Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-08-21
CAMPAIGN BOSSES
RELY UPON WOMEN
MEMBERS OF GENTLE SEX GREAT
VOTE GETTERS, SAY KNELL
AND KOEHLER.
WISE AT ELECTIONEERING.
Two Wen-Known Managers Praise Skill
of the Fair Ones and Credit Them
with Successes.
SHERIFF SURPRISED BY WIFE.

When two astute campaign managers
acknowledge that women are first class
campaigners and that in some things
they even excel man in this, heretofore
his own particular field of glory, it is
enough to make the eternal feminine
plume herself prettily and go forth to
win battles, not, of course, as yet, for
herself. but for the great and mighty
masculine leaders.
Peter J. koehler, who is swinging, the
campaign for S. A. Cook in his sena-
torial aspirations, and William r. Knell,
who is doing likewise for Uncle Ike"
Stephenson, whose ambitions keep pace
with those of Mr.. Cook, both are of
the opinion that lovely woman might be
an important factor i'll political cam
paigns, if she only would.
Wife Helped Toward Success.
Sheriff kneil, busily signing checks,
signing olders for towel supplies, sign
ing this and signing that. admits that
him when lie ran for sheriff, was ac-
complished by his wife, real "gumshoe
campaigning. he calls it.
I'm hearing about it yet he said,
as he Strengthened out his fist to get
the signer's cramp out of it. " The way
that my wife and her friends went out
and worked for me was a caution. 1t
was among the farmers that they would
go, you know, and they would stop at
the farm houses and talk with the farm
ers' wives. and with the farmers, too,
and they didn't hesitate to stop and
tack up my picture on handy fence or
to distribute literature and stick up
bills. And there's no mistake about 1t,
woman can get at lots of things bet
ter than a man can, and when she talks
to a man she makes greater impress
sion than when another man talks to
him. She thinks of lots of things to
say and little points to make that
man wouldn't think of, and she gets
the votes, sure enough.
Made Hit with Farmers.
'"The farmers in the county are talk
ing yet about the way my wife and
her friends drove through and talked so
sensibly to them, and put things so that
they couldn't get away from them.
ton; it was the wives of the men who
we're interested in my election. But l
do believe that a ladies' campaign COM
mittee would do a lot of good in any
campaign. and especially where the can
didate is a middle class man, for his
friends get right out and hustle TOR him
and their wives would do the same.
There's something about women-you
can call it intuition or whatever you
like-but there's something about them
that tells them just what it's best to 90
and what it's best to say. And IN poll
tics it's the same. They think of
heap of things.
Actually Keep Secrets.
"And when it comes to having women
at political headquarters, I'd much rath-
or have them than men. They keep the
campaign secrets better, and they're
more interested in the work. We're just
getting started here now, but We we 81 shall anl
employ several women as stenographers
and for other clerical work.
Peter J. Koehler, coming out from be-
hind the wooden partition that screens
off the inner sanctum of the Cook head
quarters in the Caswell building, broke
into smiles at the mention of women and
politics.
declared. "That is, the right women.
They've got to be good mixers and good
takers, and know their subject, and
they can go ahead and get lot of votes.
You see, they talk to the women and get
the ideas into their heads and then
man gets it at breakfast, dinner and
supper-he just can't get away from 1t.
Safe to Trust the Women.
'And I'd a sight rather have women
in the clerical positions at headquarters
than men. That is again, the right kind
of women. | want to know their fam
ily history and who they're related to,
and if they have any sort of connection
with the rival camp, before l employ
them, and after I'm satisfied about that,
it's safe to trust them. They're reliable
and competent"
All of which, as said at the beginning,
ought to show Womankind that appre-
citation is theirs in fields where they
least expected to find it Furnishing.
It would be difficult to estimate how
many women find employment during
the political campaigns. They hold all
manner of positions, from that of pr-
vate secretary to the big campaign
boss" who pulls the wires and makes
the puppets dance, to that of folding cir
culars and stuffing them into envelopes
at a rate so rapid that it makes ones
arms ache just to think of it.
Recruited from Many Sources.
They are recruited from many sources.
If the campaign manager has in his
business faithful and competent stem
ographer who has religiously kept his
business secrets. he is apt to transfer
her to the political headquarters, know
ing that she will betray nothing to the
enemy. Lesser positions are sometimes
given to daughters of political helpers.
though they are more apt to be engaged
from a purely commercial standpoint,
often being hired through an agency,
while some managers prefer to put the
purely routine work of sending out lit
erature into the hands of people who
make a business of that sort of thing,
thus taking it out of headquarters en-
tirely. The only difficulty attaching to
this last method is that the precious list
of names representing the party organi-
cation, by far the most valuable asset
of political party and by far its most
precious secret, must then leave the sa
cred and safe precincts of the head
quarters for the outside world, where
there is always chance that the enemy