The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1904-06-16

EnOThOuS E<NpchSSS hAS Dh'AUN~s
The country is getting ready to spend
rather more than a million dollars IN
a candidate for the presi-
dency at Chicago in the three or four
days beginning June 81, when the Re-
publican national convention is to be
held.
In three or four days beginning July
6 at least as much will be spent for
like purpose by the Democratic nation
al convention, to be held in st. Louis.
As the Democratic convention seems
likely to be the more strenuous Of the
two and may last longer, more money
will probably be spent in st. Louis
than in Chicago. 1t will certainly cost
81 100000 to place the two leading
presidential candidates before the peo-
pie, and this big sum will be consid-
erably larger if either nomination
should be hotly contested. These hg-
ures may seem excessive, but here are
a few facts to bear them out:
Needs Small Army.
In the first place, it will take be-
tween 1000 and 5000 men and women
to run the convention and report its
proceedings This small army will be
divided into five general classes, OF
which the delegates will be most I'M
portant. numerically as well as other
wise. They will number about 1000,
half being actual delegates and half
alternates. To be exact, so far as the
Republican convention is concerned,
there will be 972 delegates from the
States, and an average Of four each
from the six territories of Alaska. Ari-
zona, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Porto Rico, or "a in all, making a
total of 996, or grand total of dele
gates and alternates of 1892.
The convention STAIR includes dep
uty sergeants-at-arms, ushers, messen-
gels. pages and dOOrkeepers. Based on
til. average of past conventions, there
will be 200 deputies, 200 ushers, 200
messengers. 200 pages and 100 door
keepers-9OO all told-and there may
be more.
Next come the newspaper men-and
wOmen-including shorthand reporters,
correspondents. photographers, artists,
telegraphers and messengers. There
will probably be about a thousand Of
them in all; between 400 and 500 press
seats are always reserved in the con-
vention hall, with the assumption that
ut least half of the newspaper repre-
their work elsewhere than in the hall
itself-at the hotels, in committee
rooms, etc. Possibly the number of
actual working newspaper folk at the
national convention may not be more
than 400 or 500, but at least thou
sand press credentials are undoubtedly
given out always.
Last comes the miscellaneous class,
and 1t is very miscellaneous indeed. 1t
includes the national committeeman
as in number. one from each State),
their private secretaries, stenOgraph-
err and clerks, the working Office force
of the sergeant-at-arms (as distinguish
ed from his convention staff'O, the
employees at the various candidates
headquarters, and ''all not otherwise
classified" These latter would swell
the miscellaneous class to 500 at least
at q convention before which several
candidates were to be placed in nomi-
nation, as may be the case at st.
Louis this year. The visiting attend
ance" averages about 10000.
Railroad and Hotel Bills.
1t is safe to assume that the aver
age round trip railroad fare paid for
the 4,4O0 persons who run and report
the convention will be SIS each, or
S66, ,OOO-some of them will pay a good
deal more. for they come from all
parts Of the country-and that the
visiting attendance pay S. in round
trip fares each, or 1OO,OOO-$166,OO 600,
all told, for the railroads. The returns
to the hotel and other entertainment
purveyors will be much larger, even
If the convention lasts only three days.
This will be its minimum length, no
matter how peaceful its deliberations.
Figuring the hotel and other expenses
Of the 24,40O people who will run, re-
port and attend the convention at $40
a day each, the total will be S732, 900,
and the grand total of money paid to
the railroads and the city will be $685.
600.
The Associated Press will probably
be called upon to eXpend $4,000 in
convention reporting. 1t takes about
ten stenographic reporters and fifteen
correspondents and editors to, cover a
convention for the Associated Press.
The cost Of convention reporting is in
direct ratio to the length and strenu-
BUSINESS of the gathering.
Nearly all the big daily newspapers
Of the country depend upon the Asso-
ciated Press for their routine conyen-
ton reports, though some receive them
through other sources, and there are at
least 100 that send from one to ten
or fifteen people of their own to the
convention city to do special stunts of
one sort or another. At low esti-
mate these papers will spend 100000
for special reports, telegraph tolls, pho
tographs, etc. Besides, there will be
special expenditures, extra wires, pri-
vatc messages and the like along tele-
graphic lines, quite outside the news
paper service, of at least $4,000.
Thus grand total of S1,1O3. 900 for
a three-day excursion is at the rate of
$36i,333 day. or about one third as
much as it cost to carry on the war
with Spain.
From Far and Near.
Cliff Slaughter, aged 20, died at Chilli
cOthe Ohio from an abdominal st,h