Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-01
The Political Mill
By C. Could Lincoln.

Just before the Christmas holidays
began Senator Nye, chairman OF the
Senate Slush Fund Committee. intro
duced @ resolution providing that his
committee shall be given full power 10
continue its Investigations through the
first session Of the new Congress, which
probably will begin next December and
run until May or June or even later in
1882. BY that time there viii be an
other campaign well under way. In
ether words, 1t is held in some quarters,
the Nye Committee might conceivably
be made q continuing body for still an
other two years, or six years In all. The
resolution offered by Senator Nye also
gives to the committee $4,000 additional
to carry on its Investigations.
- -
The funds originally provided for the
Nye Committee are running low. Also,
without further authorization, the COM
mittee would wind up its activities at
the close of the present Congress,
March 4. Senator Nye and officers of
the Republican National Committee, In
Guiding Joseph r. Mutt, treasurer. and
Robert H. Lucas, executive director, are
at present engaged in q fine row. with
all three of them belaboring each other
because of charges made by Nye that
a special account Of $4,000 set up in
the Commercial National Bank here
was a "slush fund" to be used i'm
properly to defeat Republican Progress
sives seeking reelection to the Senate.
Whether regular Republicans in the
Senate will take kindly, under these
circumstances, to continuing the Nye
Committee In power and to giving it an
additional $4,000 remains to be seen.
The Nye Committee has been criticized
by some OF the regulars on the ground
that 1t has been used almost entirely
for political purposes and to injure the
regular Republicans and advance the
interests of the Progressives. There
may BE- fine fight in the Senate over
the whole matter
The Nye resolution, under the rules
Of the Senate, has been referred to the
Senate Committee on Audit and Con-
troll of the Contingent Fund of the SEN
ate, the committee which must pass
upon all proposed expenditures out of
that fund. This committee Is headed
by Senator Deneen of Illinois, who was
defeated for denomination by Mrs. Ruth
Hanna Mccormick. The Nye Commit
tee turned its guns first on Mrs. Nc
Cormick, developing the fact that in
her primary campaign Mrs. Mccormick
herself expended more than quarter
of a million dollars and that other
money was also contributed to her cam
paign. The committee had as much to
do as any other factor in the cam
paign in creating opposition to Mrs.
Mccormick, which ended in the cleo
ton Of James Hamilton Lewis, Demo-
cratic opponent of Mrs. Mccormick.
Outside of the Illinois senatorial
campaign, the Nye committee has re-
ceived the greatest amount of publicity
in its inquiries in Nebraska and Penn
sylvania. It has never yet made q final
report on the Pennsylvania senatorial
election, where Senator James j. Davis
was chosen Senator by large majority
over his Democratic opponent. However,
when Senator Davis presented himself
to take the oath of Office at the outset
Of the present session of Congress,
Senator Nye sought to have him step
aside until the committee could make
further investigation of his case. No
further report has been made on Penn
Sylvania and 1t Is understood that hear
ings are still to be held in connection
with the Keystone State election. Under
such circumstances, 1t would appear
that had Senator Davis acquiesced in
the request of Mr.. Nye he would still
be cooling his heels on the Senate
doorstep.
The Nebraska senatorial election has
been given even more attention by the
Nye Committee than the Illinois or
pennsylvania campaigns. Yet it is
pointed out by critics of the Nye Com
mittee among the regular Republicans
that there never was any question about
the nomination of Senator Norris or
any charge that he obtained his nomi-
nation or election by fraudulent means.
They insist that Senator Nye took his
committee into Nebraska to aid in the
election of Senator Norris and for no
other purpose. Senator Nye, on the
other hand, insists that the committee
has been trying to show up the efforts
OF the power trust and other big inter-
eStS to defeat Senator Norris for re-
election.
1t won't be long now before the Legis-
latures of the States which either lose
or gain in representation in the House
because OF the new apportionment un-
der the 1880 census are called upon
to redistrict for the election of their
congressman. Unless Congress puts
through a bill or joint resolution by
March 4, the close of this session, the
reapportionment will be proceeded with
automatically. An effort is to be made
by Representatives of some of the States
apportionment to amend the law SO as
to count only Citizens" in the enumera-
ton made for apportionment of repre-
sentation in the House to the States
In other words, they would leave out
of the count all aliens" If this were
done, States like New York, New Jer-
sey, Massachusetts,, Illinois and others
which have large foreign-born popu-
lation might lose representation and
some of the agricultural and Southern
States might regain what they have
lost.
Representative Dickinson of Iowa.
Senator has taken considerable
interest in this matter. His State will
lose part representation in the House
under the reapportionment. The Census
Bureau has been asked to make a re-
port on the number of aliens in each
of the States, and what effect the
elimination of the aliens from the
enumeration would have on the ap-
portionment of the House representa-
ton to the States. This report has not
yet been received When 1t is, a bill
is likely to be introduced to change the
law SO as to provide for enumeration
of Citizens" only in making the ap-
portionment.
The Constitution provides that Rep
resentatives shall be apportioned among
the several States according to their
respective numbers, counting the whole
number of persons in each State, ex-
GLIDING Indians not taxed" There is q
further provision that If the right to
vote in any election for President, for
Representatives in Congress or men,
berS of the Legislature is abridged, the
representation shall be abridged. There
is likelihood that If the effort is made
to cut down the representation of some
of the big industrial States in the
House by elinir 'i~y the count of
aliens, move will j. nediately develop
| to cut down the representation Of some