The Madisonian. (Virginia City, Mont.) 1873-1915, 1896-10-03
NOT AS OF YORE
EXPENDITURES OF CAM
DIDATES LIMITED.
The Corrupt Practices Act Will COM
pletely Change the Old Methods Of
Campaigning-HOw a Nominee Must
Handle His Money During the Cam
paign.

If the corrupt practices act is lived
up too. the old methods of campaign
ing will be relegated t o the rear. The
law takes away from the ottlce-seeker
the right to jolly up his friends and
constituents with the flowing bowl. To
the candidate schooled in the cam
paigns of the past it is a handicap. He
is limited to the glad hand" method
of winning votes, which to say the least,
is dry.
AS there are many who have not
read the provisions of this piece of leg
islation which affects all of us. its pub
LEGATION at this time, on the threshold
of the first campaign which it effects. is
pertinent:
"A candidate for Office may incur
and pay his WI personal expenses for
travelling, or for purposes incidental to
travelling, for writing. printing, and
preparing for transmission, any letter,
circular Or other publication which
is not issued at regular intervals.
whereby he may make known his own
position or views upon public or other
questions: for stationary and postage,
for telegraph, telephone, and other
public messenger service, and for other
petty personal expenses; but all such
expenses shall be limited to those d.
rectly incurred and paid by him and
by him alone. Total sum paid or
agreed to be paid by any candidate for
a county Office, for his own personal ex-
penses, shall not exceed 800.
"a candidate for the legislature may
make a contribution to a political COM
mittee to the amount of $50.
"A candidate for a county Office may
make a contribution to a political COM
mittee to the amount of 500. Such
amount shall % be paid to more than
n political committee or person..
Each political party is to have a
treasurer, who shall keep detailed &C
counts of all money and the equivalent
Of money, which shall be received by
or promised to said committed OF. any
person acting under its authority or in
it's behalf, and of all disbursements or
promises of disbursement. No person
acting under authority of such COM
mittee shall receive any money or
equivalent of money until such treas
urer has been chosen.
Each treasurer is required to file a
statement with the county clerk, show
ing receipts and expenditures of the
committee within 80 days after the
election"
1t is said that one provision Of the
corrupt practices act has already
been broken several times by several
OF the committees. 1t is the law in re-
gard to soliciting contributions for a
campaign fund. The law is:
''Soliciting contributions on behalf
of a political committee is prohibited.
All contributions must be voluntary"
Among portions OF the act which may
be OF interest at this time are the fol-
lowing:
"A person is guilty OF bribery who
directly or indirectly, by himself or by
any other person, gives or procures, or
agrees to give Or procure, or offers Or
promises an Office, place or employ
ment, to any person, in order to in
fiuence his vote, OF to induce him to re-
frain from voting.
Anyone making any loan, gift, offer,
promise, procurement or agreement. in
order to influence any vote, is guilty of
bribery, as also is the person accepting
the same.
IA person who advances, or pays or
causes any money to be paid to or for
the use OF any person, with intent that
such money or any part thereof shall
be spent in bribery or corrupt practices
is guilty Of bribery. Anyone receiving
any money, gift, loan, etc., for voting
or agreeing to vote or refusing or
agreeing to refrain from voting is
guilty of bribery. Asking for money
or other valuable things as compensa-
ton for influence, either before or aft
er election, is bribery. Paying or Offer
ing to pay the fee for any person who
is about to Or has taken out his first or
second papers and receiving MONEY or
other valuable thing to pay such fee is
bribery.
Stockholders for a bet or wager on
the result of any election, together with
the principals shall be punished by a