He prided himself
on the fact that he never missed answering to his name at
roll call during his whole term of service. He understood
very well the art of pleasing his constituents. He made it
a rule, he told me, to send at least one document under his
own frank every year to every voter in his District. On one
occasion in a hotly contested election he had four votes more
in a town on Cape Cod than any other candidate. He was curious
and inquired what it meant. The Chairman of the Selectmen
told him that there were four men who lived in an out-of-
the-way place, who never came to town meetings and nobody
seemed to know much about them. They were a father and his
three sons, living together on the same farm. But at that
election they appeared at the town meeting. All four voted
for Buffington and for no other candidate and disappeared
at once. The Selectman asked him why he voted for Buffington.
"If he knew him?" "No!" said the old fellow. "He knows me.
He sends me and each of my sons a document every winter."
Buffington was very anxious about the matter of patronage
and of getting offices for all his constituents.
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