The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1904-11-11
POLITICAL EXPRESSIONS
''Stand Pats the Only One Added TO
the Long List In the Cam
paign of 1904

The presidential campaign of 1904
seems to have failed TO develope any
new or picturesque political terms. Its
status in this respect may be defined by
the phrase "stand pat" which APP
piled TO one, might well apply 10 both
parties.
When we speak of the political
arena few OF US dream that that orig
inally referred to the open space OF the
amphitheatre. strewn with sand
(arena), for the purpose, chiefly, of alb
sorbing the shed blood of the gladia-
tors engaged to make Roman holiday.
The forum of debate, again, was the
place out of doors in the principal
open-air place that became the civic
center-the market place, where ora
tors discussed public questions and
lawyers became skilful ''forensically,
as the word came TO be from this
source. The ''rostrum," often equiva-
lent to our platform, and sometimes
used in the colloquial sense of mount
ing the rostrum," was the place where
the people of Rome recorded their
votes, also in the market place, for the
candidates running" for office. 1t
was SO called because the rostra, or
prows of ships We're formidable affairs;
and man who was aggressive in his
campaign was no less man of prowess
that of ambition.
And what does ambition" mean?
Nothing more than a going about
,ambitio) solicitously among those
who had votes to bestow. Ambitio, as
it was called, was legitimate; but am
bitus was not. for this meant the giving
of bribes in the going about seeking the
votes, and strict laws were made to pre-
vent it.
The candidate himself was so-called
because he was distinguished by wear
ing white robe-emblem presum-
ably, of his candid, truthful representa-
tiOns in his ambitary pursuit-or can
vas. The candidates, indeed, had to
conduct themselves "above suspicion, s"
so that they would not suffer by others
holding up their candles before them
for close inspection, for these words
candidate, canvass and candle-are OF
the same batch.
The canvass, by which we under
stand the means employed in seeking,
by personal or other influence, the
promise of votes, really ment 'sifting
OUT of those who were not; the word
coming directly from canabis, the
name of a coarse cloth used for the pur-
pose OF making sieves and which gave
the name canvas, a cloth, to us. The
story told by this word is no more Curl
Gus than can be told by many other
words.
Campaign, like arena, reverts to the
idea of the place where the real strug-
gle takes place campus, field); from
which source we have also the neces-
sary champion.
But these, however interesting they
are, have nothing of the local flavor
that makes words directly attractive.
We have a series Of words of another
more homely order, but even more ex-
pressive, that are always worthy of no.
tice: such as presidential timber, y
political boom, taking the stump
''log-rolling, upon the fence, 'bar-
RI" "snag," platform and plank
most of which are easily traceable 10
their sources, as well as such a fami-
liar word as the elected becomes ac-
quainted with, in coming into contact
with affairs of practical legislation,
''lobby," the origin OF which makes an
unusual story.
Timber, translated into its equiva-
lent term, the word first used for wood
becomes familiar as material; so that,
as a colloquil expression, it is really an
exact synonym; for the other, more
classic but developed, it may be noticed
much in the same mode. 1t has a
smack of the lumber camp, but it has a
much more finished Significance than
that embodied in the rawer material,
wood or lumber. Bnt one word we
have direct from the lumber market,
occording to respected authorities is
'boom, which is picturesque As well
as sonorous, though it does not derive
itself from any idea of sound, as OF
sounding the praises of favorite son;
for in river parlance it is simply an ap-
pliance stretched across the stream as
dam TO hold the floating logs accumu-
lated behind it. At first it would