The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-09-30
WHO GETS THE MONEY!
The Many Millions 1t Takes to
Elect a President.
O,FRRICH HELP REPUBLICANS

,,o,,s Hanna Collected and Spent
v;ra Million Dollars to Elect Nc
uiuIev. While Bryan Assembled
loss Than a Paltry Three-Quarters
20 Million. Funds This Year.
y costs a lot of money to conduct
residential campaign. The legiti-
mate expenses-such as chose for
rr,nting and mailing political litera-
.trra hiring halls and paying the ex-
no,ens of orators and spellbinders-
ar,onnt to large proportions. But
tho iIIegitimate outlay far exceeds
chat which is lawful and honorable.
What then becomes of this illegally.
avnended money so lavishly con-
+rihuted to the cause of the candi-
dates? Who gets it? And why?
s there any doubt that the great
milk of it goes to purchaseable
voters? Is there any doubt that a
considerable amount sticks to the fin
GERS of the so-called local political
leaders? The answer to both these
oYaries must be a negative one.
Fvarvbodv knows that in every cleo
+fon. especially in a presidential year,
tens of thousands of votes are bought
in the omen market. The knowledge
is common property, but the facts
are not always easy to prove in a
criminal court Every community
has its proportion of venal voters
and its quota of criminals who make
the purchases. The buying and sell
ing of votes is illegal, but the of
tense goes on openly, the only eau
ton exercised being in connection
with the actual transfer of the
money.
Fortunately big corporations will
not be permitted to send in their
enormous checks this year, and as
consequence the campaign funds will
be smaller than for some years past.
As a result there will be less buying
Of votes. At least the prices paid
viii be smaller.
Because of the fact that it has
been so long in power and also be-
cause the majority of the over-rich
are its adherents, the republican par
ty always has by far the larger cam
paign fund. This year the sum to be
raised by the republicans is esti-
mated at $3,000,000; probably it will
be SO per cent. or 100 per cent
larger The democrats cannot hope
10 raise more than half the amount
Necessity, rather than superior NOR
aAty therefore, will place them at
disadvantage in the market. But
II mas always been so. The republi-
can campaign fund is usually from
TWO to five times the size of the DEM
ocratic. An exception was in the
year 1884, when it was claimed that
the partisans of Mr.. Cleveland had
more money to spend than did those
Of Mr.. Blaine.
Inc greatest disparity was in 1895,
wen Marcus A. Hanna raised the
uOSV enormous sum on record as a
,"Inpalgn fund. He managed to get
'SeVner something like $4,000, 900
- MT McKinley's behalf, while the
-.'enuS OF Mr., Bryan assembled only
@'Ou' $4,000, a pitiful sum in
0l"parlson, In 1900 the republican
.uHu went off about third, but the
~'uiocrauc fund also shrank. The
r r,!, were about IL to /,
~1''e ioW years earlier they were
Dlofe than Is to I,
Ihis year we are to know from
wi w." parties just how much is raised
- 'De campaign funds, and we are
NJ '7 loId who the contributors are.
'e Is no promise, however. of any
roo1 0a''''lg as to the disposal of the
rn -v'' 80 far as that is concerned,
nifty tso0Io is kept. The general com
a5os looks the ground over, de-
poo5 "'efe money will do the most
Al rvoa anu sends it to it's representa-
,aor, perhaps to the state commit
goo .a'll From there, in turn, it
10 h. " local committees and bosses
used as they see fit, and no ac-