Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-06-24
Kansas City and Houston
And the Conventions
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

HOUSTON, June 23.-Not all Of a
great national political convention Is
a blare of bands and waving OF flags,
q flow of party oratory and the bal
loting for nominees Staging one OF
these gatherings calls for the best re-
sources of the keenest business exec
utiyes with weeks of hard. humdrum
labor In preparation, far removed from
the color and the excitement OF milling
throngs and the glare OF the actual pro-
ceedings.
Kansas City did we'll in handling
smoothly the Republican convention.
Houston Is receiving the olrushing
Democratic hosts and placing them
with clocklike precision. This spells.
in each case, efficiency OF local organ
ization.
The scene behind the stage Is always
the most interesting to the uninitiated;
witness the horces of small boys willing
TO arise at 4 am. to see O circus UNI
load
There Is q business to these con-
ventions behind the scenes. There Is
the expense to the city which Is the
host. There is the income from the
expenditures OF the visitors, There Is
the advertising which the city receives.
The direct expense to Kansas City of
entertaining the Republican national
convention was 1922 900. The direct
expense to Houston In preparing for the
Democratic national convention Is more
than 100000.
In Kansas City the Chamber of Com
nerce, under Conrad II. Mann. as gen.
eral chairman. took hold OF the situ-
alton and organized successful cam
paign to raise $4,000,
The Republican national committee
was given Sl25.000 when 1t awarded the
convention, this money going for gen.
erai party purposes. Then, $4,000 adj
ditional was given the national COM
mittee to defray its convention expenses,
which was part of the agreement. Be
yond this the community committees
spent $4,000 for street decorations,
bands, parades, badges and incidentalS.
Added to this, II was estimated con-
servatively that merchants and building
owners expended $4,000 individually
for decorations.
In the case of Houston. two main fac
tors made the expense greater--the
necessity of constructing special COLI
scum to house the convention and the
larger amount given the national
committee.
From the time last January when
Jesse H. Jones placed his personal
check for 100000 before the Demo-
cratic national committee, and Houston
was awarded the convention. the citizens
here have been busy. Mayor Oscar r.
Holcombe has functioned as chairman
of the executive committee and OF the
arrangements committee and prominent
men have given time unstintedly, Not
content with building huge coliseum
in record time. Houston also has erected
hospitality house ut q cost OF $4,000.
The coliseum, incidentally should stand
some years and be put to good purpose
by Houston In the future.
Houston citizens raised S3b0,000 by
subscriptions. ME too" buttons were
sold at 81 each to bring the clerks and
stenographers into the spirit Of the
thing~~and 22.600 Of them were dis
posed of: some even outside OF Texas
OF this fund.- 100000 was given the
Democratic national committee and
$4,000 was contributed toward con-
stiuction costs of the coliseum the
municipal government having appropri-
ated not to exceed $4,000 for that
building Added TO this $4,000 from
the city and Its citizens. there are the
individual expenditures for decorations,
Il
Convention delegates and visitors
spend considerable money. Such money,
no matter how concentrated the
sources which receive II from the vis~
itnrs turns over about 10 times with
in 90 days experience has proved. SO
Ii hotels and restaurants and transport
tation companies keneiit initlally with