The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-06-04

CONTESTED ELECTION EXPENSES.
THE practice of contesting elections to the
National House of Representatives has of
late years grown to be an evil of the first
magnitude, and some measures are impera-
lively needed to prevent unsuccessful cand-
dates drawing thousands of dollars from the
treasury at every session of Congress as they
do now. Under the very loose way in which
matters are managed at present, contesting
elections has become profitable business,
by which impudent and interruptions poll
ticians are able to pocket large sums to which
they have not the shadow of a claim. Most
of the contestants who have appeared before
the House lately have been able to pre-
sent no arguments in support of their
pretensions that were worthy of mo-
ments con nsideration, and yet the House
has not only wasted it's time in hearing them,
but it has paid them handsomely for dancing
attendance in the committes-reom and for
buttonholing members in the lobby. On
Thursday the House adopted resolution to
pay to Caleb S. Hunt $4,000, to j. H. Sypher
$4,000, to Louis S. Martin $4,000, to George
w. McCrane $4,000, to Frank Morrey $4,000,
and to Michael Ryan $500, for time spent
and expenses incurred in the prosecution of
their respective claims to seats in the House
from the State of Louisiana.
As an offset to this bill was introduced
by Mr.. Paine, of Wisconsin, to regulate the
compensation in the case of contested elec-
tions. This provides that no money shall
be paid in contested election case to either
the sitting member or the contestant until
the case is determined, when the mileage and
compensation shall be paid only to the per-
son to whom tho seat shall finally be
awarded. The person against whom
the decision is made is to receive only the
amount actually and necessarily expended in
defending his right. The bill gave rise to an
animated debate, in which the facts were
elected that the amount paid during twelve
years up to the beginning of this Congress to
men whom the House had decided to have no
Just claims was $173, 595, and to that sum
the present Congress has added $50, 900.
During the twelve years above mentioned
there were sixty-ive contested elections in
the House, and only sixty-three in all the
years before from the foundation of the Gov
ernment. There had been thirty more in
the present Congress, making ninety-ive
contests in fourteen years.
These facts and figures are sufficient to
show how great the evil has become, and in
view of the fact that a large majority of the
contestants had no reasonable claims, and dis
puted the election of their opponents out of
sheer impudence and knavery, the best plan
to put stop to the whole business would be
to refuse any compensation whatever to those
who are unsuccessful in convincing the House
of their right to seats 1t may be objected
to this that it would, in the minority of
instances, prevent persons who honestly
thought they were defrauded of their cleo
tions from prosecuting their claims; but the
case is one that clearly calls for decisive
remedy, and, in view of the few honest con-
testants that have appeared before the House.
it is better to run the risk of doing a pos
sible injury than to submit any longer to
the present scandalous imposition. To
pay the expenses of an unsuccessful
contestant is an act of mere generosity on the
part of Congress, and Congress has no right
to be generous with the public money! aud
neither in Law nor equity ought the public