The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-10-24
POLITICAL GOSSIP
Only One Week More of the
Campaign.
Both Committees Will Make
Special ExertiOns.
NO FIGURES GIVEN.
More or Less Uncertainty Hangs
Over Headquarters.
Very Few Wagers Of Any Kind
Are Made.

Only one week remains of the
presidential and state campaign of
1908, and during this remaining week,
the rival state committees. whose
headquarters are in Topeka, will put
forth redoubled energy.
The Democrats have doubled their
force of stenographers within the past
few days, and are getting ready to
send out final blast which will rock
the foundations Of the state, or words
to that effect.
At Republican headquarters there
is also a general speeding up in all de-
partments. and great preparations are
being made for the final appeal to
the voters. The Republicans, as we'll
as the Democrats, have several very
important documents which they are
planning to put into the hands of
every voter in Kansas within the next
seven days.
Great bundles of campaign litera-
ture, pictures of candidates, buttons,
posters and campaign ammunition of
all kinds. are pouring out of the
headquarters to every section of the
state, and the whole battery of cam
paign orators will put in double time
beginning Monday morning.
In spite of the Republican claims
Of 10000 majority for Stubs and
Taft. and the Democratic claims for a
Landslide" no figures given, the i'm
preston is growing that neither COM
mittee feels confident of the result.
That the Democrats are more hope
ful of victory than they have been
for many years past there is no doubt.
They are more hopeful than they were
IN 1896, when Bryan carried the state.
There is quite a different atmosphere
at Democratic headquarters than
there was when Harris was a candi-
date. OF course each of those can
didates professed confidence in his
election, and each was defeated. But
this year the Democratic confidence
has been backed up by about twice as
much active work at Democratic
headquarters as ever before. There
has been a bigger force of employees,
bigger lot of campaign literature
sent out and a bigger volume of cor
respondence handled.
OF course the Democrats claim that
ell their reports are encouraging, but
that is the same old story. 1t may be
true and it may not. The fact re-
mains, however, that the Democrats
have made a more active campaign in
and have apparently had no lack of
campaign funds. Where they got
such a large amount of money to
spend is question.
The Democrats have directed a
fight of a somewhat. personal nature
against w. r. Stubs. and have ac-
cused him of secret alliances with
railroads, of tax lodging, of land
swindling, and general insincerity. 1t
Is doubtful whether this fight had
much merit in fact, but 1t has I'M
doubtedly cut some figure in the
campaign. The same might be said
of the fight which the Democrats are
making on the state tax law. That
fight is mostly buncomb but 1t is a
shrewd appeal to the prejudices of the
voter, and may influence people who
are not careful in Weighing the evil
dence.
The Republican campaign has been
mainly a defensive campaign. They
were in the saddle, and seeking to
prove that they should be allowed to
stay there. They have defended their
legislative and executive record, and
the record of W. r. Stubs. They
have not claimed to be making any
great gains in strength, but have in
sisted that they would certainly hold
their own.
The aggressive campaign of the
Democrats in the state affairs, while
# has been skating close to the brink
of demagoguery in some instances,
viii probably take some votes from
the Republican party while the popu-
larity of w. J. Bryan will probably
slice on another section. 1t is fleces-
sary for the Democrats to change only
fifteen or twenty thousand Republican
hcan majority That they almost did
this In the Harris-Hoch campaign
gives reason to think that they NAV
be able to do 1t again.
Nevertheless. the chances favor the
Republicans. There is no apparent
reason why Bryan should have anv
more strength in Kansas than he did
IN 1900. and there is no evidence to
show that the state wants to repudi-
ate the excellent record of Stubs and
the Republican party during the past
two years.
Most OF the bets which have been
made have been on the majority of
zdft and Stubs in Kansas. The Dem
ocrats do not seem anxious to bet
that Botlin or Bryan will carry the
state, though there is said to have
heen one bet of 800 placed at the
National hotel a few nights ago on
the proposition that Bryan would get
Kansas
Forty-flve of the los county chair