The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-08-26
Ha, Grown From Seven Hundred
Dollars to This Great Sum.
STARTED BY BUSINESS MEN

uou the Expenses of Conducting a
v,tionaI Campaign Have Jumped
From Hundreds to Millions of Dol
1ors The Question Is Whether
We Get the Moneys Worth.
If is claimed Oh good authority
chat the total expense Of Lincoln's
first campaign for the presidency,
oos- of headquarters, kilograms,
music fares of delegates and Incl
aortaIs. did not exceed $500. Today
= costs much more than that to con-
5nct q state canvass, in many in
stances. and the estimated cost to
tho country in electing a president
This wear is placed at $5,000,000.
What q change in less than half a
century, That is a lot of money to
evnend every four years in obtaining
new chief executive. The prudent
man would call it rank extravaganza
and suggest trying the bargain Coun-
fer. possibly. In fact, when one
seriously compares the cost of a
nresident this great question at once
arises. Do we get value received?
In commenting on the work done
during LincoIns first campaign the
late Leonard Sweet said THAT
committee spent a sum that would
now seem contemplate, but it did
its work as thoroughly and success
fully as any committee the party has
had since. In 1864, at the most
critical hour in the history Of the
nation, the sum of 100000 was all
that was spent to secure the re-elec-
ton of Lincoln"
Started by Business Men.
In the slang Of today, even that
was going some" a jump in eX-
penSe in four years of over $4,000.
Who was responsible? Strange as it
may seem this era of extravaganza
in White House furnishings was
started by business men. Previous
to LincOlns time political cam
paigning was largely a matter of
hurrah and sentiment, but in the
later COS business men, alert,
shrewd and fond of system and order,
began to take the management of
politics into their hands and a won
derful change in methods and meas
mes was speedily effected.
To Samuel J. Tilden, more than
to any other man, is due the credit
Of Derfecting the system of cam
pagning now in vogue He had a
gift for the management of men on
d large scale that amounted to ge-
MUS He saw that great issues which
arouse the enthusiasm of the mass
eS' though most essential, are not
IN themselves sufficient to insure
success IN campaign, but that much
oil the work to be effective must be
zone IN secret, and that it was of
the first Importance that every voter
should be brought into direct per-
SonaI contact with the campaign
management.
lime stamped Tilden's methods
win the seal of success, and they
nave taken the place Of those former
employed. In 1876 more than
$0VVOOO was collected and spent by
the campaign managers Of the two
great parties. Four years later they
mad at their disposal more than ST.
y9V'VOO and in 1884 the campaign
disbursements were half as much
again. In 1888 the -Cleve-
!anu campaign cost not less than
FSLoOO,OOO; and in the campaign of
W. the expenditures of the two
o aao committees were quite ST.
yVV'OUO. Finally, in 1896, more
.aan 100000, and in 1900 an
even larger amount passed through
me hands of Chairman Hanna and
CHAIRMAN Jones and their associates.
False and Silly Charge.
Inc charge that the greater part
W. tneSe vast sums is used to cor
'tt voters and purchase votes is
al IHlSe and silly one. Nearly If not
a vii, ol the moneys collected are an
w u,S.pated by the legitimate expenses
", 'ne campaign. These cover a wide
a ."nse' and their volume swells with
why nj, succeeding campaign.
w.t.. ne hrst work of a national COM
tr ,.lee is TO prepare campaign litera-
to o.e. These documents not only in
. T' ~ Ine people, but give to orators
oul writer's a mass of facts and ar
snau They are in the main the
o or OF leading senators and con-
S SIIgsSnen but often there are en-
tro5( with telling effect brief and
n T;oIchant cards and circulars, which
o of'. .( with a single shaft the armor
NIL. IN 1884 the famous Rum. Ro-
De ISL and Rebellion" utterance of
o no., burchard was printed on small
GaLuS and distributed before the
SUS5 OF all the Catholic churches the
n,aI before election. It's effect
was was most most disastrous, and as there
Conn., NIUE or no time in which to
in 9Iant!eract this it had much to dc
tfor re'errImLining the result of the cleo.