Election literature should never assume knowledge on the part of the reader. It should concisely, and in the plainest language possible, relate what has to be told. One fault of the bulk of election literature is that whilst suitable for a highly cultured and favoured class of people, it is almost useless for the ordinary elector who, intelligent and quick enough in the ordinary way, is not a close political student, conversant with every detail of the Parliamentary doings of the day.
The Conduct and Management of Parliamentary Elections, William Woodings, 9th edition (by HF Oldman & J Manus), 1933, echoing a similar theme as my Edward Everett post from last week.
(Mind you, some things have changed: “A question has arisen as to the legality of the distribution by the election agent of portrait buttons.” The conclusion? Such buttons were illegal.)
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H.F. Oldman was secretary of the National Liberal Federation (or at least had been during the 1920s). Was this a party manual?
Yup, it was.