The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-02-10
TELL OF EXPENSE
Senate Discusses Cost of Polit-
ical Campaign.
Bill to Increase Allowance
Killed After Debate.

I
secrets as to hoy they came to Topeka.
and searched their souls for words to
tell what they thought of the news
papers during discussion of a bill by
Johnson of Brown which is designed
to increase the amount of money which
may be spent in campaigns, by candi
dates for office.
Most of the senator's seemed in ia
vor, at first, of making the limit SIS
for the primary and SIS for the gem
eral election, in each county. The
present limit is $50. But there was a
provision in the bill which required
| candidates who own newspapers, to
charge themselves for personal no
tees, at the same rate that they would
I have charged other candidates. SEN
ator ]. NJ. Satterthwaite, who pub
fishes the Douglass Tribune in Butler
lcounty. objected vigorously to this
provision.
Vote Down Satterthwaife's Motion.
| Senator Satterthwaite took the stand
! that the editor had as good a right to
use the columns of his own paper in
furthering his candidacy. as the law
fyer has to use the eloquence which is
a part of his own stock in trade. The
| other members of the senate. however,
were unable to see the point of the
Tribune editors argument, and voted
down the amendment.
| Then Senator Dick Howard took
a whack at another provision of the
| bill. Under it and under the present
law, certain expenses-travelling and
t hotel. are not counted in as campaign
expenses, and the candidate may spend
as much money as he likes on these
items. Senator Howard maintained
that advertising should come under
the same head, and that the candi-
| date should spend what he pleases for
this purpose He pointed out that it
&nI-
use up the entire fund which the can
Ididate is allowed to spend. OF course
1.-THE friends" of the candidate who
feel like extolling him thru the press
are at perfect liberty to do so under
the present law. to any extent they
wish.
T. But the Howard amendment
! brought down the deluge. Everybody
! took a wha elk at the practical. wolfisll
| editor, who goes about Seeking whom.
among the candidates, he may devour.
| Most of the senators love their
i newspapers just about as they cherish
| the hold-up man, TO hear them tell
lit. OF course, they almost Invariably
| pointed OUT it didn't affect them per-
sonally, because they hadn't had to
spend any money whatever them
selves to win their So a day jobs. It
/ which they had avoided mourning
i campaign expenses. But one of the
Essential items had almost always been
1.-THE insertion OF advertisements in vari
Gus papers. to keep {on the good side
of the editors, and prevent those
them.''- OF course, there were in most
cases friends to foot the bills.
To Meet Them Personally.
Senator Laing, of Russell, advanced
the theory that the constituents
wanted to see and talk with the can
didates personally, rather than to get
their views and impressions second
handed thru the columns of the news
papers. He declared that he believed
it better to spend money for travelling
and get out and meet the people per-
sonaIly than%to spend it for adver-
Using Pr
Senator. Hegler- took. the opposite
fyieF of the matter, urging that in a
tdistrict such as His own it was not only
a physical impossibility to get out and
meet the people face to face but that
the people refused to be bothered and
! didn't want their candidates coming
| around to meet them. ~
1 Wouldn't live in SUCH. a COM
4 munity,ff was Isafng' srerort.
4 Hegler declared that he loathes,
hates and despises thessuse of news
paper advertisements. but regards
them as necessary evils, very evil in
deed.
proposed an amendment which would
require the candidate to do his own
advertising and would prevent any
third parties from doing it for him.
This didn't appeal to the senators.
and they finally after knocking out
the various amendments, voted to kill
the entire bin, over. the protest of it's
author that it was designed to~permit
a candidate to spend a reasonable
amount of money to land his coveted
So a day job.