Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-01
Time to Act. :

'Sse~SAOhS Va iiuB0 expenditures OF
money in the Pennsylvania and Illinois
primary elections have brought Con.
gress and the State Legislatures face
to face with the problem OF putting
a Limitation upon the sums which
may be used by and for candidates
for nomination and election to the
Senate and House.
There is grave doubt whether Con-
gress can tackle constitutionally the
matter Of limiting expenditures in a
State nominating primary, particu-
larly In view OF the decision OF the
Supreme Court In the case Of Truman
II. Newberry, a Senator from Michi.
gan. 1t may be that the House and
Senate, which are the sole judges Of
the qualifications OF their members,
must limit themselves to determining
whether men and women for whom
great sums Of money have been ex-
pended are entitled to be seated; that
the only course open to the houses
Of Congress Is to proceed by investi-
cation to determine whether large
amounts Of money have been ex-
pended, and expended improperly.
The States themselves are in an
entirely different situation. They can
deal with their own primaries effec-
lively, provided. of course, that the
people themselves are awakened to
the need. A disheartening phase Of
the testimony adduced during the
Senate investigation Of the Pennsyl.
vania primary was the apparent fndif-
ference Of the voters OF that state
toward the system" which has pre-
vailed there in the conduct Of political
elections. Witnesses admitted that
there seemed to be little chance Of
amending the State election laws or
even OF enforcing those which are now
on the statute books. Corrupt and
content" is the picture presented.
Some expenditures of money in po.
litical campaigns are entirely justified.
These legitimate expenditures may
even run into high figures, depending
entirely upon the size of the cleo
torate which the candidates for Office
are seeking to convince. 1t would
be idle and unfair to limit the ex-
penditures which may be made by
and for a candidate for the Senate
in New York or Pennsylvania to
those which might properly be made
for a candidate for the Senate In
wyoming or Delaware.
But the expenditures made in Penn
sylvania and Illinois, running into
hundreds of thousands and even mill
lions of dollars. in the senatorial pri-
maries are disgusting. They smack
Of corruption. The payment of
watchers in Pennsylvania and
workers" in Illinois has brought
about a systematic purchasing Of
votes. In Allegheny County, Pa, it
was developed, nearly one-third Of all
the men and women who supported
two Of the candidates for the Repubh-
can senatorial nomination were paid
S. or $40 apiece.
The payment of the small fry in
these political contests is no blacker
than the contributions by great inter-
ests which seek by their thousands
to control the electorate and the
officials elected. The parts played by
Joseph r. Grundy, president OF the
Pennsylvania Manufacturers Associ-
alton, and by Samuel insult, Illinois
utility magnate. in the primaries of
their respective States should arouse
the people to a realization that drastic
measures are needed to protect the
sanctity Of elections. Grundy frankly
admitted that he was the angel" Of
the Pepper Fisher ticket to the tune
of $500, 000 and that the interest OF
the manufacturers was to stall OF a
tax on the capital stock of manufac-
turing corporations. Mr.. insult, who
contributed more than $125.000 to the
campaign of Frank l.. Smith, head
of the Utilities Commission Of Illinois,
insists that he was perfectly innocent
in the matter. He contributed smaller
sums to the campaigns Of Senator Nc
Kinley, Smiths opponent, and even
to the campaign of George e. Bren-
nan, the Democratic nominee for
Senator. He who runs may read that
Mr.. insult was seeking to maintain
the friendship Of any candidate who
might prove successful.
Are these revelations to be only a
nine days wonder, or will there be
an earnest effort in Congress and the
state Legislatures to remedy condi-
tons?
--t-~eo8p-s-----