The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-13

victory as an endorsement of their SoSss So1dnct q, ana threaten the party with Not until that party passes through period of fasting in the wilderness. will the Republican leaders learn to study public questions from the stand point of the masses Just as with in divfduals. "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches oh oke tho truth" so in politics. when party lead CTS serve far away from home and are not in constant contact with the voters, continued party success blinds their eyes to the needs of the people and makes them deaf to the cry of dis tress.
 Publicity as to Campaign contribu- ffons.
 An effort has been made to secure legislation requiring publicity as 10 campaign contributions and expendi- tures; but the Republican leaders, even in tho face of an indignant public. re- l fused to consent to a law which would | compel honesty in elections. When the Republican national convention, the | plank was repudiated by a vote of $50 {, to 94. Here. too. Mfr. Taft has been driven to aIoioglTe Tor his convens3ion n3 | publicity law; and yet. II you will | read what he says upon this subject, | you will find that his promise falls | far short of the requirements of the If I am elected President. shall urge upon Congress. with every hope | of success, that a law be passed re- | uuiring the filing, in a Federal office. | of a Statement of the contributions. i received by committees and candidates | In elections for members of Congress, and in such other elections as are con- additionally within the control of | I shall not embarrass him by. asking | him upon what he bases his hope of success; 1t is certainly not on any en- | Hn Aa- AfNrcA frn a- publican leaders. It is sufficient to say l that if his hopes were realized-if, in | spite of the adverse action of his con- l vention, he should succeed in securing l the enactment of the very law which he favors, 1t would give but partial re- lief. He has read the Democratic platform; not only his language but l his evident alarm, indicates that he | has read 1t carefully. He even had be- 1 fore him the action of the Democratic national committee in interpreting and l applying that platform; and yet, he cation of the contributions before the | election. Of course, it satisfies na- | tural curiosity to find out how an election has been purchased. even when the Knowledge comes too late to be of service, but why should the peo- | pie be kept in darkness until the elec- | ton is past? Why should the locking of the door be delayed until the horse l An Election Public AfFair.
 An election is public affair. The ! people. exercising the. right to select policies to be pursued. proceed to their | several polling places on election day and register their will What excuse 1 fiuences at work? If a man. pecunfar- ily, interested in ."concentrating the 1 control of the railroads in one manage ment." subscribes a farge sum to aid in carrying the election, why should his part in the campaign be concealed until he has put the. officials under oh- ligation to him? If trust magnate | friends to office. with view to pre- venting hostile legislation, why should that fact be concealed until his friends are securely seated in their official po-
 This is not a new question: it is a question which has been agttated-a question which the Republican leaders fully understand--a question which the Republican candidate has studied, and yet he refuses to tdeciare himself in favor of the legislation absolutely nec- essary. namely, Legislation requiring publication before the election.
 Democratic Party Promises Publicity.
 How can the people hope to rule, if the iep election ' what @ the H predatory inter ests are doing? The Democrattc Party meets the issue honestly and cour. ageuosly. It says:
 the enactment of a law prohibiting any corporation from contributing to a cam paign fund. and any individual from contributing an amount above req sonable maximum, and providing for the publication, before election, of. all such contributions. above reasonable minimum.
 The Democratic National Committee Immediately proceeded to interpret and apply this plank, announcing that nc contributions would be received from corporations, that no individual would be allowed to contribute more than $l0,000, and that all contributions above $100 would be made public before the election-those received before October IS to be made public on or before thai day, those received afterward to be made public on the day when received end no such contributions to be accept
 ed within three days of the election Here is plan which Is complete and effective.
 Popular Election of Senators.
 Next to the corrupt use of money, the present method ofS electing United States Senators Is most responsible for the obstruction of reforms. For one hundred years after the adoption of the Constitution. the demand for the popular election of Senators. while ind ing increased expression did not be- come a dominant sentiment. A con stitutional amendment had from time to time been suggested and the matter had been more or less discussed in a few of the States, but the movement had not reached point where 1t man. ifested itself through congressional ac- tfon. In the Fifty-second Congress however. a resolution was reported from a House commitete proposing the necessary Constitutional amendment and this resolution passed the House of Representatives by vote which was practically unanimous. In the Fifty third Congress similar resolution was reported to, and adopted by, the House of Representatives. Both the Fifty second and Fifty-thlId Congresses were Democratic. The Republicans gained control of the House as a result of the election of 1894 and in the Fifty fourth Congress the proposition died in com mittee. As time went on. however, the sentiment grew among the people. un- til 1t forced a Republican Congress to follow the example set by the Demo- crats and then another and another Republican Congress acted fayorably form, until nearly two thirds of the State have recorded themselves in its favor The United States Senate, how ever, impudently and arrogantly ob- structs the passage of the resolution notwithstanding the fact that the vot- CTS of the United States by an over whelming majority, demand it. And this refusal is the more significant when 1t Is rememebred that number of Senators owe their election to great National platforms-the platforms Of 1900 1904 and 190S-specifcally call for a change in the Constitution which will put the election of Senators in the hands of voters. and the proposition has been endorsed by a number of the smaller parties, but no Republican Ma tional Convention has been willing tc champion the cause of the people or this subject. The subject was ignored by the Republican National Convention the proposition was explicitly repudiat-
 ed fin 1908. for the recent Republican