Evening star., 1922-05-27
Fear That Door Is Opened to Un
limited "Slush" Funds.

ready an issue In senatorial cam
paigns Attorney General Daugherty
has complicated the situation by an
opinion which republican editors
frankly recognize as dangerous. His
ruling that the corrupt-practices act
does not apply to the campaign ex-
penditures Of senatorial candidates is
Interpreted by most democratic and
numerous republican papers as notice
that the lid is off," and, as the New
York Tribune (republican) warns, If
it is taken seriously the results will
be unfortunate
The Attorney General gets an awk-
ward statute out Of the way" in time
to relieve his political confreres, as
the Chattanooga News (democratic)
sees it, for by this ruling the re-
strictions SO patiently worked out
have been swept away" and the "old
order restored" with Mr.. Daugherty,
ent democratic) says. dreaming of a
reversion to the days of unlimited
campaign funds" with which to make
the Senate "a millionaires' club with
huge initiation fees. payable from the
dough- bag"
Certainly the new ruling makes pos
sible, if it does not actually invite,
the spending Of money without
stint" the Scranton Times demo
cratic) thinks, and if it is applied the
Minnesota Star minneapolis, inde-
pendenD predicts "a merry time this
summer" for the old campai gn bar
rel will be full to overflowing for the
faithfuP and we may expect several
campaigns which will make New
berry's in Michigan look like a
pikers.''
1t is, however, obviously unfair to
attack the Attorney General because
of the ruling, the Baltimore Sun (in-
dependent democratic) points out,
since it is merely an Interpretation of
a Supreme Court decision. and. in the
opinion of the paper. he has 'proba-
bly, done a public service by con-
STRUNG the law as It now stands for
he has thus forced the ISSUE" That
"Newberryism' will be an issue can
not be gainsaid,' the Ohio State
Journal columbus. republican, de-
doubtful if it can be even minimized
in any single state" and doubtless
before the campaign makes great
progress senators will learn that
there is far more resentment in the
minds of the voters over the New
to admit"
Indeed the voice Of the people has
already been heard on that issue. the
Wheeling Register (democratic)
thinks, and "its meaning was unmis-
taxable in Indiana" The Grand Rap
"cash-register politicians are not In
vogue just now" point which ex-
Senator Beveridge made perfectly
plain when he put his campaign
squarely on a basis of ending politi-
cal money ornaments" and won. lit
hoo fn ha 70 q 10
Herald continues, ito trademark cam
didacy for public Office with dollar
signs. A too liberal campaign treas
ury has become a liability instead OF
an asset"
Since this is the popular attitude at
must be recognized. the Detroit News
Independently holds, that "the people
are insisting that no office in the
land shall be purchased, and specifi-
cally that Newberryism be made ut
terly impossible in fact as it is al
Tribune (republican) demands that
"every candidate for Office. high or
low, must submit an account of the
expenses incurred in his behalf during
the campaign. 1t makes no difference
whether the Office sought Is that of
President, senator or what not" If,
as the Attorney Generals ruling
seems to bring out, "the law does not
require this" then IAN amendment to
the corrupt practices act is needed"
But while Congress may pass a
law to overcome the failure of the
federal corrupt practices act" such
laws, in the opinion of the Wilkes
Barre Record (republican) ARE usu-
ally a farce" and cannot be relied
upon as the sole remedy because no
law can prohibit ingenious evasion"
Senators who have not spent, or for
whom has not been spent, more than
the law allows for their nomination
and election" the Knickerbocker
Press (Albany. republican, suspects
"are probably very rare so
the formal fling of Istatements of
receipts and expenditures under the
law has been in many cases mere
legal fiction which deceived very few,
but gave the distinguished statesmen
a comfortable alibi.".
Admittedly there Is "a multitude Of
problems that must be faced in draft
ing a workable law to prevent unwar-
ranted expenditures of large sums to
affect the choice of the electorate"
the Springfield (Mass.) Union (repub-
lican), says, but that does not detract
from "the wisdom and propriety" of
expressing that principle in law.
While 'it is impossible to lay down
any rule as to what ought to be spent
on a campaign. any more than to lay
hill should be-" the Adrian (Mich.)
Telegram Independently. comedies
that "a maximum, however, should be
prescribed by law and enforced" :"
since that Is necessary in order to
prevent abuses" but "that maximum
should not be put so low as to vir-
tually prohibit reasonably effective