The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-09-18
Cor. Drayton and Broughton SITS.

other Parliaments. The average M. p.
is not an. intellectual prodigy.
SpeIIbinders Cut Little Figure.
The professional "spellbinder'' cuts
small figure in England. There is plen-
ty of speech making-during a cam
paign / knew one candidate who made
an average of seven speeches day for
six weeks and ten a day for the last
week-but 1t is nearly all done by local
volunteers and by friends of the candi-
date, who are sufficiently in
terested in his success to spend a few
days or weeks in the constituency, and
pay their own expenses.
The Conservative central organiza-
ton, which always has a great deal
more money to spend than the Liber-
ais have, sends a few speakers where
they are most needed; but a candidate
considers it rather a disgrace to have
to call for them, as it reflects upon his
own popularity. The liquor trade and
other interests allied with the Conserv-
atives maintain supplementary corps
of "spellbinders, but as those men
naturally want to speak in favor of
their own particular cause, which may
be unpopular with the mass of the vo-
tiers, most candidates would rather do
without their support"
ISIuSInDeT IOTy NJ. Z. VINO 1dQ
kept his seat for many years in a
town strongly in favor of local OPP
tion,-prohibition by municipal vote.
He was careful to avoid the liquor
question and to dwell mainly upon the
preservation of the Union, and other
appealing topics. He lost his seat at
last because, despite his almost tear
full protests, the central body of the
liquor trades political organization in
81. Ill
"spellbinders" to stump his territory
Their support" ruined him with the
voters.
Liberal Orators Come From Clubs.
The Liberals drew a large number of
speakers from their two principal Lon
don clubs-the National Liberal Club
and the Eighty Club. These men new
er receive pay, and in most cases pay
their own expenses. The Eighty Club
is regarded as a, sort of preserve from
which to draw speakers and candi-
dates as they are needed for the good
of the party.
Photographs of candidates are used
to considerable extent, but they are
always printed on small cards and
mailed to the voters, usually with the
brief legend underneath: Your vote
and interest are requested on behalf
of Thomas Shocks, the Liberal can
didate." The huge poster and banner
portraits, which play such an import
ant part in American elections, are
unknown in England.
Large quantities of leaflets, popular
ly known as tracts" are sent out by
the central organizations; but the bulk
of the printed appeals to the electors
are locally produced. The candidate
and, his personal friends write a good
mary of them. and the editor OF the
party newspaper usually gives his
services for this purpose. He Is much
in demand, for he is able to work in a
lot of local references that will appeal
to the people.
Buys n Newspaper.
The candidate often buys the party
newspaper when he first descends on
a constituency, and uses il as his prin-
cipal means of reaching the electors.
II not, il is generally controlled by
his leading supporters. Improbable
papers are maintained for political
reasons to an indefinitely greater ex-
tent than they are in America.
Probably, taking England and Scot
land, but not Ireland and Wales at
least sixty per cent. OF the electorate
consists of people who have no poIiti-
cal Affiliations, and can be swayed
from one side TO another with COM
parative ease. In some constituencies
the percentage is much higher: In
others, which have been worked and
organized with extraordinary care by
both parties. II may not be more than
ten per cent. More depends. as a
general rule, upon the personality OF