ELECTING AJPRESIDENT

Hokitika Guardian, 8 July 1924, Page 4

ELECTING AJPRESIDENT

It is simple enough for a man to be a candidate for the Presidency, it is less easy for him to lie accepted as ilie choice of i ay pm tiriilnr .State. It requires skill, oiganisatinn, a knowledge of the ways of politics, and money; and of those things tho greatest is money (writes Mr A. Maurice Low in the “.Morning Post”). There are. various kino's of Candida L-. There is the man Senator, meinhei of the Cabinet. Gmcruor -who knows he lias all inliuitesimal chalice of being nominated, but who enjoys the vanity of being talked about as a iandi.late.’ Sometimes because he is well thought of and the State knows it will flatter him to bo mentioned as ii candidate; more often for ulterior pm poses, lilie bosses encourage bis candidature. He is the Stale’s “I'avoiliile son.” anil thus a block of delegates is tied up until the moment conies when they can ho thrown into the r.calo.

The serious candidate' gees about it in a dilfcreul way. Strong men in bis Parlv think he Im.s qualities that wi)| appeal to the public, and are ready to back llioir judgment, with money cud work. It is always a gamble liecause they are taking long odds, hut the stakes arc great, and they are willing to take chances. In the most important States an organisation is created in charge of a manager, who endeavours to arouse sentiment in favour of his candidate. Great quantities of literature are distributed, the candidate himself makes ninnv

speeches, and lie is assisted hv othc; orators.

Of course, this costs a good deal of money, and in some of rhe larger States £15,000 or £20,000 can ho easily .expended in these pre-Convention campaigns. Federal and State Corrupt Practice Acts limit the amount of money candidates for jtlio various offices may spend after their nomination. hut few States place any limit on expenditure before the nomination. Consequently the i ich man or the man who has rich friends lias an advantage over his poor opponent; and the man wlm can stand a great physical strain also lias an advantage. A candidate

with leather lungs, who can speak day and night for weeks without suffering, even although he lias few

brains, will often make a better impression upon a mixed audience than a rival with finer intellect hut a more

frail physique. It is .seldom that tbe nomination for tbe Presidency is allowed to go by do--1 fault. Usually there are ludf-a-dozen or more men of the same party competing for the nomination, who fight each other as bitterly, sometimes even more savagely, than they do their political opponents. As a rule these internecine struggles leave no scars, and alter the nomination is made the defeated pledge their loyalty to the victor and tin n in to help him carry their States, but that is licit always the ease. When ilie contest has been very bitter and personal feeling Ims been roused,' "ben, ns sometinis happens, money has been spent too freely, or questionable pressure exerted, tire supporters of the defeated candidate refuse to ho reconciled, and show their resentment on election day. AVbat- candidates said about each other in the beat of the pre-Convention campaign is carefully party as words of wisdom from iho prophets, to bo used later when the candidates of their respective parties make their appeal to tbe country for votc3.

Tn some States the delegates may he pledged—that is, they must agree to vote in the convention for a designated candidate or they are instructed to vote for him: in otlrer States instructions are not permitted, hut the voters are allowed to express a preference, e.nd this rrefereue is assumed to he morally binding upon the delegates. Alornl obligations, in politics especially, often involve the splitting of hairs. Instructed delegates are frequently the first to desert, and a candidate has been known to enter the

convention with more instructed delegates than any of his rivals and yet lose the nomination. The value of these instructions is largely of importance to the shrewd political observer familiar with the way of politicians. lie can tell whether tho instructed delegates are in sympathy with their instructions, or, after having made a perfunctory show of loyalty, will sell the pass before the first shot has been fired; The delegates instructed for a “favourite son” because of State pride or some other ingenious reason do not take their instructions seriously. They are like soldiers with wooden guns, who risk no battle, knowing there is safety elsewhere.