Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1951-12-20
The Political Mill
The Political Mill
Senate Unit Maps Fight
On Foul Election Tactics
Hopes to Establish Rules
To Prevent Low Blows
By Gould Lincoln

~ bbSVSUt 6UW DIOWS
By Gould Lincoln
A crusading Privileges and Elections
Committee Of the Senate will work over.
time to get legislation for cleaner elec-
lions as early as possible in the coming
session Of Congress.
Impressed with the tough, and in some
cases. dirty tactics in the political cam
paign Of 1850. the committee members
say they hope to establish rules by law
which will prevent verbal gouging and
hitting below the belt. Further, they
see in the offing campaign which, they
say. will be the most hard-fought and
bitter in many years. with no holds
barred-unless Congress does something
about 1t without delay.
This committee, which is a subcom-
mittee Of the Senate Rules Committee,
is headed by Senator Gillette Of Iowa,
Democrat, and the other members are
Senators Monroney Of Oklahoma and
HenningS Of Missouri Democrats, and
Senators Margaret Chase Smith Of
Maine and Hendrickson of New Jersey,
Republicans. Since early in the cam.
paign last year the committee has la
bored industriously to determine where
and how the corrupt practices acts were
violated, and how those laws could be
strengthened.
Bill to Come Up Early.
In consequence, the committee Is COM
ing UP with bill early in January and
will do its utmost to get quick action.
Already tentative drafting has been
done. The measure, of course, will have
to run the gantlet of both House and
Senate action. In addition, the COM
mittee is contemplating a move to
amend the Senate rules so as to put all
Senate candidates on notice that unfair
and dirty tactics in their campaigns will
be held against them when they present
themselves to be seated in the Senate.
Changing the rules of the Senate re-
quires two-thirds vote, difficult at
times to obtain, but the committee
members believe that Senators may be
reluctant to range themselves in sup
port Of dirty campaign tactics.
The two main detectives Of the pro-
posed legislation will be to make sour.
for any candidate for Congress. Since
each house Of Congress is the sole judge
of the qualifications Of its members
elect and of its members, the committee
members feel that may be done. The
election campaigns of presidential and
vice presidential candidates. however.
present a tougher problem.
One avenue which committee members
believe may be effective in the congress
sional campaigns Is to make all candi-
dates responsible for the acts OF their
campaign managers and aides. This may
be accomplished through law which
provides that candidate must give
written consent to any person or COM
mittee that undertakes directive part
In his campaign, and to impose penal
ties on any person or persons who dis
regard this provision.
win Cover Loopholes.
The proposed legislation also is ex-
pected to prohibit specifically the use Of
composite" photographs, used to injure
q candidate, and to take a crack at the
use Of all scurrilous literature. The com.
mittee Is impressed also with the fact
that the corrupt practices acts, written
in 1925, do not adequately cover CAM
paign contributions and expenditures.
They leave tremendous loopholes for ex-
cesSive expenditures and at the same
time impose unrealistic low totals for
the candidates expenditures, in view Of
the present high costs Of campaigning.
The laws were written before the use
Of the radio-to any great extent-and
before the use at all Of television. Both
are effective and greatly expensive weap-
ons in q political campaign. The law
as 1t now stands. says. first. that candi-
dates for Congress are controlled in
their expenditures by State laws-and
some Of these State laws FIX very low
totals. Second. the law says that basic
ally candidate for the Senate Is limited
to $4,000 expenditures in his campaign.
and for the House $4,000. Third, that
a candidate for Congress may expend a
total amounting to cents for every vote
cast in the last election, provided this
total does not exceed $25 900 for q sen.
atorial candidate or $1,000 for q candi.
date for the House.
What the committee hopes to do Is to
raise these limits and then, through the
elimination of numerous exemptions"
in the way Of expenditures, and through
provisions for the reporting of all ex-
penditures for candidates, to hold down
excessive spending in campaigns.
Speed is of the essence if this kind Of
legislation is to be made effective for the
1852 campaign, and If it Is to be put
through at the coming session. which will
have before Congress other legislative
proposals and huge appropriation bills,
with pious hope that an adjournment
may be had by the time the national
political conventions open in July.