Evening star., 1953-06-17
By Allen Druy

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bringing the law a little closer
to the $50 or $50 million actually
Spent-is slated to receive early
consideration by the Senate
Rules Committee, its author said
today.
The high cost of Presidents is
an issue which pops up every four
years before the national nomin-
ating conventions. And usually
every four years. after the ma
tional elections. it goes right back
on the shelf again. This time,
however, there's a fair amount
of push behind the idea that
something definite ought to go
on the statute books before 1856
rolls around. Campaign costs,
already astronomical, are threat
ening to zoom out of sight as
television becomes the major
political medium.
Hennings' Proposals.
To amend spending laws
which he says are "shockingly
obsolete and riddled with
loop-holes." Senator Hennings
Democrat, of Missouri, has intro
duced a bill which would:
/. Increase the national cell
ing in presidential campaigns
from SO million to $40 million.
2. Make the limitation apply
to political committees operat-
ing in two or more States,
thereby imposing a real control
on spending. At present the
law applies only to committees
in a single State, which means
that a Maryland-for- Eisenhower
Committee, for instance, could
spend 50 million, a New York
for-Eisenhower Committee could
spend another 50 million, and
so on.
3. Increase the limit on spend
ing in senatorial campaigns
from $4,000 to as much as
$250,000 in some cases, and
boost the limit on campaigns
for the House from $4,000 to as
much as $4,000.
Apply to Primaries.
4. Make limitations apply to
primaries as well as general elec-
tionS.
5. Require every candidate to
state "every promise or pledge
made by him or by any person
for him with his consent
relative to the appointment or
recommendation for appoint
ment of any person to any
public or private position or en-
ployment for the purpose of pro-
curing support in his candidacy,
and the name, address and oc-
cupation Of every person to
whom such promise or pledge
has been made. together with
the description of any such posi-
ton. If no such promise or
pledge has been made, that fact
shall be specifically stated"
6. Increase from $4,000 to
$4,000 the amount an individ-
ual may contribute to a candi-
date or campaign.
7. Increase from one years
Imprisonment to five. and from
$1,000 fine to $4,000 the penalty
which could be imposed for vio-
lation.
No Illusion on Cure.
Senator Hennings and his CO.
authors-Senators Hayden, Dem
ocrat, of Arizona, and Hendrick-
son. Republican, of New Jersey
are under no illusions that
passage of their bill would au-
tomatically cure all the evils
which are making politics in
creasingly a big-money game.
But they do think 1t would go
a long way toward injecting
some realism into the picture.
Estimates of expenditures in
the last years presidential cam
paign range from $50 million to
500 million, depending on the
estimator.
In 1911, Congress set its first
limit on spending-$1O,000 for
Senators, $4,000 for Representa-
tives. The Supreme Court threw
this out in 1921, but public opin-
ion was such that the Senate in
1926 refused to seat Frank l..
Smith, Republican, of Illinois,
and William S. Ware, Republican,
of Pennsylvania, because of the
large amounts spent in their pri-
mary campaigns.
In 1899 came the Hatch Act,