shall in two or more states influence the result or attempt to influence the result of an election at which Representatives in Congress are to be elected." Treasurers of such committees were required to file itemised detailed statements with the Clerk of the House of Representatives "not more than fifteen days and not less than ten days before an election," and also final reports within thirty days after such elections. These statements were to include the names and addresses of contributors of $100 or more, the total of contributions under $100, disbursements exceeding $10 in detail, and the total of disbursements of less amount. The bill also contained provisions, which will be referred to later, designed to cover the use of money by persons or associations other than those mentioned above. Unfortunately a provision was tacked on to the foregoing raising the question of the restriction of colored voting in the South and hinting at a reapportionment of congressional representation under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. As a consequence an embittered opposition was made by the Democrats who charged that the latter provision was deliberately introduced in bad faith with the intention of making the passage of the bill impossible. In the House it was carried by a solid Republican vote of 161 in its favour to 126 Democratic votes in opposition, but was allowed to expire in the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections for fear

that it would become the object of a Democratic filibuster.

Whatever may be the merits of the proposal to readjust congressional representation it is clearly a question which is logically separable from that of campaign contributions. If this separation is effected there would seem to be reason to hope that a publicity bill similar in its main outlines to that of 1908 can pass Congress. While a platform plank of this sort was voted down in the Republican National Convention of that year, Mr. Taft in his speech of acceptance said:

"If I am elected President I shall urge upon Congress, with every hope of success, that a law be passed requiring a filing in a Federal office of a statement of the contributions received by committees and candidates in elections for members of Congress, and in such other elections as are constitutionally within the control of Congress." "

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1 Republican Campaign Text Book," 1908, p. 25. In his message at the beginning of the second (i. e., the first regular) session of the Sixty-first Congress on December 7, 1909, President Taft returns to the subject as follows:

"I urgently recommend to Congress that a law be passed requiring that candidates in elections of Members of the House of Representatives, and committees in charge of their candidacy and campaign, file in a proper office of the United States Government a statement of the contributions received and of the expenditures incurred in the campaign for such elections, and that similar legislation be enacted in respect to all other elections which are constitutionally within the control of Congress."

The passage in the foregoing, italicised by the writer, is

The manoeuvring for position between the parties in 1908 which resulted in the voluntary acceptance by each of high standards of publicity is too fresh in the public mind to require rehearsal here. For the first time in the history of presidential elections some definite information was made available regarding campaign finances. The Republican National Committee reported contributions of $1,035,368.27. This sum, however, does not include $620,150 collected in the several states by the finance committees of the Republican National Committee and turned over by them to their respective state committees. The Democratic National Committee reported contributions amounting to $620,644.77. The list of contributors to the Republican National Fund contained 12,330 names.1 The Democratic National Committee filed a "list of over 25,000 names representing over 100,000 contributors who contributed through newspapers, clubs, solicitors, and other organisations, whose names are on file in the office of the

noteworthy in that it indicates a step in advance by the president. His speech of acceptance referred to contributions only, whereas the message of December 7, 1909, demands publicity of expenditures as well as of party income.

1New York Tribune, November, 24, 1908, p. 3. The Cincinnati Enquirer of November 22, 1908, said that approximately 20,000 persons contributed to the Republican fund. Possibly the discrepancy is due to the inclusion in the latter figure of contributors to the finance committees of the Republican National Committee in the several states, which as noted above collected $620,150.

chairman of the Democratic National Committee at Buffalo." 1

On many points, unfortunately, the two reports, while definite to a degree hitherto unknown, are not strictly comparable. Some species of "uniform accounting" applicable to this subject is manifestly necessary before any detailed investigation can be undertaken. One big fact stands out with sufficient clearness, however, namely that the national campaign of 1908 was waged at a money

1 Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, November 23, 1908. According to the New York Tribune of November 24, 1908, p. 3, in which is given a list of contributors to the Republican fund in sums of $500 and upward the larger contributors to the Republican fund were as follows: C. P. Taft, $110,000; Union League Club, New York, $34,377; Larz Anderson and G. A. Garrotson, each $25,000; Union League Club, Philadelphia, $22,500; Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan each $20,000. In addition to these there were fifteen contributors of sums of between $6000 and $15,000 inclusive; twenty-four contributors of $5000 each; thirty-four of sums between $2500 and $4000 inclusive; twenty of $2000 each; twenty-eight of sums between $1250 and $1500 inclusive; one hundred and nineteen contributors of $1000 each; ten of between $750 and $900 inclusive; and two hundred and fifty contributors of $500 each.

The Democrats made a preliminary report of contributions on October 15, and daily reports thereafter until the election. As the newspapers did not state clearly whether the later figures regarding contributions were inclusive or additional it is difficult to summarise the larger contributions accurately. According to the New York Times of October 14, Tammany Hall sent a check for $10,000 to the Democratic National Committee. The general report issued October 15, showed the following contributors in excess of $2000: C. J. Hughes,

cost far below that of the three preceding campaigns.

Basing his estimate upon what is said to have been spent in 1896, 1900, and 1904, Mr. F. A. Ogg placed the total cost of a presidential election to both parties, including the state and local contests occurring at the same time, at $15,000,000.1 One-third to one-half of this enormous sum, in his opinion, must be attributed to the presidential campaign proper. Compared with this estimate of from five to seven and a half millions the relatively modest total of something more than

$5000; W. J. Bryan, Profits of the Commoner, $4046; Nathan Straus, $2500; National Democratic Club, $2500; Norman E. Mack, $2000; Sen. W. A. Clark, $2000; George W. Harris, $2000. Some of the foregoing were reported as making contributions after October 15, and if other contributions reported at various times were not repetitions the list of contributors of $2000 and over would be somewhat increased. On October 29, the New York Times reported a gift of $10,000 from Herman Ridder, Treasurer of the Democratic Committee, and gifts of $9000 each from his three sons, Victor, Bernard, and Joseph. A contribution of $3000 from E. F. Goltra was also reported on this date. In addition to the foregoing, five contributions of between $1000 and $1500, and thirty-three of a thousand dollars each were reported. According to the Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune of October 16, Democratic newspapers collected almost $100,000 out of the $248,000 obtained up to that date. The New York Times of October 31, noted that one paper, The New Orleans States, had collected a total of $22,000, said to be the record contribution for any one newspaper.

1"The Dollars Behind the Ballots," World To-day, vol. xv (1908), p. 946.