The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1900-12-19
COST OF CAMPAlGNS.V1

~ n
THE popular idea as to what it costs
to defray the expenses of presidential
campaign, says the Kansas City Jour
nal, is vague and indefinite. Owing TO
the reckless assertions of demagogues
and political ignoramuses as TO the
vast amounts the "other side is eX-
pending. the. general impression proba-
bly, is that much more money is USED
for conducting these campaigns than is
ever really employed. In the late con-
test, for example. 1t was publicly de-
clared and frequently reiterated thal
the big corporations had contributed
s25 OOO. 900 to the Republican fund. fu-
sion orators and organs in Kansas
boIdlv asserted that Mark Hanna had
set aside $40, 600. 900 to carry that state
No such sums have ever been raised ioi
campaign purposes in TINS county
party leaders all know this, especially
chose Who have served as members OF
national committees Campaign funds
orc nucb larger these days, however,
than they were twenty-five years ago
This is due partly to the fact that the
country has grown larger ana Hiioi
Ipopulous. and partly to the tact tha' II
! is only in recent years that SPEAKERS
have been paid for their services on
the stump.
In the current number of the WORLDS
Work few figures are presented which
throw some light on the amount eN
pended in presidential campaigns anu
the sources from which the contribu-
tions come. We quote from the publ
cation referred to as follows:
''The fund used to elect Mr.. cleve-
land in 1884 came, in the main, from
dozen men. Mr.. William l.. Scott, Mr.
William c. whitney and Mr.. Oliver III.
Payne each gave, it is believed, quite
500 600 It is thought that Mr.. Edward
Cooper and Mr.. Abram s. hewitt each
contributed an equal amount. Senator
BENJAMIN F. Jones was chairman or the
Republican national committee in that
year and he paid a deficiency at the end
Of the campaign of $4,000 out of his
own pocket Nor was he the only heavy
loser. Mr.. Blaine at the outset OF the
campaign drew his check for s2o,OOO
and later he advanced 100000, which
was never paid 1t is thought that ii
was mainly to retrieve his loss that he
wrote his Twenty Years in Congress.
Mr. william l.. Scott's contribution
to the Democratic campaign fund in
tributors were Messrs. Christopher c.
Baldwin, f. G. Benedict and William
c. Whitney, who added perhaps an
other quarter million to the fund: but
the liberality of Mr.. Cleveland's friends
did not prevent a deficiency at the
close of the campaign of 5000, 900, which
Senator Calvin s. Brice. then chairman
of the Democratic national committee,
1 4 4, se-
pocket large sum, it has been said
100000, of the Republican campaign
fund of 1888 was collected by Mr. John
Wanamaker. An equal amount was
raised in New York city through the
efforts of Mr.. Cornelius n. Bliss and
Governor Levi p. Morton. Four days
before the election. Senator Quay. who
managed the Republican campaign. felt
the urgent need of additional $780,
900 and appealed to Senator T. c. PIatt.
Senator Platt at first protested that in
the brief time the task was an i'm
possible one: but he finally accom-
plished it bv discounting note which.
according to common belief. bore the
Endorsement of Mr.. Coils p. Hunting
ton. The largest contributors "a -
Democratic campaign funds four years
the owners of silver mines.
"It is an open secret that the largest
subscriber to the Republican campaign
fund in 1896 was Mr.. William K. Van
derbilt. who voluntarily sent his check
for $150.00O The largest subscription
from a corporation came from a purely
savings and benevolent association
whose directors voted $4,000 to protect
I.f
ings.'
| "Officeholders are another certain
lsource of revenue to the national COM
mittee Of the party in power. and n
third source is n considerable class of
men who. anxious to secure political
prominence or to occupy high positions.
give lavishly as a means of advancing
their personal interests. Finally comes
the aggregate of small popular sub
scriptions which especialIy in contests
lof unusual enthusiasm. is large
sum-"
| The Worlds Work estimates that tho
total amount collected for campaign
purposes by the national committees
this year aggregated in round numbers
ls9,OO0.OOO and that this was larger than
the amount collected in any previous
campaign. The statements quoted in
thls article are probably not accurate
IN all particulars as to amount of con-
trlputlons and the sources from which
lthey came. but as a whole the showing
is reasonable and doubtless a true
one. 1t is also interesting to note in
TINS connection that comparatively lit
ue OF the money raised for national
canpalsns is spent for the purpose of
lc"rrupting the ballot. The legitimate
lequlrements of these. great contests
are sufhcient to account for all tho
,aiee sums collected and disbursed in
carrying them on. III
Iouching promised data about a.. -.
aer or the Department of Justice g.
prihs suit to annul lana s,1es "a
leases made by the Territory tho ,ooa,
lantl-DOle Journals cloud 49, ,