must possess in a high degree that make his power a reality. As a matter of course, he must be above all a great organizer. The most delicate of the duties devolving on the chairman, or on the chairman jointly with the treasurer, is to procure the sinews of war. He appeals for funds to the trusty followers of the party, to the clients of the party, if the latter has any special ones, such as, for instance, the manufacturers who benefit by the protec- tionist policy of the Republican party; the intimate friends of the candidates for the Presidency and the Vice-Presidency who are well off are certainly not for- gotten. A clever, ingenious, and energetic chairman always manages to fill the chest. But the important thing is to make a good use of the contents. Like a general who chooses the strategic points for the dis- position of his troops, the national chairman distributes and skilfully brings to bear his pecuniary resources on the different points of the immense electoral battlefield formed by the Union. The powers of the chairman in all matters of finance are discretionary; he is account- able to no one, all the more since a good deal of the expenditure incurred could not bear the light of day. At least that was the case till the last presidential cam- paign of 1908. The legitimate duties of the national committee, which also absorb very large sums, consist mainly in organizing the oratorical and literary cam- paign on behalf of the "ticket" of the party over the whole area of the Republic. The methods of this propaganda will be examined further on in detail. 75. Alongside the national committee, each of the two great parties possesses another central committee -163- |