The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1920-06-16
TALKS
by
Crane
MONEY WASTED IN POLITICS

while the country lis shocked over
tho enormous sums expended In the
business Of getting somebody nomi.
mated and elected president OF the
United States. few OF us understand
how 20 interpret the fact
The real explanation In that II
means the high cost Of partinanship
II means that the process Of pick.
ing rulers by means OF political par.
ties IL about the most wastcful meth.
cd conceivable.
our election IN practically war
We wish II 30. We love fight. To
tho Anglo Saxon mind no process ~
reaching a conclusion In 30 nRtinfac
tory as a scrap.
You may select the honor Frtdu.
ate of school by a written cxAmi-
nation. the superintendent OF your
factory by his record. wife for hes
good looks or ability 10 cook. ard n
salesman hy his success IN bringing
home the bacon. but when YOU under.
take 20 choose a president you must
model your procedure upon a dog
fight or horsosraoe or n war.
And war IL waste. Competition IN
waste Contention In waste.
Nobody but the chief Hthtlstlcian
In he'll can compute the hofrif1e
waste OF the late war. wherein the
nations were trying TO determine
which was 1T by smuggling. nor the
waste ~ life aud money In the bitter
struggle between organized labor
and capital. Yet precisely this In the
method Of party politics. II tr n
system BY which We. get not pct
cent results from the energy ca.
pended
II In estimated that before either
convention was held. as shown BY
the testimony before the senate In.
vestigaiing committee. some two or
three million dollars was spent In
advancing the interests OF tho sew.
orai candidates.
Before the election II over. In all
probability. SIS 900 900 or 1000 900
will have been spent
AA' bF@E wv NJ wv ifANWNkH NaNffts
para,ively little Of II il spent for
corruptlnE voters. Neither IN Big
business trying to buy up the gov.
ernmcnt Most Of such talk ~ due
TO our malicious delight In scandal
What becomes 81 the money. then :
II " simply wasted In sheer. fatu.
Gus. nonHsnsical machinery. No one
4 IA not
chine at work can imagine the stu.
prndoun pow-wow over doing moth,
I ing
| Pin, there are extensive offices
rented. campaign hoadquarters. with
large clerical staff typ~wri,rru.
monographs. dictaphones. tels-
phones. and what not Reamn OF
stationery are printed. most o.
which IL piifered. A number 81 man.
sEcrE~ arc employed who ny abou,
the country at so a day and CT
prnnen and report stuff tina, can
be found In any Newspaper. Later.
AIRY men arc hired 20 write gaharar
OF articles and pr~par, folders
Foolish and useless fuii page adver.
tisrments are inserted In puhlics.
tons. And no on and 20 on.
/ There IL no business known among
human beings where moro Nv spent
and nothing Ia 20, than the business
OF running a political party.
For. when It's all over wha; has
been accomplished Nothing' The
people are not corrupted nor fooled
They vote as they please They sc,
their information from the daily
press. which goes along anyhow and
which no party has succeeded IN
permanently Substituting
Briefly. a, least fourfif,hs OF the
money spent In elections In the
United States Ia wasted II Is not
stolen. II does not get ANYBODY
anything II is poured out TO a 10,
81 campaign workers who excel all
the busy workers OF the world In
huatlinE activity that does no,
amount 10 a hill Of beans.
But it's a great game