The Wilmington morning star., 1944-11-06
High Campaign Costs

Theoretically national campaign funds ma!
reach ceiling of three million dollars Int
laws applying have been so ingeniously de
vised that each state may contribute thi
amount 50 that the total could, if the none.
were available, be nearer hundred and lift.
million dollars.
Hear what Roscoe Drun1mond has to sa,
about the high cost of campaigning:
1.-The financing of modern Presidential cam
paigns is really big business. What with ra
dio, campaign trains, highly expert research
stats, newspaper advertising, and expensive
public relations advisers, they inevitably ru1
into money lot of money.
1.-THE simple business-and it isn't really
simple-of budgeting a national campaign i!
highly interesting and intricate problem
which gets harder, rather than easier.
Zone Of the difficult circumstances which
confront the managers of both major partie.
is that as the sheer basic costs Of campaign
ing in the modern style have been steadily
going up in recent years, Congress has beer
constantly cracking down on the liberties with
which political contributions can be ethcally
raised, which accounts in part for the dubious
1000 Club'-rnight as well put $-sign be-
fore that figure-which the Democratic party
thought up in its unhappy financial extremity
this year. At present there are four major
Federal restrictions on political Embarrassing
Il. The restrictions reach back to the
Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 which lays
rather vague and flexible hand on po-
itical committees, but which does call
for public accounting and sets out reg
ulations controlling Congressional cam
paigns for the first time.
SO. Then there is the first Hatch Act
of 1899, the author of which, Senator
Carl Hatch 3D. of New Mexico, made
himself constructively unpopular with the
politicians of both parties and was openly
booed at Democratic Jackson Day Din
. ner in Washington after his bill was passed.
1t bans political campaigning by non
policy-making Federal employees and puts
round limitation of .000-with a
loophole through which you can trans
port the Bank Of England-on political
committees.
"3. An amendment to the Hatch Act
in 1910 extended the restrictions on the
political activities of Federal employees to
State and county employees partly paid
from Federal funds.
"4 Finally section of the War Labor
disputes Act of 1943 provides that no cor
poration, and no labor organization may
make contribution in connection with
any election at which Presidential or
vice-Presidental electors or Senator
or Representative in Congress are to be
voted for
'"These legal restrictions look pretty fancy
and pretty fearsome in type, but either they
were enacted by those who had an eye tc
their unworkability or the party politicians
have a special genius for finding the chlnks
through which to slip gigantic exceptions
Anyway, according to the Senate Committee
on Campaign Expenditures about $4,000,
900 was spent on behalf Of the Republican
rational ticket in 1910 and more than $4,000,
900 on behalf of the Democratic. The loop
hole is that each State committee can spene
legally 50, 100000 as well as the national com
Inittee, which means that the theoretical
ceiling is $147, 100000 if either party could
get it.
But of course Embarrassing has also beer
made harder. Corporations and labor unions
are banned from contributing directly now
by law, and technically individual contribu
tons are limited to $1,000 each. But there
are also ways Of getting around these re
strictions. Individuals can make separate
contributions of $4,000 each to State and coun
ty committees as they wish, and labor unions
can acquire large campaign funds through
1yfi1
can't contribute directly to the political par
ties they are free to expend their funds them
selves directly for political education pur
poses.
"This mass OF inchoate and Intellectual. lesls
lstion calls for some new political marty
to coordinate and strengthen it.
But there is obviously no sense in proceed
ang on the fictitious theory that it IL POSSIBLY