, giving reasons in
brief for the losses or gains compared
with former years. Date and sign this
prediction, seal it in an envelope, and
give it to a friend to be opened after
the election. 1t will prove both inter-
esting and useful as a test of your
acknowledgement, 1901, Lewis D.
SAMPSON