Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1889-01-04
MIR. nolmans Defective Remedy.


person 10 solicit or receive, directly or in
lirec ", or I've in any manner connected
with or concerned in soliciting or receiving
any assessment, subscription, or contrihu
tion Of money or Of anything Of value, TO be
expended, used, or employed in any man
ner Whatever in amy national election, or
IN The political eanvnss Immediately pre-
eeding the same, 10 control in any manner
or to in any wire il iilucnce any such cleo
tion or the result thereof. 1t also makes
i, unlawful for nny person 10 contribute in
nny manner either money or any other
thing OF value to be used to influence nn
election. The provisions are very string
ent, and the penalty which is fixed for
their violation ia very heavy, namely, dis
franchisement Rnd disqualification from
holding Office Tor five years, aud also
liability to fine OF not more than $4,000
and imprisonment for not more than three
years.
Yet, stringent as the measure IL, il is
scarcely more so than one which has been
on thea statue book OF the State OF New
York suce 1912, and has been practically
ment. Chapter 1870 of the Law OF 1912,
acc. 400, reads rs follow:
II shall not be lawful for any candidate
for any elective Office, witt, intent to pro-
mote his election, or for any other person,
with the intent to promote the election Of
any such candidate, either,
|. To provide or furnish entertainment
Mt his expense TO any meeting OF electGrs,
previous TO or during the election at which
| he shall be = candidate or
2. To pay for, procure, or engage TO pay
| for any such entertainment; or
3. To furnish nny money or other pron-
eriy 10 any person, for the purpose Of beng
expended in procuring the attendance oil
voters at the polls; or
4. To engage to pay any money, or
deliver any property, or otherwise compen.
safe any person for procuring the attend
ance Of voters at the polls; or
5. To contribute money for any other
purpose intended TO promote the election
of any particular person or ticket, except
for deirnying the expenses of printing, and
the circulation of votes, handbills, and
other papers previous to amy such election,
for conveying sick, poor, or infrm electors
10 the polls.
This law, enforced, would secure pre-
cisely what Mr.. Holman's bill aims at,
but il has never been enforced, for the
simple reason that, while ii allows for de-
frayiug certain necessary expenses OF cleo
tions, it places no limit to such expenses
and requires no publication of them aftei
election. Mr.. Holman's bill, after abso-
iutely prohibiting all contributions ant
expenditures, in its first two sections, OPEN
wide the door to both by saying IN its thirt
section that ''the foregoing sections shal
not be construed as applying 10 any none!
received and expended in good faith unde
the laws of any State or Territory for ih'
necessary expenses of any election, or II
money 10 received and expended for til,
printing of Tickets, or in the publication o
any newspaper or other publication, or fol
the distribution thereof" The Wanama-
kers and Quays would not have the slight
est difficulty In continuing their operations
on the old plan inifuture campaigns unde
this section of Mr.. Holmans bill. Thel
could say. rs they do now, that they wer
merely attending to the necessary ex-
penses," could burn their recorls ant
vouchers, and snap their fingers at I'll,
stringent prohibilory provisions of the frs
two sections. There is only one thing
which they and their kind would fear, ant
that would be a law requiring the publica
tion, after election, Of a sworn statement
accompanied by vouchers, showing every
dollar received, AMI the use TO which it
was put.
The English Corrupt Practice Act is ar
excellent guide TO follow on this point, fol
il has worked most successfully from the
moment of going into operation. Afte
defining and forbldding and fixing the
penalty for ever form of bribery, undue
influence, treating, etc, the act goes on tC
ton, and to fix the limit to which the,
can be carried. The maximum amount o
expenditure which each candidate cal
make ia named, proportionale to the siz
OF his constituency. This sum must cove
all expenses, printing, postage, room-reni
clerk hire-everything. All disbursement
must be made by one person, either III
candidate himself or his agent. Ii h,
employ an agent to disburse the money, he
cannot disbnrse iarhing hi mself, bu
must leave it all to the sgent. An accoun
with vouchers must be kept of all expendi
. lures, and returned under oath TO tn
proper officers after election. Any perso
lound guilty of an "illegnr practice"
liable to fine OF $500 aud fve years in
capacity for voting, while candidat
gully by himself or his agent loses hi
seat and is disqualified for sitting for III
same constituency, in the iormer case fo
seven years, in the latter during the exist
ing Parliament. Minor ofianses Of illega
payment, etc are liable to a fine OF el0(
) Any candidate whose expenditures excee
the maximum limit loses his seat.
! When tins law went into effect il wns III
general belief that the maximum of ex
pendilures which had been set was too 10,
and would have TO be raised. In the Las
election which lad been held before III
law went into effect, the total expenditure
we're about $4,000 900. Al the first elec
tion held under the law, the total droppet
to $3,900000. At that election il wa
discovered that in the English conplilu
encies the total OF expenditures had beel
over one and half million dollars Les
than the maximum allowed by law. A
The same time all charges Of bribery haC
disappeared, and there have meyer beel
pny heard since. The requirement Of pub
LEGATION of expenditures has done what til,
most stringent prolibiory measures
aga inst bribery conld not do aud never ca,
do-abolish the corrupt mse Of none,
Immediately. The secret ballot had, o.
course, aided greatly in the work; but tn,