Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 January 1903 — The People Are Informed. [ARTICLE]

The People Are Informed.

The time has past when the people depend upon campaign speakers for their political information. There Is scarcely a farmer now but that has his daily paper delivered at his door and he reads and studies questions and conditions at home for himself. The masses of the people are quite as well informed as is the average campaign speaker. As a result the political meetings are not so well attended as they once were, and it requires a man of more than ordinary reputation as a speaker, or a man of particular influence to draw a crowd like the old-time campaign rally. With the present advantages of general infor-mation-continued , it is not likelv that we shall ever again witness the oldtime political enthusiasm and rallies. This does not mean that the people are less Interested or that- they are indifferent, it means that they are depending more upon their own Judgment and information and are not to be Influenced by prejudice or by the cunning representation of political speakers. The daily and weekly newspapers have become the standing army of the party and keep up the battle year in and year out. This is why the spellbinder is losing his charm and his Influence. —Middletown News.