Evening star., 1938-01-10
Jackson Day Big Business.


Announcement that the jackson Day
dinners, held in various cities in this
country Saturday night, have brought
in sufficient revenue to take the DEM
ocratic party out of the red demon
strates that organization is after all
the most effective agency of political
power in this country. Chairman Far
ley of the Democratic National Com
mittee estimates the net revenue from
the dinners at no less than S40O 900.
With the committees deficit standing
at S200,000, it is plain that the eve
ning's entertainment netted a hundred
per cent profit. That is big business"
at its best.
This margin of profit puts the party,
1t Is stated, in sounder financial posi-
ton than at any time since it inherited
q deficit of more than million dollars
from the campaign of 1923, when Alfred
z. Smith was its unsuccessful candi-
date for the presidency AS there will
be two more approximate anniversaries
OF Jackson's day" before the opening
Of the campaign of 1910 and therefore,
1t is to be expected, two more dinners
In celebration, it would appear fairly
certain that at the present rate of cele-
bration at the festive board the party
will have at the least a million dollars
In its treasury for the basis of the
campaign fund for that contest.
There would seem to be little doubt
that this rate of revenue production for
party purposes can be continued. The
methods Of management Of the dinners
are such as to ensure good attendance
Indeed, it would seem to matter little
whether there is attendance or not.
Attendance, forsooth, is not the pri-
mary objective. Acceptance of the in
vltatlon' to attend the dinners is not
required, though it may be desired.
The primary urge is for subscription.
If the person honored by an invitation
finds it necessary to absent himself his
check will be all velvet for the fund.
The ratio of profits rises, therefore, in
proportion to the absentees.
OF course, no one is actually required
to subscribe. But there are evidences
of urgency in the invitation. The sys-
tenn of "follow-ups" after the initial
invitation Is well planned to indicate
to the prospect that it is decidedly to
his interest, in self-defense, to accept at
RI of
which may Or may not be in some degree
proportioned to his annual stipend.
The degree of his desire to remain on
the pay rolls of the Government NAV
be reckoned as a factor.
The psychology of the system of din
ner invitation as a means of swelling
the war chest of the party is excellent.
The sword of Damocles does not. of
course, actually hang over the head of
the reluctant one. That is, there is no
immediate evidence of that implement
OF decapitation. Crude indeed would be
system that brought the sword into
view. with a CLINT from its cleaning
blade to bring tears to the eyes of the
subscriber as he signs his check. For
there Is somewhere in the statutes a
reference to such exactions And even
II there were a disposition to let the
sword fall and take a few heads the
procedure must be carefully accom-
panied by the establishment of records
showing lack of fitness for the con-
tinuance Of official service.
The statistics of the jackson Dav
dinners are of such proportions as to
encourage some critic of the New Deal
administration who is not DEPENDENT
upon semi-monthly stipend from the
Treasury for his livelihood to engage
IN computation calculated to demon
strate that this enterprise is one of the
wicked trusts against which the
oratory of the dinners held Saturday
night evoked all over the country was
mainly directed.