The Washington herald., 1908-08-14
CAMPAIGN METHODS
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

The management Of q national cam
paiga is a matter Of business. as wen as
politics. Some Of the most successful
managers in national, as weI as in
local politics. have been men who Won
their spurs in commercial affairs long be-
fore they took an interest in things po-
litieaI Mark Hanna is a notable ex-
ample Prior 70 1895 he was looked upon
rs a successful business man, rather than
as a politician. yet when he entered the
field Of politics Hanna was able TO de-
feat such veterans as Joe Manley. Of
Maine, Platt, Of New York; Quay, Of
Pennsylvania. and Clarkson. Of Iowa.
What has been said Of Hanna IS also
true in the case Of William F Harrity.
who was chairman Of the Democratic
National Committee IN 1882 he was
known as a business man. rather than
politician Many thought that Mr.. Roose-
Welt made a mistake in 1904 when he
named George 3 Cortelyou as head OF
the national committee. for the latter
had no experience IN the game Of poll
ties. his work having been confined en-
Iirely TO business and Ine government
service But CO-Jelyou was q success
Tha, the head of the national commit
Tee is a ticklish position goes without
saying The chairman is ofJtines blamed
for results Cuite beyond his control \
case in point is that Of Senator Carter,
OF Montana who headed the Republican
National Committee n lSs2, a year in
which the tide had turned so strongly 70
the Democrats that the greatest Of poll
Jiclans could never have diverted Il
The problem Of success in the manage
rae1t Of national campaigns is divided
into three parts The first is how 10 hold
the vote Of the rank and file Of the party
and arouse their enthusiasm Tor the
ticket This can be done only by educat-
ing them, so far as the platform aud the
great issue are concerned The task Is
not usually a difficult one where the
ticket has rot been nominated after q
bitter fight OF is sectional IN character
The second IS how TO present arguments
IN q manner 50 clever and ingenious as
10 convert voters from the other side. as
well as the g-eat mass Of Independents.
once styled IN derision ''1IugwumDs.'
These independent voters row hold the
balance Of power. and much attention IS
paid them by the party managers The
third is what mistakes the other side are
liable TO make sThIch may be taken ad-
vantage Of FOR the sake OF votes The
most costly mistake that any party man
ager was able 10 take advantage Of was
n the campaign Of 1SSz, when James e.
Blaine. IN reply 20 the greeting Of the
ministers. did not Immediately repudiate
the speech Of Dr. BurchaTd chsracJ5riz-
ing the Democratic party as one Of Rum.
R0marisu. and Rebellion" II is true
that the plumed knight did so later on,
but not before The Democratic managers
had flooded the country with copies OF
the Burchard speech, by which time It
was TOO late The advantage taken Of the
Jstterancs Of Gen. Hancock. characteriz-
ing the tariff as a local issue. helped 70
bring about his defeat II viii be readily
seen. therefore that the campaign man
ayers have their hands full, and upon
TIE way they handle the propositions
mentioned TIE result II great measure
depends
There are three ways OF attaining the
results TIE drsr Is through mass meet
fngs- Most leaders claim that their value
s. limited 10 the a-ousi-s Of enthusiasm
Of the rank and file. that mass meetings
Go not as a rule. make votes As evi-
deuce. IL is pointed Cut that M Bryan
IN both his campaigns had large and en-
Jhusiastic audiences. many people coming
10 hear his wonderful oratory. although
determined not 10 vote for him The sec
ond IS through the distribution Of cam
-
Of party leaders. Leaflets on the issues.
and badges and buttons. with The party
emblem and portraits and the names OF
the candidates The third IS the insertion
o= articles and editorials In The daily and
weekly newspapers throughout the cCUl-
Try This is one OF The most important
and highly effective methods Much at
tention IS paid TO It by the party man
ayers II came into vogue when the tariff
was an issue. back in 1SSS TIE c0ntro-
versy over free raw materials was then
on. Both sides began 20 send articles on
the subject 20 the press. and then on other
issues
The national committee IS aided IN its
work by a campaign or executive com
uiltee- The Information on which the
campaign is conducted comes from two
sources. First. from the managers them
selves and. those close 10 them politically
As tLey are from every section of the
country their knowledge collectively COW
e-s the entire field It may Be stated as q
general proposition that each manager IS
presumed 70 be IN charge Of the cam
paisn in his territory The second source
CT Information is the chsirmel Of the
various state committees They are sup
posed 10 be continually keeping the ua-
tiOlal managers posted Their iufOrDa-
ti0n as 10 local conditions is derived from
the heads Of the local organizations
During the campaign Of 1900 however.
Chairman johnson. Of the Democratic
executive committee. revived the idea Of
having a direct representative in every
election precinct throughout the United
States Abram s Hewitt originated t.
lie did IL IN the campaign Of 1876, when
managing tie canvass Of Samuel J. til
den for President Mr.. Hewitt had two
sets OF blanks prepared for every cleo
ton precinct One was a preliminary.
the ether 3 hnai, canvass Of voters The
experiment, however. was not entirely
successful For the WORK was found 10
be TOO vOlUminOus Tor the national COM
mittee 10 undertake. hence the latter
body continued 10 depend upon the State
organlzaJioCs for news as to the s!tua-
ton. Chairman Harrity cid so 70 q
great extent IN the campaign Of 1882
That year the information received by
him was accurate enough 10 enable a
calculation coming within two Of the
electoral votes that Grover Cleveland re-
caived-