The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-15


probably over-estimated by most OF
them. Guesses of 10000, $4,000 and
even 100000 sometimes seem justified
to the novice by the crowds which
flock to the convention, but the ma
Jority of the convention crowds is al
ways made up of local people. Bear
ing this in mind and taking into con-
sideration the views of the railroad
men, who ought to know, it is safe to
put down the visiting attendance al
ten for each delegate and alternate
say, 10000 or Whereabouts. With this
as a basis, some idea may be obtained
as to the probable amount of money
spent on the convention.
1t is safe to assume that the average
round trip railroad fare paid by the
400 persons who run and report the
convention will be SIS each, or $4,000
some of them will pay good deal
more, for they come from all parts of
the country-and that the visiting at
PENDANTS" pay IS in roundtrip fares
each, or $780, 00-$166 900, 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 it's
minimum length, no matter how peace
full its deliberations.
Figuring the hotel and other ex-
penses of the 24,400 people who will
run, report and attend the convention
at $40 a day each, the total will be
$732,000, and the grand total of money
paid to the railroads and the city will
be $89S,000 Accepting this total, which
is under the probability, even should
the convention be a short one, as cor
rect, it will be seen that the money put
up by the city and the railroads to run
the convention proper is less than 10
per cent. of the returns. In this light
the investment doesn't seem foolish.
Cost of Reporting Conventions.
1t is not possible to estimate the
probable cost of reporting the conven-
ton so simply. These figures, furnished
by General Manager Melville E. Stone,
show how much it costs the Associated
Press to report the various conventions
of 1896:
Republican ...... .............$ 5000 SO
Democratic ...... ............. 12,6O0 "a
Populist and Silver :. ......... $500 90
Gold Democrat ........ ....... $500 10
$31.221 81
AS there will probably be only~two
big conventions this year, and the Re
publican Convention, at least, will be
a short one, the Associated Press will
probably be called upon to expend not
more than $4,000 in convention report
ing. 1t takes about ten stenogra phic
reporters and fifteen correspondents
and editors to cover a convention for
the Associated Press, and as the fig
ures given above show, the cost of con-
Vention reporting is in direct ratio to
the length and strenuousness of the
gathering.
Nearly all the big daily newspapers
of the country depend upon the Asso-
ciated Press for their routine conven-
ton reports, though some receive them
through other sources, and there are
at least a hundred that send from one
to ten or fifteen people of their own to
the convention city to do special
stunts of one sort and another. At
low estimate these papers will spend
100000 for special reports, telegraph
tolls, photographs, etc. Besides, there
will be special expenditures, extra
wires, private messages and the like
along Geographic lines, quite outside
the newspaper service, Of at least &c.,
900.
Table of Expenses.
To recapitulate, the itemized cost of
a three-day National Convention will
be about as follows, at the least:
Convention expenses proper,
paid for by the railroads
and the convention city -. $4,000
lldllTOdQ IdreS OF QeleRaJeS.
alternates, sergeant-at-arms'
convention staff" newspaper
men, national committeeman
and others in the miscel-
laneous class (4,400 people in
alp at SIS each ............. $4,000
Railroad fare of 10000 visit
ing attendants" at IS each. 100000
Hotel and other expenses of
24,400 persons, including all
visitors, those who run and
those who report the conven-
ton, three days, at $40 a day
each :. Observation-Disclosures. 782, 900
Cost of reporting the con-
vention: $4,000 for Asso-
ciated Press; $4,000 for
rival news associations, and
100000 for individual news
papers .. Observation-Disclosures. 10000
Extra commercial telegraph
ing and sundries ............. 10000
1Oldl 81, lU0,U UO
This grand total of $1,103, 900 for il
three-day convention is at the rate
of $685., 1888 a day, or about one-third
as much as it cost to carry on the war
with Spain.
1t was different in the early days of
the republic. Only the expenses of
opening the polls and counting the
of George Washington, which was
unanimous; none at all for his nomi-
nation, for there was no other candi-
date; and next to nothing in the can
didates for Vice-President only, of
whom there were eleven. But with
the birth of political parties the cost
of nominations, campaigns and cleo
tions began to grow. The cost Of
nominations took a big jump when
the older, simpler WAYS gave pIaca IN
the modern method of nomination by
convention
The First National Convention.
The first National convention to
nominate a successful candidate for
the Presidency was held by the Demo-
cnats seventy-two years ago, after
seven chief executives had been placed
in the Presidential chair.
Washington, John Adams and Jeffer
son were recognized Shy common con-
sent" as appropriate candidates. Madi-
AMNN ns@L~-