The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-04-09
USE new Method
TO CAMPAIGN nov.
Office Seekers These Days
Do Not Follow the Plan
Of Lincoln.

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ecpDyEight. 1890. By The Warrington
ts',AE Di-Dut-h y me Swes. virxiniaa.)
wAsH1NcroN. Aprfl "a recent
popular work o. Fiction which weayes
mo the story seemingly authentic
.ecoQnfE Of Incidents IN the Jfa ~.
Abraham Lincoln, tells b5T- Linc,s5
o.u nis campaigning one tine when he
vas running for Office, An Illinois,
10 vas candidate for election to fine
!rnA4ture and one summer month
luH about harvest time, he rode oyey
mp district ~eiectioneerfng.. The story
relates that he would come upon a
farmer and his men reapfng field of
wheat, and hitching his horse, would
Join the workers Taking scythe he
would lead the mowers to the farther
end Of the field, usually inst a little
bit ahead Of the others. :
1t was customary to pause and .trest
a spell" before starting. back. and II
was then that q Abe, !" as he was known
throughout the country at that time.
would do his electioneering. While
the farmer and the hands. were
resting, he would tell what he pro.
posed to do II sent to the legislature.
Occasionally, one hears now of
house to house canvass, but that.
was man 70 man canvass.
Things be different nowadays with
men running for office, !" high or low.
That very district where Lincoln cam.
paigned, furnishes an example. Mr..
Mckinley is a candidate for the Uni.
ted States Senate from Illinois, and
through the ground trayersed by Lin.
coin runs an ifterurban trolley system
owned largely by Mr.. Mckinley and in
;his7owl car he speeds through the re
gion, stopping at all stations to meet
the farmers who motor to the side
track where the trolley car is parked,
and from their own comfortable auto
mobiles listen to the words OF wisdom
poured forth by the candidate for of.
lice 4
Senator Penrose. of Pennsylvania, in.
tends to so both Lincoln and the pres.
emit Mr.. Mckinley zone better" in
house to house and man to man can.
yass, He is having built the largest
touring automobile In America, in
which he proposes to wheel along the
country roads and interview the elu.
siye voter wherever he runs across
HIM taking good care not to run him
down. Any one who has ever seen
Senator Penrose and realizes his phys
ical proportions realizes that it will
have TO be some car" to accommo.
date the Pennsylvania senator.
. The car Is to be his home while he
IL on the road and will enable him to
disdain hotels and take no risk of bed
or board in outlying communities
where both might be below discount.
He viii sleep In his big automobile and,
carry hts own cook to prepare his sim.
pie fare. The machine" will have
every accessory to make for convent.
ence and comfort.
All Of which dissertation is prelim.
mary to coming to the main theme OF
this chapter discussion of present
day campaigning for Congress Be
ginning right after the last national
convention, which will be held late in
june, the great national campaign of
1920 viii be under way, to continue
until November 2; when the elections
come on. For four solid months it
viii be waged and the voice of the
campaigner viii be heard in the land.
Signs abound In plenty that this
campaign will be a great talk fest
which is by the way OF saying, colo
nuially that It VIII be Campaign Of
education" as the. high.brow express.
sion goes. The league of nations is
expected to- be an issue and 1t has SO
many angles that Il will lend itself to
discussion from "a number of view
points The virtues and the shortcom-
lngs. Of the. two great political parties
must be exploited and deprecated by
the supporters of each respectively,
and "a pleasant time will be had by all
present as thee reporter would
write.
The American people love to listen
to speech. That statement is true
notwithstanding the fact that politi-
cal managers resort extensively now.
adays to printers ink outputs, from
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