The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-26
PRESS ON BoRAH INQUIRY.

.. PRESS ON BORAH INQUIRY.
 Although the Republican campaign off, ficials confess to fund of three million dollars, there are persons unkind enough to suggest that perhaps there may be ad- { ditional contributions that do not come into the ken of the committee. If there . is limit beyond which formal fund to- tals may not fitly go, perhaps way would be found to disburse a supple mentary fund unostentatiously, so as not unduly to disturb the captious. The Re publicans say they have laid their cards on the table, but they may have another deck. MT. Borah no doubt had his own party more in mind than any other when he supported the law under which he is now pursuing his inquiry into the cam paign contributions.
 f- There is well-defined silence among Republican journals as to the inquiry, except for a certain amount of scoffing at the possibility of Republican errancy in this respect. Democratic journals have, however, made up for that neglect. The New York Times, which has quite stalwartly supported MT. Davis, pointed ly observes: Exactly how much money the Republican managers are trying to raise for the campaign does not matter so much as the way they are setting about it The disquieting thing, the dam aging thing, brought out at the hearing by the Borah committee at Chicago, was the spirit in which the Republican collec- tors are soliciting funds. They uncon- sciously but brutally assume that they have sold tariff favors, and still have them to sell, so that gifts to the cam paign fund are in the nature of the pay ment of an honest debt" The Republic an party has delivered the goods and now it demands payment. And in the same vein the Baltimore Sun: Enquiry into campaign funds serves a useful purpose. It will be a distinct Encouragement to those lavish givers who hand over the cash not so much through love of the G. O. F. as in ., expectation of favors to come. We refer to the G. O. P. because it seems to be the only political organization that finds 1t necessary to raise millions of dollars to run a campaign. Whatever Senator Borah can do to bring within reason and decency the amounts raised and used, and relieve the widespread impression that a presidential election can be made bargain-counter affair, is well worth doing"
 The Sun emphasizes a thought that must be in the back of many people s minds. Why is it that the Republican party always finds it necessary to spend so much more money in national cam paign than any other party? Does it thus intimate it's belief that cash IS the decld- ing factor in presidential election! UT does it regard it's claims to public atten- tion so difficult to establish that 1t must 90 to this extra effort? Or is it that the recipients of privilege, fearful for then tenure. are willing to spend great deal that ASSUr- 7. ance will be doubly sure? In any case, the reason does not reflect credit on the campaign management.
 That the records "tend to confirm the charge of Senator LaFollette and others that the Republican national committee intends to buy the election" is the vlgor- . ous assertion of the Atlanta Journal, in an editorial analyzing at some length the history of Republican expenditures since 1860. Tn only two presidential years, 1884 and 1892, did Democratic expendl- ture. surpass Republican. In 1896 the Republican total reached its most out rageous climax, when sixteen and a hall million dollars were spent. The Demo- cratic total in that year was less than half a million. In most other preslden- tial years the Republican fund has ap- proximately doubled the Democratic ~ fund, and in 1920 it was nearly four times as great. Of course, as the Jour- nal says, 'it would be absurd to suppose or even suggest that any presidential campaign can be successfully conducted without money" But there is modera- tion in all things-except Republican presidential campaign expenditures. The people would like to know why this is. In considering the testimony before the Borah committee, the Every Evening of Wilmington, Delaware, concludes "These figures are significant. They re- veal that the Republican party is up to it's old tricks. Its creed today is the same that it was in 1920-Boys, get the money!-and with that same money Chairman Butler and his cohorts are at tempting to buy their way back into pow er." The theory on which Republican donations are solicited is thus described by the Atlanta Constitution: "The Re publican machinists go upon the theory that if the party has held the taxing pow CT over the American masses for the benefit of the protected few, then the protected few must give up part of their plupder if they want to keep on enjoying the tariff emoluments The