They know how each one of their neighbors feels on the subject of
protection, or the Philippines, or civil service, or the currency.
They know the views of every voter and every voter's wife on public
men. They understand whether the people think this man honest and that
man a mere pretender. The consensus of judgment of these precinct
committeemen indicates with fair accuracy who is the "strongest man"
for his party to nominate, and what policies will get the most votes
among the people.
This is their preliminary work. When platforms have been formulated
and candidates have been chosen, these men develop from the partizan
passive to the partizan militant. They know those who, in their own
party, are "weakening," and by the same token those who are
"weakening" in the other party.
They know just what argument will reach each man, just what speaker
the people of their respective sections want to hear upon public
questions. They keep everybody supplied with the right kind of
literature from their party's view-point.
They either take the poll of their precinct or see that it is taken;
and that means the putting down in a book the name of each voter, his
past political allegiance, his present political inclinations, the
probable ballot he will cast, etc.
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