The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-03-09
Money In Politics.
[Philadelphia Press. |

post-election lying as to the amount of
money spent there. No place of the |
seamy side of politics has more men,
dacity to the square inch than the
committees, National, State or County, |
whose outlay is always exaggerated,
usually foolish, and frequently USE
less. Sound clear-headed business men,
who never invest a dollar In any other
enterprise without knowing exactly
how it Is to be spent, draw their checks
to aid partisan committee, and let
the money be spent by men to whose
keeping they would not trust cent
any other day in the year, absolutely
without knowledge as to method,
manner or result.
fsuch business men put in their
money, anxious not to know its dis
bursement because they believe it is to
be spent corruptly, they are In very
much the place of the lockmaker who
furnishes burglar with his kit but
declines Information as to the villainy
afoot, But ordinarily, business men,
ready to do their share to save the
country, draw their checks under
vague impression that it costs a good
deal of money to run campaign,
which they furnish accordingly. 1t
does take good deal when party man
agement is put into hands of party
thieves, and for the same reason that
it would cost a good deal to run bank
or any other enterprise under their
management. They steal it. Buying
votes absorbs some money in politics;
but 1t is a mere fraction of the sum
soaked up by political rowdies and
dead-beats, and, while modern cam
paign with its printing bills, its meet
ings, its professions, and its speakers
costs a good deal, this is trifie by the
side of the money which the camp
followers get, if they can.
The New York Times has recently
published a circumstantial account of
the Indiana election which puts the
actual expense of the October election
at about $50, 900, and the Times cor
respondent pertinently points ont
that the same vote was pOlled in No
vember with no money which was Oh
tanned in October by the expenditure
supervised by Dorsey which is esti-
mated at from $25O,OOO to $4Oo,OOO
The last figures are idiotic. Politics
cost a good deal. They do not cost
that. Barring inevitable exaggeration,
the first estimate may be near the
truth. Between $4,000 and $40, 900
was raised in single eastern city to
carry IN 49, o~,,-,>-' -. ~-iana and
contributions from other sources may
have trebled this. There is no prob.
ability that they quadrupled it. Of
this vast sum the greatest share was,
IN all probability, wasted. One leak
the Cincinnati Commercial has Just
pointed out, and consisted in paying
the indianapolis Journos-owned by
John c. New, whose relations with
the Republican Committee were in
timate-thirty cents square for re-
ports of meetings, speeches and polit-
ical news generally, as we'll Us notices,
the committee obligingly meeting the
telegraph tolls when reports came to
the journal by wire OF course, a
good deal of money can be spent if
committee pays newspapers in the
ring for printing news other papers
pay for themselves; but this is a fair
sample of the way the political Ieech
fastens on money in politics.
The simple remedy for all this is
publicity. The Pennsylvania Con-
s.itution, supplemented by legislation,
already specifies what constitutes leg
ftlmate expenses. Tile law every
where ought to require in addition the
publication of election expenses. 1t
does now in England. Committee ac-
counts should be open to public in
spection, after, if not before, the elec-
ton. Honest men, who desire pure
elections, should insist that every dol.
lar be accounted for.
The prohibitionists are already in
the field with full ticket which is
constituted as fallows: Dr. A. G..
Petit, Of Lawrence county, for govern
or; DIR. A. Williams, of Chester, for
lieutenant governor; Ezra Grossman,
OF Mexican, for secretary of internal
affairs; 5. z. Chase, of Susquehanna,
for judge of the supreme court, and S.
r. McCalmont, of Venango, for con-
gresham 'at'large. The convention
which nominated this ticket assembled
very quietly at Altoona on Thursday
last.-Potriot.
Parkersburg, w. Va, March s.
The west-bound passenger train on
the Baltimore & Ohio road Wednesday
night ran upon a stone at the toll gate,
throwing all the cars except the sleeper
from the track. The engine ran into
the store of George w. James. The
store and train, except the sleeper,
were burned. John Gigley and John
Bremen, engineer and fireman, were
instantly killed. Both were of Graf.
ton. The mail and express matter
were mostly saved. James loss, $5,-
900 uninsured.
RKTTT. TN THE WoRL RLSuOp-TO do