Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-13
Co1eeung New . Prsfesstoa.


Tho revelations before the Senatorial
Investigators Of campaign expenses brought
to light the fact that there are few patriots
in the Republican party. for it was testi-
fed under oath that the best "boodle dig
gers get from 500 to S600 a week and
expenses-.with NO limit to the expenses.
The payroll for these and similar employees
mounts to from $4,000 to $4,000 a
month, Republican witness told the
probers. The fact that it requires such
high-eclaried men indicates that even the
Republicans who have been touched again
and again and are promised all sorts Of
special compcnsaAing legislation do not
give up willingly nor without much IN
sistent persuasion. The sfat frying" il
painful to them, but eventually they come
ACROSS. when large part Of their eontribu-
tion is consumed by the collectors who
wrung the unwilling money from them, so
it has just been publicly proclaimed.
The testimony went further and re-
called that experienced collectors for re-
ligious-or semi-religious undertaking.
get from 10 to 60 per cent Of the total sum
they gather to compensate them for the
success of their diplomatic touch" The
professional charity solicitor or the col
lector for philanthropic canses is indeed
now ranked as a professional man. He
often has no other calling and if bis list OF
prospects or opportunities is large and
rich, he is enabled to live in such style rs
would indicate his income from the coli
lections to be from $4,000 70 $4,000
year.
In the early part Of the war, when big
sum of money was asked for one charity or
other. an advertisement was inserted IN
New York paper for a collector who bad
entree to the Office of the leading Wall
Street banker and the home Of a man who
had made a billion out Of OIL Eventually
such man presented himself for the
undertaking, and in two weeks came back
with the bacon" in the language of the
street His share of the collections was 80
per cent and as the sums obtained were
large, his share was upwards Of $4,000.
Its not hard to guess from these figures
-snd they could be added to almost in
defnitek-that charity and philanthropy
get but small share Of the money given
in their name in the large cities. The rich
est az the rich are approached with the
greatest reluctance and only those who
know them or know intimately Of them
are able to present a personal appeal. And
so it goes down the entire list until il
comes to the man Of comparative small
means, who is accessible to almost any
one with worthwhile undertaking IN
hand. He gives his mite without much
persuasion or argument
So when we see that this or the other
millionaire has gwen 100000 for some
public benefaction, or perhaps for church
OF allied work, we may as rule discount
the total by SO per cent to find how much
reached the church or whatever the object
might have been.
The commercializing Of this philan-
thropic work was carried 10 such an extent
in New York during the war time that 1t
IS recalled clergyman whointerested him
self in some betterment work retained
about so per cent of the total amount re-
ceived, and might have appropriated the
remainder as expenses for collecting had
aot body of investigators ''nosed Id.
It doesn't seem to matter IN the slightest
whether the money sought is to accelerate
} political campaign, to erect hospital,
urther such q movement as the Inter |
Church undertaking, or feed the hunger
ng victims of the world war, it is the |
collector first"