Evening star., 1926-05-23

10 use u 1amlllar base ball phra sc,
the Senate's proposed investigation
into senatorial primary expenditures
was too hot for u couple of Senators.
to handle. 1t was machiavellian cum
ming on the part of Vice President
Dawes to name Senators Reed Of
Pennsylvania and Deneen of Illinois
on the select committee to conduct the
inquiry into the alleged bundles of
Doodle which were unstrapped in
some of the recent unpleasantnesSeS.
The two States which have been
under fire in the Senate's discussion
of unseemly primary expenditures are
Pennsylvania and Illinois. Neither
Senator Reed nor Senator Deneen
cared to be involved in the grilling
of their own state leaders. Their
reluctance is natural enough. Both
of these Senators kept out of the
trenches during the bitter fighting
and neither was personally concerned
with what went on or with the money
expended Yet il would have been
decidedly embarra ssing for them to
act as inquisitors on the boys at
home and it is not surprising that
failing to relish such "a task as the
Vice President tried tO wish upon
them, they promptly rendered their
designations.
Up to the time the Pennsylvania
suuabble got finally under way, the
Illinois fight between Senator Nc
kinley and Col. Frank Smith. former
chairman of the State central com.
mittee. was regarded as setting the
highest mark of senatorial contest
expenditure since the days Of Sena-
tor Newberry of Michigan
But recent reports have been that
the PENNSYLVANIA fight has tilted the
lid off a political jackpot which may
have ranged all the way from *2.OOV,
600 to So 900 900. Senator Reed in
sists that this is wild eXaggeration.
But il was the report which caused
the Senate to act. Illinois, therefore.
has to play second fiddle for the time
being. although the revelations from
that State may be decidedly inter
esting.
When it is considered that Il Sen
ator is elected only for six years at Il
salary of $4,000 81 year. the primary
reach into the millions. certainly are
entirely out of proportion 10 the
financial worth of the Job.
/ The primary system may have
brought reforms in some directions.
But SO far as the use of money in Il
campaign is concerned, the primary
rule has let down the bars to expendi-
lures which would have been un-
dreamed of Il generation ago. The
claim that many of these enormous
expenditures are of an entirely legiti-
mate character is true enough, but
that does not lessen the fact that the
money is spent and that a poor man.
running for the Senate in any of the
big States, must accept money aSSis-
tance from virtually any quarter from
which it may be extended. Senatorial
independence is broken by such Gus
tom. Just as many Senators listen
today TO their masters voices as ever
gave heed in the old days of selection
by the party leaders
The vast sums expended i'll the
Pennsylvania and Illinois primaries
naturally went far beyond the sen
atorial contests. In each State the
leadership of the Republican party
within the State was at stake. This
was particularly true in Pennsylvania.
where Secretary of the Treasury Mel
lon. who long has ruled the .''organiZa-
ton" in Pittsburgh sought to extend
the Mellon influence from one end of
the keystone State to the other. The
Mellon machine" at the western end
of the State has been just as strong as
the Ware machine in Ihiia delphia, but
the Ware machine outvoted the Mellon
machine on Tuesday and the Secre-
tary may not try again to take the