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they fail. The volunteer in politics is most conspicuous when he is absent.
Still, you probably won't try to nominate a president The wearying prospect of managing a candidate
may be more than you will ever want to undertake. Is operating at a lower level worth die trouble?
The answer is emphatically "yes" - for many reasons; I will mention three.
Volunteers are trusted. This results in them being called on when the party needs a person of certain
integrity in a pinch - which happens rather frequently. I remember one campaign organization which was
almost entirely salaried; there were only halfa dozen unpaid volunteers in the whole outfit. It was
necessary at one point to disburse some fifteen thousand dollars for poll workers on election day; there
were entirely proper tactical reasons, involving in part the known presence of spies in the organization,
for keeping it quiet and for doing it at the last possible minute. The money had to be in dollar bills to
permit small individual payments.
TAKE BACK YOUR GOVERNMENT!
Robert A. Hemlein
234
235
As a matter of course two female volunteers were selected to do the job - two because fifteen thousand
one-dollar bills are bulky: I can see them now, two young and pretty housewives, each with handbag
bulging with three thousand dollars and one with a shoe box under her arm, stuffed with nine thousand
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more pieces of lettuce. Off they went to disburse it, looking as if they had been shopping. And back they
came the next day and returned four thousand dollars-which they could have snitched and no one the
wiser.
No one worried about the possibility that they might head for Mexico - they were volunteers with
established reputations - and it was much better than hiring an armored car with bonded messengers.
Volunteers are upgraded with great speed, while a mercenary stays in the ranks. There was die case of-
we'll call her Helen. Helen had no personal political ambitions but she was always willing to get in and
work. Two years after she started we had an appointment to die state committee to place and we were
quite choosy about it; we wanted to be sure of point of view on issues of die person who gotit
Helen's name was not thought of at first because she had not been around much at the time; she was
very busy having a baby. When she was thought of, she was at once selected. I called her up and asked
her to serve. She was not anxious and pointed out that she was tied down and unable to be active. But
she finally consented.
Two years later some of the female volunteers decided to get rid of the current national
committee-woman; they wanted a new one and they did not want the usual Mrs. J. Huffington Puff
clubwoman. Helen's election was assured before she was consulted - much to her surprise!
Two years later than that her congressman decided to retire; she was not even resident in the district (a
congressman need not be) but the congressman and his manager tapped her to be his successor.
She became one of the best known and one of the most useful members of Congress, as statesmanlike
as she was sweet and beautiful.
Yet in her whole political career she had never sought anything for herself. Her distinguishing
characteristic was just a willingness to work, free, for what she believed in.
But die most important reason you can be effective has to do with die relative importance of various
offices and of the several types of elections. The common belief about these matters is just the reverse of
the true situation; most people seem to regard the office of president as the only one of importance and
the presidential election every four years as the "main" election. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The most important office in a democracy is the city councilman or selectman; the most important election
is the local caucus-and so on up to the "major" offices and the "major" elections.
This is not news and it is no slur on the office of president. Most presidents have said the same thing
repeatedly. It is axiomatic that die smaller die office the more closely it usually affects the citizen in his
daily life. For example, the pavement out in front of my house was paid for by a city street bond lien laid
directly against my home and the bonds were reputed to include eight cents per square foot of pavement
of "honest" graft - "honest" graft is a name given to the condition diat results when specifications are so
drawn that one bidder on a public contract holds a favored position and need not hold down his price. It
is done by describing, in the language of the lawyers, a particular patented product to the exclusion of all
others.
("Why didn't I stop it if I know so durn much about politics?" Ouch! I did not move into this house until
after this street received its present payment; I came in from out of town.)
236 Robert A. Heirdom
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However that is not sufficient to prove the point We can stand a lot of graft in our local affairs - we
always have! - and still muddle along. But can we stand another world war? Foreign affairs are directly in
the hands of the President; from this point of view the office of president is surely the most important,
even of overwhelming importance, with the character of the Congress almost as important.
True. But congresses don't grow on trees, nor are they brought by the stork. Nor do presidents spring
full grown from the brow of Jove. Elections are won m the precincts! These "minor" elections are the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]