The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1920-11-05
1T IS DIFFERENT NOW.

The quietest day OF the year was the
day before election, and one on the
streets could never imagine that a
very important political contest con.
fronted the people the following day.
There was no excitement whatsoever,
no gathering in knots discussing the
chance of candidates, no timber mouth
spouter touting for some favorite can
didate. And when you come to think
about it the campaign of 1920 has been
the mildest within the memory of the
oldest inhabitant. The old time beat
ing of tom toms, spectacular parades,
torch light professions and the burn
ing of red fire has been largely elm
mated from political campaigns. The
newspaper, the circular, the hand bill /,
the pictorial poster has taken the
place Of the old methods.
The present generation does not
know what red hot political cam
paign really is, and it is probably just
as well that the noise and nonsense
has been largely eliminated, although
there is nonsense and to spare even
under the present methods if there is
an absence of noise. Those of us who
can remember the days of the Wide
awakes and Tanners know what live
presidential campaign really means.
In those days political parties. then
confined to two organizations, early in
the campaign organized and drilled
companies of uniformed marchers who
would rendezvous at some given point
where speakers were to apepar and
prior to the speaking great serpentine
professions of torch bearers would
parade the streets headed by band,
or there would be number of bands
in the line of march, while red fire
would illuminate the intensely earnest
marchers and continuous roar OF
cheers would puncture the atmos-
phere. If the meetings were in the day
time delegations would drive into
town, generally headed by a squad of
girls on horseback, dressed in white
representing the different states.
There would be numerous floats, some
of them taking the place of the car
toons of today in the humorous depic-
ton of opposition candidates. The
campaign that was followed by the
election of Lincoln was one never to,
be forgotten. Feeling ran high a
different feeling than exists between
members of opposition parties of the
present time. 1t was the eve of the
civil war, and brothers hand was rails
ed against brother even before the ia
tai die was cast. In that campaign the
democratic procession was always lib
orally supplied with tall-hickory pcles,
cut and trimmed right out Of .he forest
upon which was the stars and stripes.
This was merely one feature of many
that would be presented on the floats.
The chief feature OF the republican
floats would be a log cabin with men
splitting rails. If it was a day of joint
debate the followers of the two camps
would glare at each other, ana fist
fights were very common, sometimes
developing into riots. 1t wa; time
that tried the souls of men. and While
it was picturesque and highly exciting
we are glad that those strenuous cam
paigns have passed into the discard,
and that men of different political par
ties can now get together and josh
each other without the danger Of "a
jolt on the nut, which was generally
the proceedings in the days Of real
sport when two or more men Of oppo-
site political leanings mixed up in
discussion.