PURSES IN POLITICS

In spite of the unpleasant and sordid details which may creep into view during the current struggle for the leadership of the nation, the avowed determinations of the Moguls of each of the major parties to keep a firm hand and a vigilant eye upon their respective war chests is somewhat of a compensation.

Since the last quadrennial conflict, the censure of the public, and in some cases the Senatorial axe, has been the lot of the victor on whose laurels a golden tint predominated. Contributions clinked merrily into the coffers, rarely receiving the close attentions of other than minor attaches, until public sentiment has at last placed the receipt of money as well as its expenditure in the realm of the executive. No longer will the eye of leadership unswervingly be fixed upon the combat-it must often revert to the ammunition.

Undoubtedly the execution of the pledges of the campaign managers is fraught with difficulty. National budgets have assumed proportions which, in a sense, defy accuracy: local aid must frequently elude the party ledger; while human fallacy is an ever-present factor. The existing is still far removed from perfection, but if the two National Committees approve, even under the constraint of public opinion, something of a step has been taken in the financial purification of campaigns.