New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-08-14
MONEY IN POLITICS.


and bands are provided to attract indifferent
voters. Men ere found to canvass every town
or district; papers are supplied to voters who
seem doubtful; tickets are thoroughly dis
tubuted: ac i've men are engaged to solicit
voters and to use whatever personal influence
they possess; and carriages are provided to
bring dilatory or incapable voters to the
polls. In these and other perfectly legitimate
ways an immense sum of money is spent In any
| large State where an election is closely
contested. There is no reason whatever
| therefore, to dispute the statement OF MI.
| Dorsey that large sums were expended by the
Republicans in the Indiana election OF 1851,
| and in other elections of that year. LII strictly
true-and Mr.. Dorsey's assertion is not quite
conclusive proof that it is-the reported
expenditure would not necessarily Involve the
corrupt use of a single dollar.
| 1t is worth while to notice, too, that neither
Mr.. Dorsey nor anybody else has shown the
| payment OF a single dollar for improper or cor
rupt ends. Money was distributed to recog-
nized leaders or competent workers in different
parts of the State, but the superstition that they
spent the whole or any part of 1t in buying
votes is purely gratuitous, and has no evidence
!
of course, that every one OF hundreds or thou-
sands of workers expended in strictly Iegitl-
mate way every dollar intrusted to him. There
| is no man who cares for his reputation Tor
veracity who will positively affirm that not
dollar was wrongfully expended by any OF the
| active workers of either party IN any close
contest of late years But there is no evidence
that money was so spent in Indiana by the
Republicans, and if any was improperly used
by individuals to whom it was intrusted, there
| is no evidence that such expenditure was
known to or desired by the party managers.
That this matter may be made a little clearer to
those who take any interest IN it, let us look at the
| ordinary methods of well organized political
| campaign. One or more workers in every
district or township, after a preliminary can
vass, report to headquarters the number OF
voters considered safe for each party and the
number considered doubtful The doubtful
| list includes all those whose votes from any
cause cannot be confidently anticipated. 1t
| includes the men who are soured by particu-
lar nomination and the men who dissent from
feature of the platform or the canvass the men
who need to be reasoned with, the men who may
| be swept along by the enthusiasm of an active
campaign, the men who can he brought into line
J if personal friends are nominated for local
Offices and the men who are supposed to be
| corruptible. With this report is sent by the
local managers a statement of the sums need
| full for the conduct of the campaign. 1t is safe
to say that no local report ever specifies partic-
| ular sum for meetings, another for canvassers
and workers, and another for corrupt uses; on
the contrary, the local report simply calls for
money, and the natural and proper presumption
in most cases is that the sums furnished are
| TO be used in legitimate expenses. But no
manager, however sagacious, can be certain
that all the money furnished will be properly
used: in fact, no party has yet been able to
be quite sure that all the money distributed
| will be used at all.
When the active workers from different
counties, townships or school districts in In
diana reported that they needed certain sums.
the management in either party furnished
what it could or what it thought best. 1t Is
probable that no political committee was ever
vet idiotic enough to ask local managers
whether they were going to spend or had
spent any part of their money corrupty, be-
cause the man who would do that sort of thing
would not hesitate to tell d falseho0d about
it. For their own safety, parties try to get
honest men to manage affairs in the different
localities, but no party has ever succeeded in
every case. Neither the management nor the
candidates can be held responsible, however
unless the improper use of money was desired
or authorized
The Democrats are merely making them
selves ridiculous about the Indiana campaign
of 1880. They used all the money that they
could extort from Mr.. English, who was Sc
lected as candidate for Vice President for the
express purpose of commanding large sun
of money for use in Indiana. They used all the
money that they could get from any other quar-.
ter, as Mr. "Seven Mule" Barnum can testify
They did not carry the State, because it's ma
jority of voters did not want to put the Free
Trade Democracy into power, and because the
Republicans mad as good or better arran ge-
ments for bringing out full vote. There
upon, according to their cry-baby custom, the
Democrats complain OF fraud.
|