The Washington herald., 1908-01-31
NOT A PARTISAN MEASURE
Honest Men in Both Parties Strong
for IL as Tending to Serve Public
Interests, He DeeIares-COmmend
ROoseveIt's Stand-COmmittee Asks
Permission 10 Print Remarks.

1I. bryan appeared Detofe inc HOUSE
Committee on Election Of the President,
Vice President, and Members Of Con-
gress for the purpose Of discussing the
ScCall bin, providing for publicity OF
campaign contributions
In urging the argument that the sub
iect Was not a partisan one and that
he did not advocate the passage OF such
law in a partisan spirit. he referred 10
the fact thu Mr. Mccall had introduced
one bill upon the subject and" said Mr..
Bryan, he is a Republican. Mr.. Cock
ran has offered another measure along
similar lines. and he Is a Democrat MI
Cochran sat beside the speaker, and
quietly. apparently unconsciousIy. nodded
/ ia approval
The Mccall bin was drafted by the
Perry Belmont publicity committee. and
Mr. Belmont has been urging the meas
ure before Congress for the past two or
three years. He was present at the hear
ing as were Mr.. Mccall and other mem
bers Of his committee and Of Congress.
who are interested in the subject
Bryan Urges Principle.
Mr.. Bryan was late In arriving. but the
committee waited patiently to hear him.
He said he appeared 10 urge the general
/ principle embodied in the bill He as
sumed in the first place that all we're
agreed that an election is a public az
/ fair and participation in politics a civic
duty. He thought no one would defend
a secret means TO advance a public OBJ
! iect lie would not waste time in dis
cussing with a man who contended other
wise than ;hat elections are public at
fairs that all arguments used in cleo
tons should be used publicly. and all
means employed 10 secure the election or
defeat Of candidate should be means
which the one using them would not be
ashamed 10 have the world know.
( Starting with this proposition. the sub
+ iect. he said, was an easy one. How
can We best secure the publicity OF all
/ matters pertaining 20 elections? Reforms.
/ he said, only come when there are abuses
/ TO be corrected. The thing to be remedied
/ in American politics was the use OF
money 10 secure the control Of the gov
/ eminent and 10 prevent that control from
/ falling into the hands OF those who have
/ at interest the public purpose. Whenever
a man resorted 10 secrecy he must have
/ something 10 gain that he did not want
/ the people 10 knew or i'm which he dis
/ trusted the participation OF the people.
Publicity Before Elections.
/ Continuing Mr. Bryan said the most
important feature of any bill which could
be enacted upon the subject was that the
/ contributions should be made known be-
fore the election. He recognized that
there was an advantage in finding out
after the horse Is stolen now the door
/ came 20 be unlocked But IL vas much
more important to find out beforehand
that theft was contemplated.
The trouble with publicity after cleo
tions, he said. was that the knowledge
came too late TO be Of any advantage to
/ the people in that election. and that when
the next campaign time rolled around the
statement was always made that the per
sonnet OF the committee had been
changed. and that this time they were
going 10 have honest and upright cleo
lions. So publicity after the elections
would not reach the root Of the evil.
But if publicity before elections were
compelled, the public would know who
was interested in the campaign. and could
Judge whether those interests were public
or private interests, Mr., Bryan main
tanned there was no objection to individ-
uals making contributions to campaign
funds
Patriotic Duty 10 Contribute.
Il was q patriotic duty. he thought. and
he pointed out that much had been made
Of the fact as shown by Chairman Cortel-
you. that in 1904 there had been 5000 in
dividual contributors to the Republican
campaign fund. But this number. he said,
represented an ininitesimal proportion OF
the 7.0o0c00 votes that the President poll
ed. It was to prevent the sale Of elections
at public auction. he said. that he insisted
upon this publicity. And he commended
the attitude Of the President upon the
proposition.
4 am very glad" he said that the
President has taken up this matter. for
If members Of only one party favored this
it might be regarded as a partisan matter:
but the President has spoken so earnestly
on the subject Of campaign contributions
that I am sure the fact that I am a
Democrat will not place suspicion upon
my arguments, fer have the same inter
est in this matter that the President has
1 expressed. have a public interest. and
/ have a far greater interest I'm govern
ment and in public questions than any
personal concern that I might have about
the triumph of party or about the sue
cess of any individual. and I assume that
the President and those who like him.
have spoken out in the Republican party
have the same broad. general interests
that Democrats have who have spoken
out.
Leaves Details to Congress.
Members of the committee asked Mr..
Bryan various questions as to his plan
for accomplishing the purposes sought
for, and these were answered by Mr..
Bryan to the effect that he advocated
only the general principle involved. and
thought the members OF the committee
working in harmony on the subject. could
construct a measure which would be
broad enough to attain the ends sought
and still be within constitutional limlta-
tons. He left that matter entirely to
the committee, he said.
The members Of the committee were
so highly pleased with Mr.. Bryan's re-
marks that they voted to ask 10 have
them printed for distribution
Mr.. Belmont at the close of the hear
ing, presented to the committee a list OF
sixteen States and Territories which have
laws providing 'or publicity of campaign
contributions OF expenditures; also show
ing that three States. Florida. Kentucky,
and Tennessee. have laws forbidding cor
pOrations from contributing to campaign
funds and FIVE other States in which the