The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-06-04
COP. DEFICIT
BIG PROBLEM
TO Be FACED
Sum of ST 100000 Remains
To Be Paid Collections
Slow-Causes Good Deal Of
Embarrassment.
HIT DIRECT PRIMARY
ny MARK SULLIVAN

hCa thC ASOpQOAlIdu udl1oldi SoHl-
mittee meets here next Wednesday.
probably the least welcome of several
times of business which they must
consider will BE their deficit. Soon
after the election it became known
that the committees deficit was about
s1,500,000. Since that time the public
has heard nothing of the subject, and
probably the general assumption is
that the deficit has been met. That,
however. is far from being the case.
Only about 100000 has been paid
off. and the committee has a deficit
today of $1,200,000. which is an un.
comfortable sum, considering that it
is now six months since the election
took place and from eight to ten
months since the debts were con-
tracted. The committee is paying in
terest on this sum at the rate of Z
per cent. This makes $4,000 year,
or $1,000 month, being added to the
deficit.
Collections Slow
The committee has machinery in
motion for collecting the money to
meet this deficit, but results do not
show that they are getting in more
than about 100000 a month. With
the rate of progress of collection so
slow. and the rate of interest so high,
the situation is rather uncomfortable
for the committee.
Some of the older members of the
committee believe that the deficit can
never be met so long as they stick to
the limit originally set by Chairman
Will Hays of not taking more than
$1,000 from any one contributor. In
asmuch as Will Hays will cease to be
chairman at the meeting next week,
it is quite within the possibilities that
the committee, with Will Hays out,
may consider changing the rule and
collect the money in any sums they
can get, the larger the better.
Limit Was Advance.
1t will be pity if they do this.
The setting of this limit was distinct
advance in the management of polit-
ical campaigns, and made it impossible
for any rich man or group of rich
men to get what Governor Cox during
the campaign called "A strangle hold
on the government" There is group
in the national committee who sympa-
thize with Will Hays's theory of set
ting limit, but they think he over
did it. They think that limit of
50 600 or So 600 or even $4,000 would
protect the committee and the pub
lie practically as we'll as limit OF
81 600 while at the same time this
higher limit would make the collecting
of the money easier.
It will be incumbent on Will Hays
ard on his friends to stick by their
rule and maintain it if they possibly
fair ay3Y
of moral obligations to do this. While
the campaign was on they got the
credit of having made this rule. To
abandon it now and take the lid off
in order to collect money to pay of
loans contracted while the campaign
was on. would rob them of much
credit which they justly got for max
ing the rule originally. The Demo-
Gratis could indulge in good deal OF
cynicism about claiming virtue fo-
keeping the limit at $1,000, while, at
the same time. borrowings Of hun
dreds of thousands of dollars were
made from the banks, and these bor-
rowngs subsequently paid off under
a changed regime of no limit.
Causes Embarrassment.
The whole subject of debts is the
cause of good deal of embarrassment
TO the committee. The matter of cam
paign expenditures and the broader
subject of the maintenance of tn"
district primary are brought forward
by two recent events.
One was the declaring unconstitu-
tonal by the supreme court in the
Newber case of the statute limiting
the amount of money that can be
spent in senatorial campaign. This
decision gives a setback to the valid
ity of the direct primary practice
everywhere. A good many persons,
including Democrats. sympathized
with the exoneration of Newberry, but
at the same time dislike to see a set
back to the direct primary.
When Newberry's case was argued
before the supreme court. his counsel
was the present secretary of state,
Mr. Hughes, and Mr.. Hughes denun-
citation of the particular use of the
berry was expressed in language,
which. coming from man like Mr.,
Hughes. was very strong.
But while even Democrats sympa-
thized with what Mr.. Hughes said. and
with what the supreme court decided,
they do not like to see this added mo-
mentum given to a movement, already
easily apparent, to rob the direct
primary of the vogue which it has
had for some IL or Is years past.
Wounds Primary.
The other incident which gave a
wound to the direct primary was the
refusal of the senate to listen to the
plea of Senator Johnson that Mr.. Blair
of North Carolina. should not be con-
irmed in a federal office because Mr..
Blair as a delegate from North Caro-
line to the Republican national con-
vention last June, had declined to. be
bound by primary held in that state.
The result Of the primary called on
the North Carolina delegates to sup
port Mr.. Johnson. but Blair did not
do it.
When the matter Of Mr.. Blair's con-
hrmation came to a vote in the senate,
the session was secret. but for week
past Washington has talked much
about the strength of the plea which