Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-28
BY WILLIAM HARD.

The hostilities between Ruth Hanna
Mccormick, Republican nominee for the
United States Senate from Illinois, and
Senator Gerald P. Nye of North Da-
kota, chairman of the Senate's Special
Select Committee on Campaign Ex-
penditures, have now gone far beyond
the question of campaign expenditures
merely. and they presented at this week
end an issue of fundamental law which
may lead to prolonged senatorial and
national controversy.
Mrs. Mccormick and her political
associates are faking votes of the Illi-
nois praries with continuous emphatic
claims Of alleged gross violations Of
their legal rights as citizens by the Nye
committee and It's agents. The local
success of this electioneering maneuver
on their part is now genrally admitted
Senator Nye, instead of hurting Mrs
Mccormick, has, in fact, helped her
and, has increased her chances of VIC
tory In the November election.
The Mccormick managers, in the
midst of their outcries against the
persecution" of their heroine by Mr..
Nye, admit that he has provided them
with their most useful instant vote
getting argument and 1t might be sup
, posed that in such circumstances they
would be willing to grant to Mr.. Nye
first gratitude and then oblivion. They
seek instead to perpetuate their COM
plant against him and to bring 1t to
Washington as petitioners for redress
of grievances which they assert to have
and upon the State OF Illinois under
color of authority from the United
States Senate.
X &* x
Thus rises the first politically impor-
! tant effort to set bounds to the hitherto
unlimited powers in practice exercised
over citizens and their personal effects
| by senatorial committees Of investiga-
ton and exploration. A check was given
| to this effort in Chicago last week by
Mr.. Nye when he refused on behalf OF
| his committee to listen to evidence
| which was proffered to him by the at
| torney general of the State Of Illinois,
Oscar ]. Carlstrom. It thereupon be-
| came necessary for the Mccormick adj
herents to make plans for taking that
| evidence either into the courts in per-
sonal suits against Mr.. Nye or MS
| agents, or else in some manner 70 the
senate floor for full senatorial consider
| alton
| The personalities Of the alterations
! between Mrs Mccormick and Mr.. Nye
at this point sink into unimportAnce.
and a public national issue appears,
which may be stated as follows:
| Will the Senate or the courts give
| investigation methods which Mr.. Nye
| did not originate, but which he was
merely exemplifled and perhaps ex-
banded?
The charges brought against the Nye
Committee by Attorney General Carl
strom and by w. G. Dannenberg,
head Of a detective agency in Mrs Nc
Cormick's employ, are In summar'
these:
That Mr. Nye personally unlawfully
demanded and secured from a bank In
Chicago a large number Of papers hav-
! ing TO do with the personal affairs OF
Mr., Dannenberg and having nothing
! at all to do with his employment by
Mrs. Mccormick and covering TRANSACT
tions which In fact in many instances
had taken place long before his en-
ployment by Mrs Mccormick.
~ y II
That Mr.. Nye, personally, unlawfully,
also demanded and secured from tele-
graph company large number OF mes
sages from and to Mr.. Dannenberg
similarly having nothing to do with his
employment by Mrs. Mccormick and
similarly in many instances ante-dat-
ing it.
That MIR. Nye in any case had no
right to possess himself Of any OF these
documents even If they related to Mr..
Dannenberg's employment by MRS. Nc
Cormick, since that employment mao
nothing to do with expenditures Tor
election purposes, and that the Seizlne
of the documents which ante-dated Mr.
Dannenberg'S employment by Mrs. NC
Cormick was doubly wrongful.
That Mr.. Nye's agents, or persons
inspired thereto by Mr.. Nye's agents
caused Mr.. Dannenberg's private tele-
phone wires to be tapped and RECORDS
to be made of his private telephone con-
versations in criminal violation OF the
antt-wire tapping statutes OF the State
of Illinois
That the Nye Committee unlawfully
demanded the private records OF the
Dannenberg Detective Agency, involving
matters over which the committee hac
no Jurisdiction, and that Mr.. Damien
berg was within his legal rights IN de-
flying the committee and refusing tc
produce the records.
That agents of the Nye COMMITTED
unlawfully demanded from Mrs. NC
Cormick her private account books fol
q period of two years preceding hel
lentrance into the contest for the SEN
: atorial nomination in Illinois and thai
: MRS. Mccormick was within her lega
rights Ia refusing TO produce the books