Evening star., 1948-09-21
Personal Campaigns
Get Votes, Practical
Politicians Find
People Like to See How
Candidates Look in
Appearance on Stump
By David Laurence

radio was beginning to excite the
interest of the American people, 1t
was freely predicted that stumping
by presidential candidates would no
longer be necessary. 1t was also
assumed that, because radio reaches
so many more millions than Is pos
sible in q single auditorium, more
reliance would be placed on broad
casts from strategic centers than on
long transcontinental trips.
The presidential campaign of 1948
which has Just opened witnesses
Just as much emphasis, If not more,
on radio broadcasting es heretofore
but there is also a significant re-
turn to the kind Of personal CAM
paigning and stumping to which
America was treated in the presi-
dental campaign 50 years ago.
Back in 1896, when william Jen-
nings Bryan toured the country,
making as many as eight and ten
speeches a day, there was no radio
broadcast to tell the people Of one
section what was being said in other
sections. Nor could the newspapers
give space to all the speeches then
any more than they can today. He
drew the biggest kind Of crowds
but lost the election. !
Front Porch" Campaigns.
There have been campaigns in
which one or the other OF the
candidates waged a front porch"
campaign, addressing visiting dele
cations and omitting the big trips.
Thus President Mckinley waged a
front porch" campaign in 1900.
So did Warren Harding in 1920.
Woodrow Wilson in 1916 conducted
his campaign for reelection in dig
nified manner from his front porch
in Long Branch, N. j., making half
a dozen major addresses and speak
ing to>a few delegations visiting him
there.
In recent years, too, 1t has been
proved that it Is not always the
candidate travelling the longest dis
tance who wins out. Wendell Will
kie in 1910 travelled far more than
r. D. r. did. Likewise, Governor
Dewey traversed more territory in
1914 than Mr.. Roosevelt.
The decision of President Truman
to make one of the longest CAM
paign journeys that any candidate
has ever made Is based on the
theory that local publicity and con-
tact with local groups can gain
more votes than radio broadcasts
alone from Washington or other
big cities.
One thing that has brought the
change in campaign methods is the
difference in time between the
Pacific Coast or Rocky Mountain
region and the East. A speech de-
livered at pm. on the Pacific Coast
can be heard only by those who stay
up as late as II pm. on the Atlantic
Seaboard. Assuming that many
people go to bed at 10 o'clock or
earlier, a speech delivered in the
Rocky Mountain area at 8 o'clock
means listening after 10 o'clock in
the East.
Plans are being made to rebroad-
cast some of the western speeches
the next evening at earlier hours.
But the significant thing about all
this is not the arrangements for
broadcasting, which are about as
they were four years ago. 1t is the
determination of each candidate to
speak directly to the people.
Meetings Mean Votes.
Gov. Dewey found out in the pre-
convention campaign that it means
votes when he mingles with the
people at every crossroads town in
a State, as he did in Oregon. Neither
candidate can spend much time in
small towns except as the trains
pause a few minutes en- route to
the larger centers, but there is no
doubt that each nominee feels it IS
important to face the people and
let them see in person what the
candidate looks like and how he
carries himself on the stump.
1t is thrilling thing for a
democracy to operate on basis
that requires the candidates to take
their case directly to the people.
With all due respect to the me-
chanical inventions which help dis
tant points to listen in, there is
something very American in the
stumping habit. Here the people
have q chance to ask questions and
to indicate their approval or dis
approval to the candidate himself.
1t must be very stimulating to the
candidates to get the feel of the
audiences by means Of personal ap-
pearances.
There is one mechanical invention
that may change things somewhat
it's television. But here. too, one
cannot be making any predictions.
For 1t isn't practicable for all the
people to see the candidates when
time belts are different across the
country and when there are so many
opportunities for daytime appear
arces that still are desired by the
practical politicians.
(Rsproduction Rishts Reserved)