Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-19

a hundred suggestions have come to
Roosevelt headquarters in Washington,
New York and Chicago for the prepare
ton of campaign buttons making cam
paign phrase of the colonefs utterance
at Columbus tlast February: ''My hats
in the ring" A dozen samples of but
tons. badges, medals and watch fohs il
Illustrating this have been received. and
many manufacturers have put out but
tons on their own initiative, depending
upon individual sales to make their haz-
ard good.
The campaign button Is the one recog
nized staple of a presidential campaign.
It's history is yelled In mystery back
of the early eighties, but campaign badges
were known as far back as Andrew jack
sons time. and 1t would not be a great
surprise if some diligent seeker after
facts unearthed campaign buttons of the
second Washington campaign Certain
it IS. that a campaign Is not duly ana
officially oDened until the button man
appears at the campaign headquarters, or
at the spot where it is rumored there is
to be headquarters, with stock OF
samples. and hope bounded only by
an order of million.
The button factory, from an institu-
ton working up the ideas of others, has
become the originator of many striking
novelties in the line of campaign placards
for the coats OF voters and the collections
of small boys. At the present time there
in circulation over hundred de-
field of presidential candidates.
la but few cases have the candidates
themselves, or their campaign committees.
placed any large orders for these but
tons. Ii is too hazardous a thing for
. campaign committee TO overload it
self with buttons that may prove of
little value as the campaign progresses.
and the button manufacturers themselves
do not take the risk of preparing huge
stocks until IL becomes fairly certain
what two of the half-score candidates
are TO be chosen TO lead the presidential
tight after the June conventions
Button manufacturers are shy about
giving statistics Of the present campaign,
because they say ii has hardly begun.
Ii is estimated by one button agent, how
ever. that 100000 buttons will be sold
before the national elections in Novem-
Der.
As soon as the republican and demo-
cratic conventions have settled upon
their choice of national candidates the
button machines Will begin turning out
disks of celluloid at the rate of hun
dreds OF thousands daily One large
concern is said to have a daily capacity
OF 100000 campaign buttons of single
design when il is really pushed for
time.
The buttons this year have a fairly
large range of variety. There Is a
complete presidential gallery. so far as
the candidates themselves are con-
cerned. although the La Toilette and
Cummins buttons are scarce and not
often seen in the east. Small orders
from local committees and some gener-
Gus sample lots prepared by manufac-
turers make up the greater part OF the
buttons now in circulation for these
two seekers after the republican nomi-
nation.
But of the Taft and Roosevelt but
tons. the ~hamp Clark facsimile and
the 'houn' dawS buttons. the Wilson
Underwood and Harmon tables there
{ seem to be many fltering out through
. national and local committees into the
hands of the voters and campaign
workers The Taft buttons run through
wide rapga OF designs. There. u Z