Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-04
WBUED FIX BLAME
IN ELECT|ONFUMS.
Definite r.c1onsibiIity for
expenditure Needed, Nye
/; COMMITTEES Told.
fco,,tinusd PROM FIRST Pager


th0fe was evidence Of will to spend
fortunes to win elections on the part OF
some OF the candidates, This, he salo'
wa1 dangerous to free government.
1T is to be regretted" said Senator
Nye, that there has never been COM
preaensive Legislative d program al
vaiiced although there have been many
investigations OF alleged corrupt pfst-
ticSs. This committee has been at
tackled on account, OF It's activities, but
als6 it has been supported, and support
na& come from educators In our uriver-
sits. From these educators have come
helpful suggestions. We propose to hear
some OF these educators now"
RroR Pollock haaes from the State IN
which the first celebrated case, 1nVolV-
Ing large expenditures In . primary
eleStion. came before the Senate for
Investigation and action, that Of former
senator Truman H. Newbury. The ef-
FORE to unseat Senator Newbury was
unAiceessful. It was brought out ar
the time tl1st about $4,000 had been
EXPENDED to nominate and elect hlm.
Hes was running at that time against
HeAry Ford for the Republican nomi-
nation AZ Senator. Prof. Pollock has
been student Of corrupt practices
Laws and their operations In England
France and Germany, as well as In this
COUNTRY More recently, he has been
q raembef Of q commission on election
laws In Michigan
Successful in England.
A the outset of his testimony. Prof
Pollock insisted that It was essential to
reuhire q candidate for ofice or his
agent to be solely responsible for the
collecting and expending Of money IN
hist caFnpaien. Such q law fixing re-
spdnsibility, he said, has been eminently
successful In England. Such a law. he
said, should forbid expenditures in the
campaigns by any one else.
Senator Nye called attention to. the
fad that in a recent New Jersey CAM
pain some thousands Of dollars were
exIlended on behalf OF oFie of the cam
didktes, who did not know that the
EXPENDITURE was being made. =.
Hrof. Pollock said that under his plan
It would be criminal for any one TO
spend any money for q candidate With
out first having received authority from
Until we do centrali1e responsibility
forS expenditures In political campaigns
wet will get nowhere" said Prof. Pol
loci. He added that practical politicians
probably would favor such plan.
Some of them found II difficult. he said,
to raise contributions when ree-lance
committees or individuals also were coll
lecting money for the same campaign.
Largely Ineffective.
@What is your opinion Of the existing
coIkupt practices laws?" asked Senator
They are largely Ineffective" replied
referring to State laws. am salts
hea however, that they have tended
to false the level of elections. SO far
as the Federal corrupt practices law is
concerned, 1t is only half law, and one
Is senerous to call 1t So"
Senator DiH Of Washington, q mem
bersof the committee, asked what should
be done about expenditures made by an
Independent organization, such as the
Ant-Salcon League; in q political CAM
paEh-
ii such expenditures are made on be-
haH of the candidate for ONCE, they
must first be authorized by that candi-
date under his plans, Prof. Pollock re-
But suppose the organization does
nc& name candidate?" asked Senator
Dill @
Il see no way to penalize an organ
ization for arguing for q policy II 1t
dos not name d candidate for ONCE"
replied the witness. However. the or
ganization should be made to file
AAEIHA ACROIt VI 40 CAHCAlOAbulC 0AL1SC
th4scofrupt practices law was passed in
England in 1918, centralizing response
billy for expenditures. such organiza-
tons Is prohibition and anti-prohibi-
tioh and free trade or tariff organiZa-
tioas have expended far less money In
caApaigns"
Senator Dill called attention to the
facs that the power issue was a major
Issue In number of States and that
good deal Of money might be expended
by the power trust or opponents OF the
trust without naming candidates.
Taking up the question Of publicity
ana scrutiny of campaign expenditures,
Pre- Pollock said that the existing law
IS quite ineffective. 1t calls for the Ill
ing Of accounts with the clerk Of the
House and the secretary of the Senate
byEcalldidates for the, House and the
Se1ate. The witness said, however, tnat
th6fe Is no publicity given such &C
counts unless an industrious newspaper
man digs them up or unless commit
tee Of the House OF Senate undertakes
70 Investigate them.
Therefore, suggest that publicity Of
sun accounts should be definitely taken
car Of" said the witness, and that the
cleRk Of the House and the secretary Of
the Senate shall prepare a summary Of
allesuch accounts. which should be re-
leased for publication and also turned
over TO q select committee of the House
ana Senate for scrutiny. It Is most i'm
pottant that q person Ming such an &C
CONT shall know that is is to be scru-
ttnazed.'
Declaring that the enforcement con-
dittons Of the corrupt practices law are
entirely ineffective, Prof. Pollock asked
HOY many convictions have been OBJ
tathed under the Federal corrupt prac-
tics laws.
+ Knows Of No Convictions.
4 now of none" he said, although
there may have been one or two"
THE witness declared that the Fed
era law should apply to Federal cleo
tons completely and should be in lieu
Of any state law. However. he said.
If the Federal law is not to be COM
pleDe, then the States should have laws
of their own. Fer example" he said.
If you fix the limit Of expenditure in
tho Federal law. then the State should
NOT undertake to change that arncunr."
Senator Dill asked Prof. Pollock II he
wohld have the Federal law apply to
primary elections for the nomination Of
Senator's and Representatives.
Prof. Pollock replied that he did net
think the NeWbeTry decision Of the Su-
preme Court should halt Congress in
ansattempt to leg1slate TO regulate pri-
maries
he expressed the opinion that the
SUPREME Court would uphold such a
Lac. He pointed out that in many of
tho States, probably more than half of
THIN, the primary was tantamount to
ELECTION This. he said, was true in his
own State, which IL strongly Repub-
1ichn, and in the Southern States,
WHICH are strongly Democratic.
Prof. Pollock was asked whether he
believed the corrupt practices law
SHOULD fix the limit Of expenditures by
q candidate and for o candidate In his