The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-14
THE HUMOROUS SIDE
OF GAME OF POLITICS.

eariySin d campaign that unless they arc
"hclpcdn Iii some way by the national
committee to which they appeal II VIII
be lnconvcnfent for them to devote n
proper amount OF space TO booming
the candidate. Payments To these pp-
lIiical soldiers Of fortune usually take
the form OF standing orders for a certain
number. of papers Of eaoli issue the or.
icrs ranging from 5000 TO 10, 900 copies.
4 The campaign orator does not cut the
figure In politics that he did in former
years the multiplication j. of printing
presses and telegraph lines has struck
heavy blow to his prestige MS a creator
and ,nolder OF public opinion. but his M
nucncc is still great and must be taken
into account by campaign managers.
5Dnr,nr tho months OF 4 national cam
paisn hundreds OF speakers or national.
and local reputc are kept constantly ei1,-
ployed by the national and State cons
mittees. the efforts of those under the
direction OF she national organization
being. as n rule, confined to the close and
doubtful states. The expense OF all these
speakers are paid, but their services are
generally given without expectation or
monetary reward. In tho cases of men
OF exceptional gifts Of oratory, or OF
those who cannot afford to neglect their
business without money recon,pense,
fees arc paid. though an effort is gcner-
ally made to keep the fact Of such pay
ment secret. as when 1t fis known the
orator Is looked upon ms a special pleaders
and ibis arguments carry little weight.
,The result, OF this flood OF campaign Or
.atory Is an open question. AS r Republican
mass meetings are attended IN the nam
BY Republican voters, the number Of con-
-, 81 t>oF Still
they serve to create enthusiasm. to nlain-
tain and Improve discipline and, rs It
we're, to close up and steady the party
ranks, Very useful for the same pur-
pose arc the campaign clubs and socie-
ties. whose organization and equipment
cost in the ggrcgate a large L sum. Inc
money which a national committee gives
Ia its several State committe cs Is sent
eruasingly, and the latt ter are always
urged to raise all they can themselves.
l5- Many Uses for Money.
rhe routine work Of a national COM
.mittee requires the renting Of spa cious
quarters the employment ola large force
Of clerks, stenographcrs and messeng gers,
all Of whom aret,well paid for their SER
vices. and the committee generally sus-
5tains the expense OF the party parades
and demonstrations held In / ~ ew1i q ork
city during the campaign months = hese
parades and demonstrations do not ma
3terially alter the result in the m etropolis
and are not expected to-. but their inf1u-
ence as imposing partisan spectacles are
believed 10 have a good effect upon the
country at large. Thus 1t will be seen.
that while the sums Of money collected
for campaign purposes swell Yea rly,f the
ways Of spending them more than keep
pace with the means OF raising them.
With the growing use Of money in poll
tics it has been found more 70 md more
desirable that t he chairman of tional
committee should be n man of large
private fortune, with a credit and bust
ness status which inspire confidence ana
respect When subscriptions are slow in
coming in and he has as yet only prom
5ises In lieu of cash. he mnst become re-
5sponsible for or advance the funds need
ed to meet current expenses and these
advances often amount to several hun-
dred thousand dollars If there is a short
age aft,r8the campaign is ended he is the
one wi ) Is looked to to make 1t good. 81
The cauti n of contributors coupled to
the elise watch which one nat onal COM
mittee keeps on the dongs and dis burse-
imei,ts of the other reduces to a minimum
the possibility of campaign funds being
misappropriated. Though they are dis
ibursed in a large measure on honor. and
a final accounting is seldom had, still
their management Is governed as far IS
possible by strict business rules, and.
handled as they are by menof the high
est character and integrity. Instances In
which they fail to&reach, the channels for
which they We're intended are very rare
Indeed It can, / think, be said with
truth that the funds OF a national COM
mittee are as carefully managed as are
those Of any. large business corporation.
In 1855 Postmnster-General Wanamaker
was at the head Of the finance commits
tee fitch had In charge the WORK o.
raising the Republican campaign funds
and carefully supervised all disburse-,
ments. for which he received vouchers.
Still as i have just said, the disbnrse-
ment Of the party funds is in large
measure a matter OF honor, and the in
novation introduced by Mr. Wanamaker
may not be repeated. The financial! az
fairs Of the Republican national COM
5mittec are this year In the hands Of
Cornelius n. Bliss and his selection as
treasurer has been generally voted "a
most admirable one Commercial New
York he knows perfectly, and he pos
5sesses in full measure the esteem and
confidence of the capitalists and money
kings. Under his direction there will be
10 stress of finances In the Republican
committee. The treasurer OF the Demo-
cratic committee is August Belmont, a
forcful leader of his party and a BUSH
ness man OF high standing.
Raising the Money.
How is the money raised for campaign
funds? The work has developed shrewd
and successful beggars OF money. AS a
collector of campaign funds Marshall
Jewell, who was for several years chair
man of the national Republican commit
tee, perhaps never had an equal. When
others failed he succeeded, and 1t Is told
of him that In Boston In single day
he collected $4,000 President arthur
was q charming bfggar, and when re
was an active politician his services an a
money gctter were always counted as ~
first Importance. Ha had much 10 %
with the collection of the funds disbuFsft
by the Republican national committees ~
1850. So had Levi p. Morton. who. II "
generally believed. within twenty-f0tr
hours collected $4,000 or thcreabouts for
purely technical politics. His pogers
were again put To the test In 1874 ~
followed n met bod of his own He Ore-