The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-09-01
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

1850 -
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer
Copyright 1920
CHICAGO. H., Sept. About all that
he investigation OF campaign finance by
he United States senate has revealed
nus far-and probably all that it ever
viii reveals that the laws OF the
-n.ted States and the individual states
do not adequately protect the American
people against corruption.
Both the Republican and Democratic
leaders who yesterday testified made 1t
lear that there is no way of telling just
how much money is raised inside the
statcs for national purposes either by or
ganization ostensibly Independent OF the
regularly formed political committees OF
the states of the union, such as the
Hughes alliances of 1916 or the Anti-Sa
loon league of the liquor dealers associa-
lions or any other institution inter
| astcd in electing or defeating the candi-
dates of the different parties.
Neither Homer S. Cummings, retiring
national chairman of the Democratic
committee. nor VIII Hays, the Republi-
can chairman, was willing to impute
motives of corruption to his respective
! political foes, and while there was an
| occasional coIlouuy that seemed for the
| moment sharp the best of feeling and
/ good nature characterized the inyestiga-
ton One almost got the impression that
| the Republicans and Democrats who or
/ = h, no a
| sigh of relief if laws were enacted TO
prevent independent organizations from
/ doing things which the national com
mittees are today powerless to prevent
being done either in the name of Republi-
cansm or Democracy. Indeed, Senator
Spencer, Republican, asked Homer Cum
mings to make some suggestions from
possible legislation that would purify
elections and he indicated that it wouldn't
take him and VIII Hays long to draft
such proposals based on their respective
experiences. usre aiat4.a a#s..
Mr.. Cummings was very useful to the
Republican senators who drew from him
frank answers concerning the limitations
of campaign funds in federal and state
organizations In the first place. Mr.
Cummings saw nothing wrong with VIII
!: Hays's budget of S3,0O0,000, but said he
!: believed anything much beyond that
would be "manifestly excessive" lie
: wouldn't agree to Senator Edges sugges
ton, seconded by Will Hays, that every
thing had practically doubled in cost
since the 1916 campaign and that if boil
Democrats and Republicans spent two
and a half million dollars in that year
: it would not be excessive if they needed
much more than that this time Mr.
Cummings said that he believed an add
ton of 100000 this year to the Demo
cratic fund of S2,300,0OO in 1916 would BIZ
: an adequate estimate of 1920 for either
party. Pressed for his line of reasoning
: the Democratic leader brought out sig.
nificantly that much money is wasted
in advertising and in other directions in
the last weeks of a campaign which il
: contracted for earlier or by competent
persons would mean economy of a quar-
| ter of a million of dollars He implied
that efficiency and the benefits of expe
rience would more than make up in econ
omies what the rise in costs of supplies
today would entail.
Senator Reed jumped back into the
Democratic party again and cross exam,
med witnesses from the viewpoint OF
Governor Cox. For instance, he com.
PEELED VIII Hays to admit that while the
Republican national committee had moth.
ing to do either directly or indirectly
with the publication by William Barnes
of New York, of Republican campaign
book, nevertheless that volume for
which some of the largest corporations in
the United States had subscribed liberal
sums OF money was a concurrent eff
fort that helped the Republican cam
paign just as any other political propa-
ganda. But Republican senators were
4 quick to suggest that this might happen