The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-27
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
KREDERIC ). HAsKIN. Directsr,
washington. ID. @.
CAMPAIGN FUNDS RUNNING LOW.

palgn IundS are running low In1S year
No authoritative statistics have been
compiled, but on a conservative esti-
mate dimes are being dragged in
where dollars formerly flowed in, and
1t is not to be overlooked that there
is decided difference between drag
ging" and flowing"
All of which means that the poll
ticians of all parties are up against 1t.
tThey have on their hands a fight that
would call normally for larger ex-
penditures than have ever been made
for such purposes, and they are dis
covering that they will have only
about a tenth of the resources that
they should be able to command.
Party organizations have almost
doubled in size since all the women
have suffrage. and the demands that
are made on the committees have
more than doubled, but when the hat
is passed it comes back practically
, empty.
| Men who arc responsible for finance
ling the various completes are grow
ing gray and haggard. Others who
have always counted in campaign
years on lucrative employment or
| profitable business relations with the
committees are job-less and contract
less. 1t is sad situation. The Glooms
have driven all the Joys out of politics.
| 1t is not many years since a national
chairman announced that in his tudg-
ment contributions to campaign funds
should be limited to $1,000, and an
other politician of equal prominence
declared that that limit was too high
800 should be the maximum
This year the man who could get
thousand dollar donations would be
hailed as his party's saviour, while the
/ hundred dollar producer would be
rated as little less than genius.
| Those who would question the truth
of this need only go to the headquar-
| tiers of either of the dominant parties
and undertake to sell any plan or
proposition that involves the spending
of money. They will be convinced in
short order. They will hear tales of
poverty that are more than. distressing,
and, what is more-to the point, they
will find it next to imp possible to do
| business with the, committees for the
good and sufficient reason that the
committees have no money with which
to do business.
One Mans Sad Experience.
One man whose business is in the
| line of campaign publicity features
had a particularly unhappy experience
| in Washington this week. He had
worked out a plan that had everything
to recommend it and that he was con-
| fident of selling to a certain commit
tee as soon as he could lay it before
| the chairman. He expected a contract
representing several thousands of dol
| little boy shot at.
did you sell your propositions"
friend inquired
Ibid I sell it?" he echoed. "Say.
that chairman isn't buying, he's SELL
ingi He sold me a poverty and hard
! luck story that was so sad we wound
up weeping on each others shoulder
and before I left he had me digging
up ten-spot to help keep his commit
tee out of the poorhouse- And 1 guess
I was lucky to get off at that pricei
AS yet no one has come forward
with a satisfactory explanation of this
state of affairs. The same individuals
and the same interests, that heretofore
have been interested in the success
of this or that party to the extent that
they would contribute freely and more
or less literally to campaign funds
are - presumably = still interested.
There are as many reasons why they
should contribute IN 1922 as in 1920,
or 1915, or 1900, or in any other
year. Our political methods have not
changed. 1t has not been made un-
lawful to do that which will cause
campaign treasurer to smile.
AS a matter of fact, this having
been a tariff-making year it would
be taken for granted that contribu-
lions would be more liberal and more
numerous than ordinarily. Moreover.
a bitterly contested election is in
prospect, with a possibility of a shift
in the party control of the legislative
branch of the government, and that
would be expected, normally, to be
productive of fat party exchequers.
In the face of all this the actual
situation at the time the campaign
should be in full swing is little short
of appalling to the party workers, and
that may be said for both the Repub-
licans and Democrats. Expected CON
tributions simply are not materializ-
ing. On the contrary there seems to
be an actual conspiracy on the part
of the give-uppers to hold out on the
go-getters.
Popular Fiction and Fallaeies.
Writers of popular fiction anent
politics have been responsible largely
for popular fallacies as to the size OF
campaign funds and the ease with
which they have been collected. The
impression has been created that
fabulous sums have been gathered in
by party leaders, and that this has
been accomplished by processes al
most as simple as turning on a faucet.
According to these breezy tales, the
party boss has only to decide on how
many millions he wants and then call
in the representatives of the inter-
ests' and tell them what their re-
spectfye assessments will be. and the
money will be forthcoming instanter.
OF course. the boss has to make a
few casual little promises guarantee
ing the interests that they will get
their money back tenfold, but what is
a promise to a party leader when he
wants money? Som etimes the inter-
ests dPive>hard bargains and manifest
a purpose to skin the public to the
bones and boil the bones for grease,
but why should a, campaign chairman
worry?
The heroes of these stories, I'M
bought and unpurchasable as heroes
should be, invariably do something
awful to the boss in the last chapter,
but in the meanwhile the boss always
gets the money. The campaign war
chests are always full to overflowing.
Just how much fiction there is in
this sort of stuff is best attested by
the men who have agonized over the
problem OF how to raise enough mon
ey to see a committee thru a cam
paign without a staggering deficit.
They will agree, irrespective of their
party affiliations that the percentage