The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-05-28

money to be nomlnated-but spending
II ont of his own pocket rather than be
under obligations to any individual or
groun of individuals is marked contrast
to the method in which the Wood cam
naiop has been conducted, though the
general is not wealthy and was depend
emf entirely upon the voluntary contribu-
t;ons of interested friends. The general
himself doesn't solicit campaign contri-
buttons. Few candidates ever do. It's
whom the men who get around a pros
noct;ve candidate do the soliciting for
funds that the embarrassing promises
ore made. Even President Wilson found
after the first campaign in 1912 that
some of his Managers had promised jobs
and certain courseg Of action of (which
he had no knowledge with. the result that
tba nresidentselect met some bitter feel
ing inside his own party at the outset
snToe5 of the orudges still Remaining h
The whole effort of the investigating
committee of the senate IS to show that
| the various candidates for the presidency
are being backed by individuals or prI-
yate interests who will have a string on
he NEXT President of the United States.
| OF course. there is no proof of that even
IN the case of the largest contributions
Int If is within the power of a congress
sional committee to spread innuendoes
inst the same. The Kenyon investigat
inc committee gets plenty of publicity
The reporters attendeen masse. lnsinuat-
mo ones tons which might provoke many
q libel suit If asked outside of congress
bv one. individual of another are giver
ttbe widest currency. Both sides suffer
Men are s,ibpoenaed4 without scintilla
of evidence, Barnard NJ. Baruch was
lcalled purely on the basis of story
published in the Hearst papers to th'
effect that he had gotten up a million
dollar fund for Mr.. McAdeo. 1t turns
! out that Mr.. Barnch swears that h
didn't contribute cent. On the othe
hand the effort to besmirch Mitchell
Palmer by the implication that he 90
contributions from concerns which
eyaded their income tax obligations AM
were later required to pay millions o
. dollars in back taxes to the treasury i
lin effect criticism of the department o
Justice which would never have anything
: to do with income tax matters eve
though a concern were guilty OF evaslor
e The administration of the income ia
= and, indeed, all prosecutions are con
I Quoted by the treasury departments la,
n officers who are only technically on til
:. department of justices roster.
The whole episode is another instanc
/ of the ways congressional COMMITTEE
g can be handled for partisan political pun
n poses though in the present instance ii
i effort is entirely inspired by the JOIN
Il son followers in the senate and is Anne
$ not merely at Democrats but at RepGl
o lean rivals of Senator Johnson. Agai
n and again, congressional committee
o have conducted inquisitions of this kin
I without proving anything especially B,
/ raising political smoke screens of doul
Y. and insinuation. The present pre-col
II vention campaign has been costli
d one than usual. but the expenditure
/ have been distributed over more cand
y dates and the contests under the pr
y mary system are more responsible f
: the situation than any newly develop
% cupidty or political corruption. Mo
rs of the money has been spent in publicit
N and advertising and not in buying vote