The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-10-19
WOULD NOT DO WITHOUT
CORPORATION DOODLE.

One Of the most conscientious Of Re.
pubicans, noted everywhere for his
honesty and high integrity ofcharacter,
Theodore Burton, re Gently rebuked his
Republican colleagues of the House for
not passing the bill prohibiting cam
paign contributions 10y corporations.
Measures to that end were introduced
by Democrats and favorably reported,
at least in the Senate. But nothing
was done. In the House like measures
were introduced, but they never got be-
yond the committee. One Of the very
first and most harmless and unobject-
iOnable bills introduced looking to the
suppression of the use of money at cleo
tons in a secret and sinister way was
the till by Representative Samuel w.
McCall, of Massachusetts,, which was
the bill requiring publicity of camp ign
coutribut ons aud expenditures This
bill was the measure agreed upon by
The National Publicity Bill Association,
the membership of which embraced
leading Republicans and Democrats of
the country, many of them connected
with National, Congressional and State
COMMITTEES, the President of which is
former Representative Perry Belmont.
The Democrats of the committee hav-
ing the bill in charge favored it without
reserve. The Republicans profe,s-d to
favor its principle and at first were in
clined to report II, hut some how they
kept delayIng action and when the end
of the session came, nothing had been
done Tney g t WORD from somewhere
that the bill must not get out of the
committee TN Election of President,
Vice President and Representative in
Congress TO delay the measure, Chair
man Joseph H. Gaines. h plding that if
publicity were had of moneys used in
national campaigns, it must also apply
to campaigns for state officers even
down to constables, introduced bill to
that cad Much time was wasted by
the Republicans discussing this absurd
and impossible pretens-, SO that the adj
journuent came without anything
having been done. The Republicans
of The House thus defeated the efforts Of
the Democrats to turn on the light and
open the books. The Republicans did
not intend that they should be in
terferryd with III the receipt and expen-
dlture of money in the pending CAM
paign. Taey even feared that if they
should vote for the Mccall bill, that its
advocates, embpldrned by their success,
would insist upon having made public
theaccounts Of the r publican National
Committee in the lat election. The
exposures by the insurance. inves iga-
lions had already sickened them.
Every possible influence was brought
to bear t. defeat the publicity measure,
bu. it was not defeated, being only
p poned. Itsadvocates are de ermin-
ed that, although it failed of enactment
at the last session, II shall become law
in time for the next Presidential cleo
ton. There will he no excuse at the
next session for defeating it, because
President Roosevelt himself supported
that kind Of legislation in his message
to Congress last December. Public
opinion is alive to il and will not be
permitted to sleep on it. Whatever
happens the next election of President
and the election OF Representatives in
1908 will be in the limelight Of public
scrutiny. The Democrats have thus
been on the side of honest and wide
open methods shrinking from the gaze
neither of curiosity nor of rightful con-
Germ OF citizens believing in a pure aud
unbrlbed electorate.