Evening star., 1911-08-29
ARGUMENTS PREPARED
FOR POLITICAL EFFECT
Charge That Yankee Money" Is Be-
ing Used to Influence Votes.
PARODY ON AMERICAN BALLAD
Tune Of "John Browns Body"
Utilized in Campaign Song.
Tactics Employed Familiar to
Voters in United States.

Special From STAFF Correspondent.
MONTREAL, August 29.-Down Sher-
brooke way they had a campaign rally
the other night, with Sir Wilfrid Laurier
and a lot of the big wigs present, and
must needs go along to see how they
do such things In Canada. This was in
the old French Catholic country, where
the people till the soil, love Quebec and
venerate the church. In every prosper
Gus town arose the spires of a substan-
J stial stone church, and often bleak
hilltop In the open country was graced
by a similar imposing structure; and
never a church was sordid looking or OF
mean appearance.
At every station one or more felt
hated fathers or black-robed lay broth
ers got on or Off, and occasionally a
demure sister glided by. The country
was quaint and wore a distinctly old
world air, so l expected to find some
thing interesting in politics.
At little town called Farnham a
crowd of-well. we would call them root
ers-swarmed into the forward coaches
They were political workers, the handy
boys of polls. the lads who turn the
trick on election day and all that sort
of thing. They began to liven things up
Immediately, and / commenced to recog-
nize familiar proceedings.
American Refrain Parodied.
Imagine my surprise when after a few
preliminary raids upon the commissary
they started song to the air of John
Browns Body" the refrain Of which was
We'll hang old Borden on a sour apple
tree" This was followed by some i'm
provised words in French to suit the old
slogan OF Hail. Hail. the Gangs All
Here" Some other Yankee campaign
songs were utilized for topical hits at
tne opposition party At other stations
naturedly. ana the whole proceeding re-
minded one strongly OF a scene that
would be common occurrence at any
gathering In Indiana or the middle west
AS the crowd marched up the street at
Sherbrooke to the auditorium there were
the commission banners, one OF which
carried me back to Mckinley days: "Lau-
rier-Reciprocite-P -Prosperite." In the hall
there was the same confusion and dis
turbances, and the speeches. barring Sir
Wilfrid Lauriers. were cast upon true
campaign lines. OF course. Sir Wilfrid,
who is very much respected and held in
deep anection by most of the people. was
shown every mark OF consideration
He is a remarkable man. Seventy years
Of age now. and going into this campaign
with all the ardor Of a youngster He
declares 1t will be his last, whether he
wins or loses he will retire from public
life.
Regulation Campaign Oratory.
The arguments used in the campaign
are prepared for political effect. aside
from the speeches of great leaders and
with that inexactness Of adherence to
ar ~ 70 ocf x1,hi
elsewhere. The opposition to the govern
ment has assumed to itself the role OF pa
triotism-they are going to save the ma
tion. Some old-time republican cam
paigners in the states used to play that
strong in behalf of the republican party.
and young men going into their first
campaign often received the impression
triots and that all other parties were go
ing to turn the country over to some for
eign power.
Canada for the Canadians is a famil-
lar cry Of the anti-reciprocity faction. It
looks well on placards and sounds we'll
as slogan, SO that the government talk
ers have to laboriously explain their con-
tention that Canada will be made more
prosperous for Canadians than ever with
reciprocity.
new element has entered into the
fight in the past few days. The anti
government political managers are play
ing strong upon the threatened financial
and labor depression in the United States.
They are laying particular stress upon
the discharge of railway employees. and
charge that the railroads are looking to
reciprocity to relieve them from the situa
ton which is causing them to lay of
thousands Of workingmen. They point
to the prosperous conditions in Canada,
and contend that the Canadians would be
better off to keep their markets for their
own producers than to open them wide
fov fI4 frf ted m,
come from the United States.
Burden Of Contention.
The whole contention of the anti-gov-
ernment party is insular. restrictive and
exclusive. In absolute contrast to the
broad suggestion OF President Taft, the
| one which won over so many anti-reci-
procity people In our Congress from the
very fact that 1t was generous and ap-
pealed to common sense, namely, that the
two nations are too closely identified
along three thousand miles of border to
submit fur her to Chinese tarif wall
between them.
The anti-government people are also
going strong on the charge that a great
| Yankee corruption fund has been raised
by the trusts and the railroads in the
states to influence Canadian votes in be-
| half Of reciprocity for the supposed bene-
ut of the aforesaid trusts and common
| carriers.
| This is paying us back in our own coin.
We used to hear. in the free silver cam
paign. horrifying charges about British
gold" which was being used to enforce
the gold standard upon US.
| Newspaper Sounds Warning.
! One OF the leading newspapers of the
Dominion. the Montreal Star. publishes
the following:
Canadian Elections Campaign Fund
i $4,000 Reward.
"The Montreal Star hereby offers
$25 900 reward for information, placed
| in the hands of three judges Of the SUI
preme court OF Canada and three judges
OF the superior court three conserva-
| tives and three liberals. that will In
the opinion OF these judges enable the
court to trace to its source the enor-
nous campaign fund sent from the