nterprises to which
Scarborough's election meant disaster; a multitude of the smaller
papers, normally of the opposition, were dependent upon those same
enterprises for the advertising that kept them alive.

Perhaps the most far-sighted--certainly, as the event showed, the most
fortunate--single stroke of my campaign was done in Illinois. That
state was vital to our success; also it was one of the doubtful states
where, next to his own Indiana, Scarborough's chances were best. I felt
that we must put a heavy handicap on his popularity there. I had noticed
that in Illinois the violently radical wing of the opposition was very
strong. So I sent Merriweather to strengthen the radicals still further.
I hoped to make them strong enough to put through their party's state
convention a platform that would be a scarecrow to timid voters in
Illinois and throughout the West; and I wished for a "wild man" as the
candidate for governor, but I didn't hope it, though I told Merriweather
it must be done. Curiously enough, my calculation of the probabilities
was just reversed. The radicals were beaten on platform; but, thanks to
a desperate effort of Merriweather's in "coaxing" rural delegates, a
frothing, wild-eyed, political crank got the nomination. And he never
spoke during the campaign that he didn't drive voters away from his
ticket--and, therefore, from Scarborough. And our machine there
sacrificed the local interests to the general by nominating a popular
and not insincere reformer.

When Roebuck and I descended upon Wall Street on October sixteenth,
three weeks before election, I had everything in readiness for my final
and real campaign.

Throughout the doubtful states, Woodruff was in touch with local machine
leaders of Scarborough's party, with corruptible labor and fraternal
order leaders, with every element that would for a cash price deliver a
body of voters on election day. Also he had arranged in those states for
the "right sort" of election officers at upward of five hundred polling
places, at least half of them places where several hundred votes could
be shifted without danger or suspicion. Also, Burbank and our corps of
"spellbinders" had succeeded beyond my hopes in rousing partizan
passion--but here again part of the credit belongs to Woodruff. Never
before had there been so many free barbecues, distributions of free
uniforms to well-financed Burbank and Howard Campaign Clubs, and
arrangings of those expensive p