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.To aid in the preparation of the platform thereshould be made as nearly scientific an analysis as pos-sible of the public and of the needs of the public.Asurvey of public desires and demands would come tothe aid of the political strategist whose business it is tomake a proposed plan of the activities of the partiesand its elected officials during the coming terms ofoffice.A big business that wants to sell a product to thepublic surveys and analyzes its market before it takesa single step either to make or to sell the product.If one section of the community is absolutely sold to97 Propagandathe idea of this product, no money is wasted in re-selling it to it.If, on the other hand, another sec-tion of the public is irrevocably committed to anotherproduct, no money is wasted on a lost cause.Veryoften the analysis is the cause of basic changes andimprovements in the product itself, as well as an indexof how it is to be presented.So carefully is thisanalysis of markets and sales made that when a com-pany makes out its sales budget for the year, it sub-divides the circulations of the various magazines andnewspapers it uses in advertising and calculates witha fair degree of accuracy how many times a sectionof that population is subjected to the appeal of thecompany.It knows approximately to what extent anational campaign duplicates and repeats the em-phasis of a local campaign of selling.As in the business field, the expenses of the politi-cal campaign should be budgeted.A large businessto-day knows exactly how much money it is goingto spend on propaganda during the next year or years.It knows that a certain percentage of its gross re-ceipts will be given over to advertising newspaper,magazine, outdoor and poster; a certain percentageto circularization and sales promotion such as houseorgans and dealer aids; and a certain percentagemust go to the supervising salesmen who travelaround the country to infuse extra stimulus in thelocal sales campaign.A political campaign should be similarly budg-98 Propaganda and Political Leadershipeted.The first question which should be decidedis the amount of money that should be raised for thecampaign.This decision can be reached by a care-ful analysis of campaign costs.There is enoughprecedent in business procedure to enable experts towork this out accurately.Then the second questionof importance is the manner in which money shouldbe raised.It is obvious that politics would gain much in pres-tige if the money-raising campaign were conductedcandidly and publicly, like the campaigns for the warfunds.Charity drives might be made excellentmodels for political funds drives.The elimina-tion of the little black bag element in politics wouldraise the entire prestige of politics in America, andthe public interest would be infinitely greater if theactual participation occurred earlier and more con-structively in the campaign.Again, as in the business field, there should be aclear decision as to how the money is to be spent.This should be done according to the most carefuland exact budgeting, wherein every step in the cam-paign is given its proportionate importance, and thefunds allotted accordingly.Advertising in news-papers and periodicals, posters and street banners, theexploitation of personalities in motion pictures, inspeeches and lectures and meetings, spectacular eventsand all forms of propaganda should be consideredproportionately according to the budget, and should99 Propagandaalways be coordinated with the whole plan.Certainexpenditures may be warranted if they represent asmall proportion of the budget and may be totallyunwarranted if they make up a large proportion ofthe budget.In the same way the emotions by which the publicis appealed to may be made part of the broad planof the campaign.Unrelated emotions become maud-lin and sentimental too easily, are often costly, andtoo often waste effort because the idea is not partof the conscious and coherent whole.Big business has realized that it must use as manyof the basic emotions as possible.The politician,however, has used the emotions aroused by wordsalmost exclusively.To appeal to the emotions of the public in a politi-cal campaign is sound in fact it is an indispensablepart of the campaign
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