Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-09-28
SENATOR THOS. z. WATSON DEAD
POLITICAL CAMPAIGN FUNDS
ARE RUNNING VERY LOW
Money Chests Of Both Par
ties Are Almost Bare and
Leaders Seem Unable to
Get Donations
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN

WASHlNG1ONl sept. II.-Cam-
paign funds are running low this
year. No authoritative statistics
have been compiled, but on a con-
sentative estimate dimes are being
dragged in where dollars formerly
flowed in, and it is not to be over
looked that there is a decided differ
ence between dragging" and "flow-
ing"
All of which means that the poll
ticians Of all parties are up against
it. They have on their hands fight
that would call normally for larger
expenditures than have ever been
made for such purposes, and they
are discovering 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 are responsible for finaD'
cling the various committees are
growing gray and haggard. Others
who have always counted in cam
| paign years on lucrative employment
or profitable business relations with
| the committees are jobless and con-
tractless. It is sad situation. The
glooms have driven all the joys out
of politics.
1t Is not many years since a ma
tional chairman announced that in
his judgment contributions to cam
paign funds should be limited to
$1,000 and another politician of equal
prominence declared that that limit
was too high--$100 should be the
| maximum.
This year the man who could get
| thousand dollar donations. would be
hailed as his party's savior, while
the hundred dollar producer would
| be rated as little less than a genius
Those who would question the
truth of this. need only go to the
headquarters Of either Of the do1Ti-4
nant 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 impossible to do business
with the committees for the good and
| sufficient reason that the commit
| tees have no money with which to
| do business.
One Mans Sad Experience
One man whose business is in the
One man whose business is in the line !
particularly unhappy experience in
| Washington this week. He had
worked out a plan that had every
thing to recommend it and that he
was confident of selling to a certain
committee as soon as he could lay it
before the chairman. He expected
a contract representing several thou
sand dollars. He got what tradition
says the little boy shot at.
did you sell your proposition?"
a friend inquired.
did I sell it?" he echoed. "Say,
that chairman isn't buying, he's SELL
| ing! He sold me poverty and hard
luck story that was so sad we wound
! up weeping on each others shoulder,
and before left he had me digging
up ten-spot to help keep his COM
mittee out of the poorhouse. And
| 1 guess I was lucky to get off at
that price!'
AS yet mo one has come forward
with satisfactory explanation of
! this state of affairs. The same in
dividuals 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 1916, or 1900
or in any other year. Our political
methods have not changed. It has
not been made unlawful to do that
which will cause campaign treas
urer to smile.
AS matter of fact, this having
been a tariff making year. it would
be taken for granted that contribu-
tons would be more liberal and
more numerous than ordinarily.
Moreover, a bitterly contested cleo
ton is in prospect, with a possibili-
| ty of a shift in the party control of
the legislative branch of the govern
ment, 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
Republicans and Democrats. Expect
ed contributions simply are not ma
terializing. On the contrary, there
seems to be an actual conspiracy on
the part Of the giveuppers to hold
out on the go-getters.
All-Woo. Suits $16.35