Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-05
Prof. Charles A. Beard De.
lclares Act Should Define
Corrupt Practice.
OPPOSES VAGUE STATUS
OF EXPENSE LIMITATION
Columbia U. Authority Believes
Law Would Be Ruled Constitu-
tional by Supreme Court.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.


Dangerous precedence has been es-
tablished by the Senate in dealing with
members-elect charged with excessive
campaign expenditures, Prof. Charles
A. Beard. formerly Of Columbia Uni
versity. told the Nye Campaign Expendi-
tureS Committee today in urging q
prompt revision Of Federal election leg
islation.
"A revision Of Federal election legis-
lation has become imperative" Prof.
Beard said. According to careful esti-
mates. campaign expenditures show Q
marked tendency to increase and these
OUTLAWS contribute more to ballyhoo and
machine politics than to the spread Of
ideas.
THE Ware contest in Pennsylvania
probably cost thousand times as much
as the Lincoln Douglas debateS-and
merely added confusion, II not corrup-
ton to the public and private life Of
the State.
I'm its dealing with such expendi-
lures, the Senate has established dam
gerous precedenceS. It has declined to
seat SenatorS-elect, possessing their ere
dentialS, on the ground that they had
spent too much money in their cam
paign, and yet it refuses to prescribe in
advance the conditions Of exclusion 30
that candidates may know what to ex-
pect In other words the Senate is
making harsh law by resolutions. This
represents the quintessence OF arbitrary
government"
Precision Urged In Laws.
Prof. Beard said that there should be
SvzF4
with respect to practices and expendi-
lures which viii lead to exclusion.
Senator Dill. Of Washington, q mem
Der Of the committee, called attention
to the fact that where the Senate
had actually excluded Senators-elect
there had been charges and proof of
some kind of fraud and corruption as
well as OF excessive expenditure. How
ever, Prof. Beard stuck to his point that
there should be . legal definition of
what was proper and what was not
proper.
Prof Beard, who has been director of
the Training School for Public Service
in New York City and an advisor to the
Japanese minister Of home affairs, as
well as professor Of politics at Columbia
University, while advocating Q new law
dealing with the elections of members
of the House and Senate. said that 1t
should not be called q corrupt prac-
tees act"
Nobody. he said. can draw q clear
line between corruption and honesty in
elections. The act should be called IAN
act regulating Federal electionS" and
its fundamental purpose should be to
limit the use of moneyAin Federal cleo
tons as far as possible to objects per-
tanning to the consideration OF issues.
to provide ample publicity for all ex-
pen4itures and to create processes of
enforcement.
Believes Congress Has Power.
The witness told the committee that
the new law should include primary
elections as well as general selections
He expressed the opinion that the Su-
preme Court in the Newberry decision
gress regulating primary elections for
the nomination of Senators and Repre-
sentatives unconstitutional.
If I were member of Congress"
said Prof Beard, Il would put the mat
ter up to the Supreme Court I would
venture the opinion Now that the
Supreme Court as constituted would
sustain such a law"
Other witnesses heard today by the
committe were Albert S. Bard. New
York attorney. who has been a men,
Der of the Legislative Committee of the
Citizens Union and vice president Of
the Honest Ballot Association; Thomas
j. Walker, secretary of the Pennsyl-
vania Election Association, and Albert
S. Maris, an attorney who drafted the
new election code now pending before
the Pennsylvania State Legislature.
Senator Nye of North Qakota, chair
man OF the Senate Investigating Com
mittee, announced that the hearing
scheduled for tomorrow to examine wit
neSSes in connection with the case of
the handling by Bishop James Cannon
of contributions made in 1928 to the
anti-Smith Democratic campaign in
Virginia would have to be postponed.
Senator Nye said that E. M. Daniel.
counsel for the committee. who has been
giving special attention to the Cannon
matter. is ill., He added that If Mr..
Daniels condition improves sufficiently
Continued on Page 2, Column So