Evening star., 1922-05-14
SENATOR'S FREE TO SPEND
FREELY. TO WIN ELECTION
Court Decision and Daugherty Opinion
May Result in Legislation to Limit
Campaign Expenditures.

would amend the Senate rules SO as
to provide that no senator should be
held to be eligible to take his seat
| unless he had limited his campaign
expenditures and made them public in
| accordance with the provisions of the
| corrupt practices act. The limit flxed
for the contributions by q senatorial
candidate himself is $4,000. This pro-
posed Senate rule would apply to pri-
| mary elections as well as to sena-
torial elections themselves.
Each house COT Congress) shall be
the Judge of the elections. qualiflca-
tions and returns of its own men,
bers," according to the Constitution.
Under this provision. Senator Pome-
rene holds that the Senate has per-
feet right. to adopt such rule as he
proposes. Senator McKellar of Ten
nessee also has proposed a similar
resolution. In tho second place, Sena-
tor Pomerene has prepared q bill re-
lating to tho elections of senator's
which will meet the criticism leveled
at the existing corrupt practices act
by the Attorney General. He will
seek action by Congress on this meas
ure without delay.
Strong Reasons Urged
For Federal Control
Although the states have laws
dealing with tho elections Of sena-
torial nominees and senators, there
are several strong reasons advanced
al
tions.
l. 1. The state laws are not uniform
and they are sometimes ineffective.
Where a candidate for senatorial
nomination is SO strongly intrenched
politically that he is the boss" and
controls state of1cials and state
courts-as has sometimes been the
a state law when he could not so
violate federal statute.
2. All the people of the country
are interested in the elections of
senators. who must-assist in making
the laws for all the people. The peo-
pie of a state where q stringent
corrupt practices law is in operation
tors elected in a neiEhboring state
where there are lax laws and where
corruption might have its part in the
election of senators who must help
mako laws for the people OF the
first state.
Dimcult to Make
Rule Fair to All. !
Admittedly there are difficulties in
drafting a corrupt practices law
which would apply to all the states
and be fair to the candidates in all.
A candidate for the Senate in a state
having the large population of New
York, Illinois, Massachusetts, or
Pennsylvania might well expend
with all fairness moro than the can
didate for election to the Senate in
Navada, where the population is
small, or in Mississippi, where a
large part of the population does
not vote. Also in some Of the states
a candidate, because of tho equal d.
vision Of the voters along party
limos, must make campaigns both for
the nomination for tho Senate and
for election as senator. while in
other states tho nomination Is equiv
alent to tho election, and really only
ono contest is necessary.
IN Alabama tho democratic NOM
inee is assured Of tho election. be-
cause tho democratic party domi- !
mates. In Vermont the boot IL on
tho other leg and the republican
nominee is as good a. elected. But
in Ohio. Indiana, New York ana
other political backgrounds. a can
didate not only has to run the
gantlet Of the primary election, but
must face q contest in the actual |
election for the Senate,
Senator Pomerene. however, 10 Of
the opinion that the sum, $4,000, |
fixed by tho existing corrupt prac-
tices act, is as large q sum as any /
senatorial candidate should be per-
mitted to contribute to his campaign |
fund in any state.