The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1923-10-03

what the politicians say is extreme
wisdom he President has refrained
from expressing any preference.
1t Is practically decided that the
next Republican national convention
Is to be heldNin the city of Chicago.
1t Is known that a majority Of the
members of the national committee
will favor Chicago. This settles the
matter in advance. In the case Of
the Democrats there are several "fav-
Rorite city, cliQues and just which one
will win Its case no one yet knows.
In a little more than two months Re
publican and Democratic national COM
mittees will meet in Washington TO de-
eide the question Of convention cities.
Even If 1t is a foregone conclusion
thar one city is to be chosen. repre-
sentatives of other cities will come
here to present their claims for pref
erence. This always is done. 1t gives
each city a chance through its mayor
or the chairman of its chamber of
of the home town and, moreover, 1t
makes for general confentment when
every city is given d chance to De
heard.
Hard Task for One COMMITTEES.
1t probably is generally believed
that the committee of arrangements
for a national convention is the hard
est worked body which has anything
to do with the gatherings. If, how
ever, the chairman of the standing
committee of correspondents of b
Washington body of newspaper writer's
were to be consulted, he doubtless
would say that his committee Is the
one which works harder thar any
other committee in making prepara-
tons for national conventions.
The standing committee of CORE
spondehts not only has to do it's work
for convention, but for both, and
the work done for one cannot stand as
the work done for the other. In the
committees hands is placed the re-
sponsibility for assigning the press
seats in the convention hall. The
committee Is not allowed to play fav-
orites and yet If it escapes without
forty charges Of favoritism 1t considers
itself lucky.
Convention halls in different cities
are various In their seating arrange
ments and they vary In their holding
capacities. This Is the reaso that
the standing committees work for one
convention cannot stand as the work
for q second convention. Conditions
are different and the committees la
Dor is doubled.
Every fourth year about two weeks
before a convention meets. James D.
Preston, superintendent of the senate
press gallery, acting under authority
of the standing committee Of CORE
spondents of the national party meets,
goes to the convention cities, n af-
the press facilities are what they
should be. Preston has been at this
work for something like thirty years
and he knows how to do 1t.
Correspondents Must Be Served.
The Washington correspondents and
political writer's elsewhere throughout
the country have heard complaints
time and again from visitors to the
conventions that the representatives of
the press take up too much room.
The answer to this always has been
and still is that the press represents
millions of Americans who canno at
tend the convention and that their in
terests must be served just as we'll
certainly as the interests Of the few
thousands of visitors who can crowd
their way into the convention hall.
At the last national conventions
modern inventions introduced several
novel and useful aids to the proceed
ings. There was a time when a con-
vention speaker, unless he had the
voice of a D~emosthenes or of a bull,
could not be heard in the rear por-
tons of the auditoriums. Many a
well-known party leader was forced
to cut his speech short by the constant
clamorings of those who could not
hear.
At the last national conventions
wires were installed which carried the
voices of the speakers to the remotest
parts of the hall. If the speaker
chose to drop his voice to a whisper
he was heard clearly. The thing
proved to be a boon for men who want
ed to be heard, but who could not
make themselves heard without artifi-
cial aid.
1t is probable that main speeches at
the next Republican and Democratic
national conventions will be heard in
all parts of the United States at the
time of their delivery. The radio has
worked wonders. There are some gen.
tlemen given to irony who say they
doubt whether the radio in the case
of national conventions will prove an
unmixed blessing. Some Of the con-
vention speeches are deadly dull, while
others have life and occasional bril-
lance.