Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-13
R|GHTSOE SENATE
IN PROBES DOUBTED
North Carolina Democrats
Challenge Authority to In
yestigate State Campaigns.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

News from North Carolina that the
tie in the courts to determine the juris'
diction of the Senate committee in
vestigating campaign expenditures i
raising some interesting questions as tc
the rights of the Senate itself with re-
spect to elections.
While the Constitution gives each
State Legislature the right to prescribe
the manner OF holding elections, Con-
gress may alter such regulations at any
time The fact, however. is that con-
greSS has not made any law governing
primary elections, either as TO the
amount Of money that may be spent
or as TO what the qualifica 5ionS OF q
candidate shall be.
Congress- Right Defined.
The rights of all investigating com
mittees are derived from the fact that
Congress may wish to know the facts
in order TO legislate. The question
whether candidate can be barred
from the Senate because Of facts un-
covered in an investigation has already
been passed upon by the Senate in the
cases of William Ware of Pennsylvania
and Frank L. Smith of Illinois, but
nobody has ever tested in the courts
the power of the Senate to bar can
didate because of undesirable activities
in primary campaign.
Members of the Senate have defended
themselves on the ground that they
have broad powers to Judge of the
qualifications of members, and this ex-
tends to the character and integrity of
the candidate as well as to the method
used in winning an election.
Opposite View Quoted.
Opposed to this line of reasoning is
the view expressed by the school of
thought which holds that the actions
of a party organization in a convention
or the vote of party members in a
primary is wholly outside of any power
Of the United States Senate or the
House of Representatives. 1t is con-
tended, for example, that a candidate
does not actually apply for admission
to the United States Senate until after
the general election, hence the conten-
tiQn is made that senatorial inquisition
of primary is an unwarranted inter-
ference with the operations of party
organization. Congress could of course,
pass law regulating primaries. but in
the absence of such a law there is no
power except an arbitrary one. to say
that a primary has been properly or
improperly conducted.
If the case does get into the courts
the ruling probably will be entirely on
whether a Senate committee has the
right to investigate the general purpose
of framing legislation. There is no i'm
portant bill pending which looks to-
ward the regulation of primary elec-
tions, but Congress, on the other hand
has appointed investigating committees
without necessarily framing a specific
proposal.
Candidates Status Involved.
1t is generally admitted that Congress
has the right to inquire into all the
facts in an election both in the pri-
maries and in the final contest after
both have occurred so as TO get back
ground for a Judgment as to the quail
fications and character of candidate
The new question that has arisen is
whether Investigations should be carried
on in advance of a general election and
at a time when the work of the COM
nit,ee itself becomes intangled in the
campaigns of the various candidates
1T would be easy, for instance, for one
political party to use a Campaign IN
vestigating Committee to prevent the
election of opponents by constantly
focusing attention on minute details of
campaigning. There is on the other
hand the argument that the people are
entitled to know Immediately after a
primary election all the facts so that
they can still have an opportunity to
choose some other candidate in the
general election.
Illinois Case Cited.
In the case of Frank L. Smith of
Illinois, investigators had made a com
prehensive study and report before the
final election, but it did not interfere
with Mr.. Smiths victory at the polls
One of the effects of the investigating
business may be to compel Congress 70
pass law specifically regulating the
amounts Of money that can be spnet by
candidates in both primary and final
elections.
fCopyright, 1es0.)