The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-30
PRESS AGENTS ARE WORKED
In Order to Get Crowds to Meet and
Hear Taft Postal Cards Are Sent
Out Ahead to All Repub-
Iican Voters.

the eye of an infant without infamins
the optic or in the slightest degree i'm
pairing the vision.
The fact of the matter is that Mr.
Taft's stumping experiment has fallen
fiat; he has produced absolutely no en-
thusasm among the voters, and he has
said or done nothing which will i'm
prove his chances. Republicans are I'M
able to conceal their feelings of dis
appointment over the poor showing
which their candidate has made. Mr.
Taft's progress thus far, and the man
ner in which he has been received is
complete vindication of those republi-
can leaders who from the first opposed
the plan of having him take to the
rear platform. They advocated front
/ porch campaign wherein the candidate
should be kept in the background, and
others allowed to make his canvass
upon Roosevelt's record. The advocates
of a stumping campaign prevailed,
however, and now they are sorry that
it was ever begun.
The contrast between the democratic
simplicity with which Mr.. Bryan has
accommodations on rail, is marked as
the contract between the size and the
enthusiasm of the audiences which have
greeted the democratic candidate, and
those which Mr.. Taft has addressed.
While one great New York. newspaper
which is supporting Mr.. Taft and which
maintains a press association service
has refused to have a correspondent
with Mr.. Bryan, ample accommoda tons
are afforded aboard the Taft special for
the special correspondents of all the
large papers. In addition, for the first
time in the history of any campaign,
Mr.. Taft Is carrying with him three
press agents paid by the national com
mittee for the purpose of influencing
public opinion.
Notwithstanding all this the reports
come from all along the line that Mr..
Tafts receptions have been remark
ably chilly, and that the audiences
have been Indifferent to his speeches
and involved explanations of his atti-
tude upon public questions At George
AIDES Indiana farm a large crowd was
gathered because a harvest festival had
been advertised. The people expected
free feast from the full dinner pail"
but were disappointed when they were
charged % cents for dinner while they
waited for the appearance of the can
didate, When he did come before them
he talked about a larger navy,
stronger army and coast defences,
something in which they had little in
terest, while he ignored the live issues
of tariff revision, injunctions, guaran-
tee of bank deposits, publicity of cam
paign funds, and other questions about
which they desired to hear his views.
The result was that Mr.. Taft's speech
was received with inattention and a
lack anything which approached en-
thusiasm. Impartial newspaper cor
respondents report that the Indiana
meeting was not success.
Work to Get Crowds.
In order to obtain crowd to greet
Mr.. Taft at the railway station in
Chicago it was necessary for the repub-
lican managers to send out postal card
notices to the faithful to turn out with
their friends and give the distinguish ed
visitor cordial welcome" Despite
this Mr.. Taft found few beside the re-
ception committee and regular travellers
at the station to meet him upon his
arrival in Chicago. Fearing that
demonstration would be made against
him the republican managers refused
an option on a hall in the heart of
tn e laboring district, seating 15,0 900 peo-
Pile, and selected a hall in the down
town section where the seating ca pac-
ty is only 1000. To this place admis-
sion was by card only in order that
none might gain access to the hall who
were not in full sympathy and accord
with Mr.. Tafts position. No one was
wanted who might ask an embarrassing
question, yet Mr.. Taft's speech was
supposed to be one in which he would
defend his labor record. In city
where hundreds of thousands are inter-
ested in this subject. the audience was
picked and limited. Despite the fact
that 1000 were invited to hear the can
didate, there were more than 200 empty
seats in the hall when Mr. Taft be-
gan to speak, and there were many
more before he concluded. Many OF
those who had been invited to come,
failed to do so; others left during the
course of his argument. and fully one
third of those who did remain were
women. There was some enthusiasm
at times but it was of the manufac-
tured rather than the spontaneous
kind and produced by those especially
selected to come and applaud. After
the speech in the hall there was no
overflow meeting on the outside for
Mr.. Taft to address despite the adver-
tised statement that he would speak
from an automobile on the Lake Front
to those who could not get inside the
hall. Mr.. Taft's reception in Chicago
was in striking contrast to that ac-
corded to Mr.. Bryan upon his recent
visit when $4,000 turned out to hear
him.
Chairman Moses ID. Wetmore of the
financial committee, who opens the mail
that brings dollar subscriptions to DEM
ocratic headquarters, feels mighty conf
dent of the result of the election.
1.-THE popular subscription fund is
great success" observed Colonel Wet
| more Dollars come in by every mail but
| we used more than dollar subscriptions in
| this campaign Today received con-
! tribution of 800 from republican who
| asked that I give him % cents in return.
| He did not want the fact known that he
| as republican is contributing to the