Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-26
Of FORTUNE
Political Grafters and Their
Ways Being Learned by
Observers
RUNNING" THIS CAMPAIGN
Would Make the Novice Believe Great
Responsibilities Rest Upon His
shoulders-At Close Range He Is
Only a Ward Heller. But Manages
to Connect With the Money.
Especial Correspondence

soldier OF political fortune
| Also ubiquitous.
| Likewise delightfully."- non-partisan.
Similarly, prodigiously wise in his
generation.
Moreover, full OF wise saws and
platitudinous sayings, reeking with adj
vice, and ever anxious to save the
campaign from going to the bow-wows
provided the management will just
adopt his little scheme.
The soldier Of fortune f1olrishes in
New York. Between campaigns he will
hold you up in the hotel hobbies and
tell you about the inside Information
he has about revolution in Central
America or the discovery of a noun
tain of gold in Thibet or the inside of
the latest scheme of stock market man
ipulation, or the best tip OH what the
Standard Oil. Out Of any one of these
proposals he is going to make pile
because OF his relations with the insid-
ers He is a constitutional optimist
about his prospects for next week or
next winter. but Is usually a bit short
just now. If he is the real thing, how
ever, he can always get real money at
the hotel desk; that is one essential
qualification of the soldier OF fortune.
He must have rnsullied cre6.it with the
cashier at his favorite hote1, for mod
est sums; and he protects that credit
as a candidate ought, to protect his
letter files.
The soldier of fortune is Just now
idevoting his entire military skill and
experience to running this campaign.
He is g mysterious person, who has
just come from a. conference.-the all
ways calls 1T a conference with Char
ley Murphy and Billy Sheehan, and has
been sent for by Alton Parker or Sam
Untermyer to give some advice about
a big stunt that's about to be pulled
of. Hell let you have the inside of
1T just as soon as he gets back and
the thing Is ripe; you can beat all
contemporaries to the biggest piece Of
news in the campaign.
Strangely enough, when you ask his
con--lential friends about him. they
seem to experience difficulty in locat-
ing the particular military person to
whom you allude. When a. real big
man comes around his favored hotel,
the whole army Of soldiers surround
him. and proceed to explain matters to
him. Each wants a moment with the,
private and confidential ear of great
ness. Those who are so fortunate as
to get 1t are pretty sure to become
expensive later In the day and give
out some straight information about
netting big that's coming. Gener-
ally, however, It isn't information. They
tell you impressively to keep your
eye on certain quarter: something'll
be exploded there pretty soon that'll
make 'em all take notice"
Az rule the soldier OF fortune Is an
officer Of an organization of some sort
Between seasons it's financial con-,
Germ: when politics is active, he's apt
to be chairman of the advisory COM
mittee of the Taft Association of Re-
formed Prohibitionists, and to have
scheme to throw the whole ex-'tank
vote to the republ leans instead of the
party. Or maybe he Is vice
of the Amalgam.lted Bryan
and Kern Club of sDefaultfng Cashiers,
who are going to toss a bornb into the
campaign about Oct. is by issuing q
from their headquar-
tiers In Canada, telling how they could
not have got away.ith it If the guar
antee OF bank It's had been in
operation. It's .damental article
Of faith to have organization of
some sort for wl1.>,n you speak, when
you get into the soldier Of fortune bus
mess.
The accomplished operator along this
line always speaks of Thomas f. as
TOM Ryan; calls Chairman Mack
Norman and Chairman Hitchcock
Norman and Frank are
not present. You will be a bit sur
prised, when Norman and Frank heave
in sight, to observe that your military
friend adopts a deferential tone and
calls them Mister"
1t is a rule that the political filibus-
ter of this class has line OF infor-
nation that the other fellows would be
tickled to death to get; but he only
mentions this incidentally; he wouldn't
let 'em have it for the wol'ld-that is,
not unless there should arise an utterly
situation, in which 1t
shouldn't be appreciated by the party
with whom he is negotiating.
Being a political filibuster is rendered
difficult at times by the fact that you
can't always be as wise as you seem.
It's necessary to guess right In ad-
vance of the convention, and support
the man who is going to win. To start
wrong at this point is unfortunate, but
not necessarily ruinous. The most APP
proved plan is to put a copper on all
bets; to be for Taft when you talk to
q Taft man, for Fairbanks when you
meet an Indiana regular, and for Can
non when discussing it with one of
Cannon affiliations. This method is IL
able to involve its embarrassments, If
some of the people with whom you
nave exchanged condolences get to-
gether and compare notes on you; but
It's rather better on the whole to take
this chance than to be uncompromis-
ngly for loser and then have to ex-
plain after it's over.
Ii is we'll to have a mortgage on a 4
particular leather-covered chair in
,olr hotel lobby, and to be called to
he telephone occasionally. You will
always come back from the booth with
/ preoccupied air. and presently men
ion that George Baker is mighty !
pleased with the way things are going |
n the street, and that if you had about |
EN- thousand in spare cash you'd cer-
ainly go short on, An1algstmated to a |
inish It will be we'll also to give out
arr conddentlaily that STANDARD OIL