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election campaign is held that the
Republican candidates far outspend
their Democratic opponents.
For example, there was only very
fragmentary reporting of what was
spent in the 1952 presidential election
between General Eisenhower and
Governor Stevenson, but the Republicans outspent the Democrats nearly
two to one. Only a few weeks ago the
Republican party raised over $5 million in one night, which is more than
the Democrats spent in the entire 1952
campaign.
Spending Ability Unfair
Now if we were to throttle trade
union political education committees,
our elections would be even more onesided. The Republicans instead of out-
spending the Democrats two to one or
three to one would outspend them ten
to one or twenty to one. Is that what
our Republicans want? When I see
them attacking the trade union contributions ancl remaining silent about the
contributions from the men who control the great multi-billion-dollar corporations of the country, I think that
is exactly what they want.
Now- I vvill make a challenge to
these people who tire criticizing labor
organizations in politics. I have introduced a bill to provide for government
financing of campaign expenses of all
or both of our major political parties.
This suggestion does not originate
with me. It originated in 1907 with the
great progressive Republican President of the United States, Teddy
Roosevelt. In a special message to
Congress in 1907, Teddy Roosevelt
proposed that the federal treasury
finance our political parties to free
all men ancl women in politics of
domination from huge campaign contributions. I have introduced a bill
with the support of seven or eight
other senators, to accomplish just this.
It is significant that the men who
complain so much about union spending are not for eliminating all big
donations completely and backing the
bill which I call the Teddy Roosevelt
bill. I really think that these men realize that union spending is just the one-
sixth of the financial iceberg that appears above the surface. The five-
sixths of the iceberg below the surface
is that of political spending by men
vvho control the great corporations.
These opponents of union spending
want that other spending to continue.
Let me say this by way of challenge
and by way of conclusion: In the interest of free government, let's cut out
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all these huge private contributions to
men ancl women in office. Why should
we hypocritically indict a petty
bureaucrat because he takes a gift of
a baked ham or a deep freeze ancl let
Presidents and governors and senators accept hundreds of thousands and
even millions of dollars for their campaigns? That to me is the real issue.
I note that the men who are so unctuously concerned about union spending
never say very much about spending
by the men who dominate the great
corporations of America.
So I repeat my challenge. I have
sponsored a bill ancl am sponsoring a
bill in the United States Senate to put
into effect the great suggestion made
by President Teddy Roosevelt, to have
the government finance political campaigns and to free everybody in public
office from private obligations for
huge campaign benefactions. If the
people who are so concerned about
union spending will get behind my
bill we can eliminate this problem. In
that way we can test their good faith.
If my bill passes we will eliminate
spending by unions and also by the
men who dominate the great corporations of America. That is a goal to be
imminentlv desired.
REPRESENTATIVE HlESTANO: This
■ matter of union political activity
is a serious business. How many of
you people in the United States remember that CIO goon squads, organized with clock-like precision, made a
carefully coordinated raid on the
Wayne County, Michigan, congressional district conventions on the evening of September 19, 1950? How
many of you know that they seized
absolute control carrying pistols and
clubs and set up phony accrediting
committees who permitted entry into
the conventions only to those persons
whom they apprcwed?
This was a twenty-four-hour sensation in Detroit, but then, like so many
other sensations, it was crowded out
of the headlines after a few days and
the people lost sight of what had
really happened. They actually forgot
that the men who engineered these
raids remained in full possession of
the organization they had seized. They
gained full control in this way of the
whole Democrat state organization.
In the 1954 election they spent millions of dollars to defeat several congressmen and Senator Homer Ferguson, electing to the United States Senate Pat McNamara, an officer of the
CIO, by contributing vast sums in
payroll and postage and over $19.00*1
cash, according to his own admission
in a sworn statement now on file in
the House of Representatives.
In the same place there is on file
the sworn statement of Senator Neuberger of Oregon that he received
$23,250 union money financing the
campaign which enabled him to defeat Senator Guy Cordon. Senator
Douglas of Illinois admits $35,500
campaign receipts from union sources-
All of these elections were very close-
So were the two in Montana and W>'<y
ming, where Senators Murray ancl 0J
Mahoney were elected by approM
mately 3,000 votes or less. The 11111""
funds contributed to Senator Murral
were $32,4,50 and to Senator OW
honey, $14,500, according to then
statements.
Corporations Forbidden
By taw to Conlribute
There were many others, but thai
enough to assure control of the Senajj
of the United States. In the trial he'1
last fall in Detroit the unions freel'
admitted these tremendous contril
tions to the campaign, but few
Judge Picard threw the case out
court stating that the law, as writt
did not deny unions this priv ilea
The Federal Corrupt Practices "'
specifically forbids corporations fr''1
contributing to federal campai!
funds. There are heavy penalties, fin1
and imprisonment for the officers
those responsible.
I consider this entirely fair a",
proper but the merged CIO-A>
union dues amount to something '■
$500 million a year. This money eon1'
from all types of workers in all s''
tions of the country. Each is an i'11
vidual entitled under the Constitute
to his own political beliefs, to his n!
to vote as he wishes or not to vot*
he chooses.
I want to emphasize that this is |
a partisan issue. The question
whether a union member is a Rep1'
lican or a Democrat is not the 0*
consideration. We know that in
portant regions in this country, '.
Republican party rarely if ever eM
a candidate. In these regions then
a situation equally dangerous to p4
cal freedom. In these areas, '•'
money collected from union meffll
is being used to support certain rtj
dates at the Democrat primarifl
spite of the fact that union merrJ
as individuals may be opposing t'1'
very candidates at the polls. Thi*
Facts Forum News, .Angus,', 1°
Fact
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