Evening star., 1920-06-04
TOTAL
COST Of CAMPAIGN
FOR ALL PARTIES
Estimate Declared Too Low
in Some Political
Quarters.
BY DAVID LAwRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
| twenty-five million dollars is the
| estimate of the amount of money
that probably will be spent by al
| political parties in order to elect the
next President of the United States
This figure-considered an under
| estimate at that-embraces every
class of expenditure, not only in the
national. but in the state commit
i tees. The writer is assured by the
| persons who are likely to be in or
the financing of the national cam
! paign when the conventions have
| nominated their candidates that il
! all proba bility the national commit
tees themselves will not spend more
than few million dollars each. In
deed, it is questionable whether the
democrats or republicans will SHOW
/ on their official records more than
/! S5,000,000 each.
Money Spent In states.
But throughout the Union in the
states it is fully expected that many
millions of dollars will be spent. and
there is no real way to get at the
facts because the federal government
tions. 1t is in making the canvass 70,
state officers that money is spent for
the top of the national ticket and
for congressional candidates.
The truth is that the present in
vestigation of expenditures in the
primary campaign is making the sea-
soned financiers of political cam
paigns smile. mere half millio'
dollars is nothing compared to the
big sums that will be spent in theso
identical states and perhaps for on
of the identical candidates when once
Il, L.
men.
Preparations are being made for
the most lavish expenditure in thu
history of American political cam
paigns. The investigation thus ia
shows that large sums of money ar
spent for publicity and advertisirc
but that fabulous iamounts are put
in the hands of party workers
Some states have laws which limi
the expenditures in state campaigns
But the lavity of the more populous
states. where the big electoral vote
come from, enables the politician tr
lay his plans so that he does no
come under the jurisdiction of the
federal government.
Pressure Expected Later.
But if anybody supposes that al
this is going to happen without some
spectacular Intervention such as came
in the primary campaigns he is VERY
much mistaken. The Senate commit
tee may not have made up it's mind as
to what it will do during the summer
but it seems certain that as soon a.
the conventions have chosen their
men and an extra session of Congress"
is called there will be pressure t.
continue the Investigation. Some re-
publicanS have said that it woul6
furnish a splendid opportunity to in
vestigate the democratic nominee in
asmuch as too much publicity has al
ready been given the financial efforts
of the various republican aspirants TO,
the presidential nomination. But it is
hardly likely that the democrats who
are in possession of another investi-
eating branch of the government
would let the matter rest there. Il
Attorney General Palmer is not the
democratic nominee, or if he resigns
to make the campaign and another
Attorney General. is appointed. the
chances are that the democrats will
do a little investigating, too.
Truce Appears Doubtful.
What appears doubtful at the pres
ent moment is whether the two old
line parties will have tacit truce to
drop investigating and spend all they
can to elect their respective candi-
dates or whether they will continu'
to fight each other through the pub
licity and insinuations of campaign
Investigations. in which case th'
chances of a double -barreled fnves-
tigation conducted by the Senate com
mittee on the one hand and the De-
partment of Justice on the other hand
can be said to be good. Much will
depend upon the choice OF each ma
tional convention. Maybe II the
friends of Senator Johnson are dis
appointed and think money beat them
they will insist on pursuing the trail
no matter what effect 1t has on re-
publican chances. On the other hand,
Chairman Hays and others have re-
peatedly limited at large sums OF
money gathered by the democrats for
the coming campaign and the oppor-
tunity will not be lost to keep the
controversy in the public prints in
the hope of influencing the electorate
next autumn. The Investigations may
check expenditures for illegitimate
or doubtful purposes. but the high
cost of campaigning is fully realized
at both democratic and republican
headquarters. SO that no matter how
conservative the leaders may try to
be they probably will find in the end
that all combined will have spent
more to elect President of the
United States in 1920 than in any
other year in the history of American
politics.
Copyright, 192O)