EET OPPOSITION.--There is no rule for the handling of opposition
that is fair and open. For opposition that is unfair and under-handed,
there is one powerful weapon,--Publicity. The American people love fair
play, and there is nothing so fatal to an unfair fighter as a
searchlight, turned full on him without fear and without mercy. If it is
reliably and persistently reported that some citizen who ought to be on
the right side has for some dark reason become active on the wrong side,
print the reports in a large newspaper, and ask him publicly if they are
true. If the reports are false, he can quickly come out in a letter and
say so, and end the matter. If they are true, the public will soon know
it, and act accordingly.

ETERNAL VIGILANCE.--The progress of a bill must be watched by some
competent person from day to day, and finally from hour to hour. I know
one bill that was saved from defeat only because its promoter dragged
it, almost by force, out of the hands of a tardy clerk, and accompanied
it in person to the senate, where it was passed in the last hour of a
session.

A bill should not be left to a long slumber in the drawer of a
committee. Such delays nearly always are dangerous.

SIGNING THE BILL.--The promoter of a great measure always seeks the
sympathy of the Chief Executive early in the day; but he should not make
the diplomatic error of trying to exact promises or pledges in advance.
Good judges do not give away their decisions in advance.

Because a Chief Executive remarks after a bill has been sent to him for
signing that he "cannot approve it," it is no reason to give up in
despair. Many an executive approval has been snatched at the last
moment, as a brand from the burning. _Ask for a hearing before the bill
is acted upon_. At the hearing, and before it and after, the People who
wish the bill to become a law must express themselves,--by letter, by
telegram, and by appeal in person. If the governor becomes convinced
that an _overwhelming majority_ of his people desire him to sign the
bill, _he will sign it_, even though personally he is opposed to it! The
hall mark of a good governor is a spirit of obedience to the will of the
great majority.

Not until your bill has been signed by the governor are you ready to go
home with a quiet mind, take off your armor, and put your ear to the
telephone while you hear some one say as your only reward,--"Well done,
good and faithful servant."

AS TO "CREDIT."