MANAGING A
OLITIC
Slight Variation in the Procedure Between
Republicans and Democrats.
Qreat Power Wielded Vigorously by the National Committee
Preliminary to the Gathering Handful of Leaders Control
Machinery, Nominations and Platform.
National convention are very ex
pensive affairs. Their cost to the party
holding them Is estimated at not less
than $150,000, and perhaps more. In
each great party Is a body of wise men
known as the "National Committee."
This body Is the acme of political as
cension. A man may l;e a proud mem
ber of a division committee, which Is
the first stop In the ladder. But when
he reaches the dizzy heights of na
tional committeeman from his State
and appears at the convention with a
badge as Mg as an ancient breast
plate, so that there can be no mistake
In his standing, the height of ambi
tion Is reached. There Is one national
committeeman from each State. This
august body meets in December pre
ceding a national convention, examines
the claims of the different cities that
desire the . gathering, and critically
looks Into the size of the "guarantee,"
as It Is called. This, latter form means
that the city paying the most money
usually gets the convention. The guar
antee Is accepted by the committee
men, and they then proceed to spend
It lavishly. Apartments at the most
expensive hotels are secured, a host of
employes Is retained and business be
gins In renl form. The hotel bills of
the National Committees are some
thing enormous.
Machinery of a Convention.
While the preliminaries are being
arranged the delegates are arriving.
The delegate to the National Conven
tion Is generally a person of import
ance at his home. The DeinocratB re
quire a two-thirds vote of all the dele
gates present and voting to make a
nomination. The Republicans require
majority of those present and voting.
At a national convention ench State
has its own headquarters, where the
delegates gather. They do a lot of
"conferring" with each other and with
delegates from other Slates. They hold
meetings and elect chairmen and hon
orary vice presidents. The honorary
vice president has a seat on the plat
form and an extra ticket, but little
else. The chairman does the dickering
In some cases: In some cases the posi
tion Is a sinecure. Usually the "con
ferring" and the dickering begin days
before the convention is to be called
to order.
Prior to the calling of the conven
tion to order the National Committee
Is virtually In command of the situa
tion. With It lies the arranging of the
details, the "framing up" of the pro
cedure of the first session, the selection
of the temporary chairman, nud. In a
great many cases, though not always,
the program making of the whole con
vention, tenqMtrary and permanent or
ganizations, nominating and platform
building.
Convention la In Order.
Now for the convention, the great
meeting that the country has looked
forward to for so many weeks. The
chairman of the National Committee
calls the convention to order, usually
.bout noon upon the day set.
The convention called to order, the
proceedings are opened with prayer.
The chairman requests the secretary
to read the call for the convention,
which Is done. Then the rollcall Is
gone through, and this takes a lot of
tlmo. The next step Is the announce
ment by the chairman that the commit
tee offers to the convention as Its tem
porary chairman the name of So-a'nd-Bo,
There are loud and prolonged
cheers, and by a viva voce vote Mr.
Bo-nnd-So Is unnlinously elected. There
Is usually little trouble over the elec
tion of a temporary chairman. The
chairman then appoints a committee to
escort the temporary chairman to the
platform; the band plays, the delega
tlon from Mr. So-nnd-So's State makes
lot of noise, and all Is merry.
It Is Incumbent on the temporary
chairman to make a speech. He Invari
ably takes advantage of the opportu
nity. I'? 'Voumls a keynote." It is a
sustained note. It Is Invariably a trib
ute to the "party of Abraham Llueolu"
at the Republican convention, and a
glorification of the "party of Thomas
Jefferson" at the Democratic. It lasts
very long tlmo.
After the speech various resolutions
are offered. Usually these have been
arranged for In advance, and the tern-
porary chairman works according to a
printed schedule, calling on John Doe
and Richard Doe at the right time, so
that there may be no hitch. Commit
tees are appointed; one on resolutions,
which will have the drafting of the
platform; one ou credentials or con
tested seats; one on permanent or
ganization. These are the Important
ones. When they are all chosen, and
there has been a lot of hand-clapping
end cheering, as well-known men are
atpointed to this or that committee,
the temporary chairman announces an
IATI01L
L 80 V T O
adjournment, usually until the next
day.
Polling; Wires In Committee.
At last the machinery Is In motion
and the district delegate begins to
wonder what he Is on hand for. A
big man at home, he is lost in the
hurly burly and roar of the conven
tion. He may be assigned to a commit
tee, but he had nothing to do with
that. The State boss 'decided that so-and-so
should be a member of the Per
manent Organization Committee; that
Mr. Brown, who Is a political econo
mist, should be honored by a seat In
the Resolutions Committee, and that
the Boss himself or one of his most
trusted lieutenants should be a mem
ber of the Credentials Committee. These
bodies all meet separately. All the
contests that were handled by the Na
tional Committee the week previous go
to the Committee on Credentials nnless
pressure has been brought to have the
contestants withdraw their, fight. The
Credentials Committee wires are pulled
the same as was the National Commit
tee, and the result Is usually nearly
the same.
Framing- the Platform.
It Is wlien the district delegate sits
In the Committee on Resolutions to
draft the platform that he begins to
realize that he is only a small "1"
compared with the bosses. Tbevgenlal
Mr. Doe, who has been coming to the
national conventions since 1808, Is
elected chairman with a hurrah. He
assumes his position and draws from
his pocket a carefully prepared docu
ment, which the secretary proceeds to
read. The district delegate might have
had an idea some time previously that
he would be consulted as to the plat
form. But the party leaders saved him
all the trouble and worrlment. They
had skilled men at work on the plat
form weeks before, and It is built ac
cording to their Idens. The committee
usually adopts the platform with a
ruuh. Sometimes there Is a fight on
particular topics. But party expedi
ency usually rules.
Ileal Work Now Bcg-lna.
The Credentials Committee fre
quently sits for three days and the
convention must wait until Its labors
are finished. The Committee on Per
manent Organization is usually a cut
and dried affair. Finally the Creden
tials Committee reports and the new
oil Is made up. Then the Committee
on Permanent Organization makes Its
report. It recommends that the "Hon
orable Senator or Mr. So-and-So" be
called upon to preside. Cheers greet
the name, and the gentleman is escort
ed to the platform. After he has been
elected he makes a profound speech, the
other ofllcora are chosen and, like race
horses, the meet Is on.
If the Committee on Platform Is
ready to report It reports after the
permanent chairman has made his
speech. On the report there must be
a roll call. There Is always, too, the
possibility of a fight. Certain "planks"
that please Maine may be abhorrent to
Texas. When the matter of the plat
form Is disposed of, either by the com
mittee reporting or by the announce
ment thnt it Is not ready to report, the
permanent chairman1 announces another
recess; maybe until the next day, pos
sibly until later In the same day.
Nomination of a Candidate.
Frequently the time Is taken up with
speeches placing the candidates for
President In nomination. These ad
dresses are usually good In their way.
Men noted for their eloquence,, who
can portray the virtues of the aspirant
in language that will thrill their hear
ers, are selected for this work. The
platform Is usually accorded the sink
er and his oration Is hailed with deaf
ening applause and cheers. Each can
dhlate Is brought to the front and his
works painted In glowing colors. Then
comes the critical period. The district
delegate believes now Is the moment
when ecoTnWfcfor something.
The roll call begins and proceeds
monotonously. The chairmen of the
different delegations alone do the talk
lug. That Is all there Is to It. The
first ballot In the convention Is usually
devoted to complimenting favorite sous.
After that the real work beglus. The
district delegate learns that he Is not
to vote as he Intended, but that he will
vote for some one else on the second
ballot
Suddenly there. Is a roar In the con
ventlon. It Is a mighty shout, louder
than cannon. Somebody has been com-
Inated for President. Amidst great
disorder the rollcall Is pushed to con
elusion. The chairman tries to learn
how the tellers agree In their count
But the crowd knows all about It. The
chairman, powerless as Mrs. Parting
ton with a broom against the waves
of the ocean, tries to do his duty. The
shouts and cheers keep up for ten or
more minutes. Excited men parade the
aisles, carrying their State banners,
cheering and singing. Finally, when
order is restored, the chairman an-
nounces formally the name of the nom. I SfcjLra U4vKKVS'ti6'
World Know the New. Quickly. ; VWV' 'W'Zj11
This is irreetod bv more eheerliur and y&r '' ' teW AG-" m.
everybody is happy except the friends lf3Jti lSr$M?Q &f-
of the defeated. They move to make tl2YjL V ' I
the nomination unanimous with a for
mal grace that lacks enthusiasm. This
is done and the band plays. In the
meantime the click of the telegraph in
strument shows that the news has been
carried to every town and hamlet In
the country. It has been cabled to for
eign countries. The rulers of all na
tlons know within a few minutes after
the nomination who Is the prospective Ilved 'n the suburbs of a near-by city.
President of the United States. i IIe sustained a severe attack of the
No matter how long It has taken to "hen fever" nl. as Is the usual occur
ehoose a nominee for the Presidency, rence' became enthused over the "enor
the whole performance has to be gone us" profits to be made with poultry,
through again when It comes to nom- He dld ut, however, allow his
Inating a candidate for the second .enthusiasm to get the best of the bet
place on the ticket. There are not so ter Judgment, and cause him to resign
many "favorite sons," however, and one nls clerkship 'and Immediately embark
ballot frequently suffices. More noise, tn the poultry business on a more or
more enthusiasm. The convention baa ,e8S extended scale, as has so frequent
nominated the ticket. . occurred ; but, instead, he held on to
Each State delegation, at one of Its hIs clerkship, fixed up a good, comfort
conferences, has chosen Its candidate ftble 1,ttle hu9e on a back lot' D0"ght
for member of the National Committee.
The election of this committee Is now
In order. It Is put through quickly, as
a rule, and without a hitch. Then reso
lutions of various sorts are passed.
The ticket Is named, the convention
passes Into history and the battle for
power nnd patronage begins. The dis
trict delegate goes home. His towns
men congratulate him on his good work,
Philadelphia Public Ledger.
THE "FIXER" OF GOTHAM.
New York East Side Character Has
Real Mission In I.tfe. I
Ton will not And him mentioned In
the city's charter nor on the pay roll of the business.
of Greater New York, but the east side vThls natural Increase continued for
"fixer" Is an established Institution and another year or two, and by this time
Is as important In his way as the po-' he had his business so firmly establlsh
liceman who samples the wares of the ed on a paying basis that he was Justi
pushcart peddler, or as the white-robed fled n buying a small farm out at the
street cleaner. edge of town, and then and there be-
When aliens come to this country, ! coming a full-fledged poultryman, mak
says the American Hebrew, and are ' this his exclusive occupation,
enmeshed In a mountain of ordinances Speaking 0f profits, he recently told
and regulations it Is obvious that their . we that he scarcely managed to meet
lapses from the straight path marked expenses the first year, the second
out for the native mast be viewed with ' year ne slightly more than kept even,
an eye of softened by kindness. while subsequent years have not failed
"This eve of kindness is the 'flT-r' to show a nice little sum on the right
He is the man who rushes to the rescue
of the unfortunate wight who has been
caught In the Wheels Of the law and
who needs a sponsor. "
"Necessarily the 'fixer' is the intl- be true that scientists can but point
mate friend of the ward heeler, of the the way and practical men must dem
district leader and necessarily of the onstrate In a practical way all new
Judges of the minor courts. He is usu- developments along the line of im
ally bluff, hearty, good-natured and provement in-agricultural and breed
with a genuine love for his fellow lng problems. Our experiment stations
citizens. ' are doing excellent work and are not
"When a pushcart peddler is sud- ' only introducing new ideas, but are
denly made to realize that he is vlolat- also condemning practices that were
lng the law by standing on one spot for considered good by those who thought
more than the regulation number of they were right but hrfd no way of
minutes, and he Is arrested by the po- demonstrating their propositions. Prac-
lleeman who has been sampling his
beans or his fruit, it is not a pleasant
situation in which he would find him-
self if he had no means of communica-!
ting with friends who are friends of
tho 'fixer.'
"It Is the 'fixer' who sees the district
leader for him, who appears in court to
say a good word for him, who sees the
Judge before the case is called, and
who. if necessary, puts up the bail
to take him out of Jail for the night
"ii mum uui uc buihioscu mat tne
'fixer' is a philanthropist. He disdains
ethics and civic virtue as the fanatic
mouthing of the silk-stocking folk.
What he does Is done for his own good.
"If he does not receive his fee In larly from your own experiment sta
money he knows he may count upon the tlon It Is your own fault. National
rescued Individual for his vote, and a
vote is easily converted into monetary
value. As the friend of those in dis
tress he-becomes an Influence in the
neighborhood, and an army of such
friends may lead to political prefer
ment of lasting Importance."
The Reuilttanoe Blan.
Throughout the west from Cape
Nome to San Diego, stretch long ranks
of pioneers, building great cities, turn
ing arid deserts Into fertile plains, har
nessing mighty rivers to do man's bid
ding, clearing away primeval forests,
laying the foundation of an empire in
lands where solitude has reigned su
preme. But oue figure stands aloof
from the stern-faced, hurrying throng,
unmoved by all their clamor and con
temptuous of their feverish strivings.
It is the Remittance Man.. Here on the
skirmish line of civilization, with the
roar of battle ringing In his ears, with
men on every side of him rushing
eagerly luto the fray, some to emerge
victorious, some to fall fighting gallaut-
ly against odds, he remains an only-
slightly-interested onlooker. The re- Tue pian 8nowt cedar posts set less
mlttance men tn large numbers come than eight feet apart. At the top and
from Euglaud and are supported by bottom are two by six inch planks set
money regularly sent to them. They. iuto the posts and there are seven lat
have left their native lands on account erai wires.
of some scandal, or Infraction of the
law, or family disagreement, and form " Deatroying pocket Gophera.
few ties here. I The Nebraska Experiment Station
. ( has been investigating the destruction
Battlefield Logic. ' of pocket gophers. As effective and at
Among the men who served with the same time luexienslve methods as
Roosevelt's rough riders In Cuba was u be employed are: Trapping when
a little Dutch Jew, who, according to done properly and in conformity with
the men in his own troop, was "the the animal's habits; poisoning under
very Incarnation of cool, impudent certain restrictions and careful prac
bravado In a fight" He was a con- tices; shooting at certain times and
sistent fatalist under some conditions; and lastly the
One day he observed a comrade dodg protection of the natural enemies of the
lng a Rpeut bullet that had whistled animals. It is urged that barn owls,
uncomfortably close to him. . the long-tailed weasels and bullsnakes
"Vat's de use to todge deni pullets?- especlaly be spared, since all these anl
sang out the little Jew. "Dey'll hit you mala are particularly noted as enemies
shust as veil vera you are as vere yov of pocket goobers wherever they are
aiatr Everybody'! Magazine. found.
Story of an Amateur Poultryman.
About the most sensible (and I
might add, also, the most profitable-,
beginning I ever saw made In the pout-
try business was by a young clerk, who
a uozen sranuara-ureu
hens and a
rooster at a dollar a head, of a neigh
boring fancier, and thus made his
start.
This was early In the spring; during
the spring and summer he furnished
the family table with eggs and chick
ens, and, besides, hatched and raised
something like a hundred young chicks.
Out of these he retained twenty-flve of
the best pullets for breeders, and, of
course, at the same time enlarging his
house room ; nnd so, by the next spring,
we find that his business has, from nat
ural causes, tripled itself, and all this
time our friend has been steadily and
rapidly gaining In practical knowledge
side of the ledger. Outing.
Experiment Station Bulletins
It always has been and always will
tlcal men should be slow- to discredit
the work of these institutions and
should work in harmony with them for
the general uplift of the cause which
they are all trying to better. The ac-
cesslbility of the work done at these
stations makes It easy for every one
to keep in close touch with the work
being done. The bulletins Issued are
cheerfully sent to all who will apply
for them without cost to the recipient.
so that there is no excuse for any one
not Knowing jusr wuai is oeing aone
by these hard-working scientists who
are always glad to spread the news
! of new discoveries or new ideas. If
' you are not getting these bulletins regu
Stockman and Farmer,
Small yards for hogs require very
,tehf fences either of bonrds or wire.
Fence for Hob Yard.
The honey produced in the United
States last year would load a string
of freight cars from Chicago to New
York. "This is certainly sweetness long
drawn out"
The heifer calf that Is intended for
dairy use should not be given too fat
tening a ration. Oats, grass and milk,
with a scant ration of shelled corn,
will furnish about what she needs for
her proper development.
The 1,300 pound draft horse at three
years old can always be counted on by
the horse raiser as a safe and profit
able proposition. During the past few
years such an animal has been worth
from 10 to 12 cents per pound.
Some one who has tried it says that
If flour of sulphur Is mixed liberally
with the seed corn In the planter box
the cutworms will not touch the corn
so treated. It is certainly an easy and
inexpensive recipe and at least worth
trying.
The colt that Is halter broken at the
start and trained and handled 'as he
grows not only makes a much more
tractable horse at three years old, but
also one that will fetch a considerably
higher price on the market because of
this very fact.
When the flocic of hens is confined
at close range nnd no green food is
available, cut green stuff, preferably
iawn cuttings, should be given to them
in generous allowance every day or
two. The greediness with which they
devour it not only shows that they
relish it, but that their systems need It
Water Pana for Poultry.
In the construction of a water pan
for poultry some provision should be
made to keep out dust and litter. The
forms shown In the Illustration permits
fowls to drink from different sides at
c .--W-,? J, I,
ana m
DBINKINQ PAN FOB POULTRY.
one time and presents the smallest
possible space for filth to enter. The
round cone-shaped top prevents the
fowls roosting upon it. It may be fixed
ou a platform high enough to prevent
the litter being rescratched into it
Sqnash Bngi,
The squash bug never lays its eggs
on the stem, unless by accident, but
the under side of the leaves. The eggs
are of a dark chestnut color, globular
in form, and exist in clusters. They
may be found by turning up the leaves,
when the eggs may be crushed. An
other Insect deposits its eggs on the
stem; this is the borer. The larvae,
as soon as hatched, eat Into the stem,
and are then difficult to dislodge. One
of the most effectual remedies against
enemies of the squash is a solution of
saltpeter, which is prepared by dis
solving a teaspoonful In a quart of
water and sprinkling it over the plant,
though sawdust, saturated with tur
pentine, Is also used on the, ground
around each plant with success.
Sanitary Poultry Nest.
The present-day tendency to employ
sanitary measures In the dairy, the
stable, the doghouse, etc., has at last
extended to the
poultry yard. The
Industrious hen is
to be provided
with a sanitary
nest which can be
readily washed
and scrubbed as ,
occasion demands.
This recent devel
opment Is shown !
in the accompany
EASILY CLEANED.
ing Illustration.
The nest Is made of wire and is sup
ported in a suitable housing; both of
which can be removed from the chicken
house when cleaning is necessary.
When thus removed they can be con
veniently placed in a suitable recep
tacle containing boiling water and
thoroughly cleansed of all Impurities
and undesirable insects.
Denatured Alcohol School.
As a result of plans which have
been matured by Secretary James Wil
son of the department of agriculture,
there will be established shortly In his
department at Washington a denatured
alcohol school. This will include a
small but complete distilling outfit In
cluding vats, worms, engines and other
necessary apparatus, while it will be
the aim of the secretary and his spe
cialists to give a practical demonstra
tion of what denatured alcohol Is, how
it Is made and from what products to
all visitors at Washington who may be
interested In the subject Dr. H. W.
Wiley, chief chemist of the depart
ment, has been assigned to the job.
Harvesting at Rlht lime.
Pick vegetables with the dew on-,
they are superior to those picked in the
hot sun. Beans, however, must be
picked when dry ; If "vines or fruit are
handled when wet they will rust The
following are better picked before full
sized; String beans, beets, carrots,
corn, cucumbers, peas, radishes and
squash. Don't allow seed to ripen o
toe plants or ther will stop bearing.
" II
I II
"CHTLDBEIT'S EVANGELIST."
Ulna Garalln, Wboaa Work Among
the Yon no- la Very Successful.
The Children's Evangelist is the ti
tle bestowed upon Miss Alice Miriam
Gamlln, of New York, the superintend
ent of the evangelistic department of
the State Sunday School Association.
She has made a special study of evan
gelistic work among children and has
met with remarkable success. She has
simple but direct methods of renchlng
boys and girls. To even the careless
and indifferent child she seems to be
able to make the truths of the Chris
tian religion attractive. She brings be
fore the children the beautiful Ideals
and the wealth of wisdom which are
. --Ni;v...'-..y'v.f ft
MISS ALICE M. GAMLIN.
contained in the lessons of the Bible in
a manner which always appeals to
them.
Miss Gamlln Is a native of Worces
ter, Mass., nnd weut through a course
of thorough training to fit her for the
work In which she is engaged. Five
of her seven years in this branch of re
ligious work have been spent in New
York. All during the summer season
she conducts meetings in the metropolis
in tents, which seat from 300 to 500.
She is a woman of great natural abil
ity and of wonderful personal magnet'
ism.
A college youth is rarely as old as
he talks.
All the world's a stage, and most ot
us are in the gallery.
The things we turn up our noses ai
are the things we can't understand.
A girl may make a sweeping asser
tion without knowing how to handle a
broom.
Strawberries come and go, but in
boarding house circles the prune Is per
ennial. A man has to have a mighty , good
disposition to b?"wllllng to admit he
hasn't.
Engaging manners are an asset li
other circles besides the matrimonial
market.
If a woman can't find any other way
to enjoy herself she will do it by hav
ing the blues.
The reason women have so few bad
habits is they have such queer Ideas
of what fun is. V
There's notlihig makes' a,J.
proud of his brains as for somebody
else in the family to have them.
'k girl always has an idea that If she
knew any dukes most of them would
want to marry her. New York Press.
Tennis Rackcta.
What most affects the life of the gut
f, f (
t 2,
1 MtllSWi V .
j In a lawn, tennis racket is dampness,
says the New York Sun. Nowadays
rackets are strung so tighl . that the
strings break with even gi eater fre
quency than before. The dea is that
tight gut sends the ball with greater
force from the very tense surface. The
dampness gets right after these very
taut strings. A lawn tennis man was
, explaining recently - what precautions
I have to be iaken In sending racket
abroad :
"When first we began to send them
to Bermuda, for instance," he said,
"we put them merely In waterproof
covers. Greatly to our surprise we
learned that the entire first shipment
had arrived with strings broken. We
tried the same packing again, with the
same result.
"Then we realized what was the
trouble and packed the rackets in tin
boxes. Each box was carefully soldered
up and that made them airtight' and
lamp proof." . i
The lawn tennis man explained a
new wrinkle of players. At the end
of a season some of them have all the
tut cut out of a favorite racket Thii
- is done because if the gut were left in
a string might break in the winter and
put the strain all on the side of the
frame, warping it
"With a favorite racket they think
it better to pay for rcstrlnglag them
than to run those chances," said he.
"It doesn't hurt a racket to restrimj
it ; really It helps and improves it"
Even an empty-headed man Is cp
ble of getting fulL