It was called "the cane routine" by the man who invented it ­ James Curley, a politician so colourful his career was fictionalized in the novel The Last Hurrah. Facing a tight re-election race as a Boston alderman in 1910, Curley hired a white-haired actor to appear at his rallies posing as a Civil War veteran. Given a signal, the old man stood and announced: "Mr. Curley, on behalf of my associates who fought under General Grant in the Battle of the Wilderness, it is my pleasure to present you with a cane cut from a cottonwood tree during this conflict in appreciation of your work."

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