The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-22
Money and Politics.

With due discount for eXaggeration
and deliberate Misrepresentation for
selfish purposes, the fact remains, more
conspicuous than any good American
could wish, that money is much too
lavishly used in politics. I'VE can
scarcely pick up newspaper of either
party at election time" writes one au-
thority, without reading some item
about large campaign contributions,
expenditures or assessments. In
Massachusetts in 1892 the state, county
and city political committees acknowl-
edged the payment of $41S,546,40, ex-
elusive of the amounts expended by the
National committees. One candidate
contributed $l2,93525, and several 9th
ers sums ranging from $1,000 to $4,000
each In New York, in the same year,
candidate for judge returned his cam
paign expenditure as $10,5OO, another as
$1,000, and a candidate for the state
his campaign" The expense returns of
last month in New York, ranged all the
way from $500 to $1,000 for each candi-
date, sums sometimes larger than the
entire terms salary Of the office sought.
But it is not necessary to cite evidence
in this connection. The lavish use of
money in politics, both legitimately and
dishonorably, is nowhere disputed.
What shall be done to check this evil?
This is the most important part of this
question. A glance at the condition of
English politics is instructive Prior to
1888, money was used profusely in the
politics Of England-so profusely, in
fact, that the public at last revolted.
In that year parliament passed the
Corrupt Practices act, and since that
| time, bribery has almost entirely died
| out This act limits every possible ex-
pense of any candidate for office; and is
so stringent in its penalties that since
its enactment there has not been
single conspicuous prosecution. The
testimony Of Englishmen is explicit in
| affirmation of the laws efficacy. Seven
American states have copied the salient
| features of the English act-Massa-
chusetts, New York. Michigan, Colo
| rado, Missouri, Kansas and California.
| 1t will not be pretended that the result
is yet all that could be desired. In
| England, public sentiment very ag-
gressively sustains the act. In Ameri-
| ca, public sentiment is Indifferent or
cynical rather than indignant over cor
| rupt practices. We shall have to de.
velop better sentiment in this country
than now exists before laws regulating
political expenses will accomplish the
desired purification but to this task an
increasing number of earnest men are
continually addressing themselves.
1t is well to remember, in the lam
| guage of the Hartford Courant, that
"the man. who sells his vote is a thief.
He steals the vote which he sells, for
he gets it, as all thieves get their booty,
by illegal and infamous means-by
false pretences and a broken oath.
Like other thieves, he sells his plunder.
Receivers Of stolen goods are called
fences. They are protectors Of the
criminal, and accomplices and bene-
ficiaries of his crime. The floater's
fence is the vote-buyer, who, accessory
both before and after the fact, COM
bines the aptitude Of the thief with the
turpitude Of the conspirator." In poll
tics, as in war, the end too often is ac-
cepted as justifying the means. When
the sovereign force of common honesty
which we believe to be at least potentl-
ally dominant in all our political parties
once fully comprehends just what vote.
buying means, we shall expect to sec
the corrupt use of money in politics
quickly relegated to the rear.
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