The United States Since the Civil War

by Charles Ramsdell Lingley

Accompanying the increased popular control of government after 1896 was a gradual demand for a higher level of political ethics. The revelations of the insurance investigations of 1905 were significant of this change. Early in that year certain newspapers made charges against the Equitable Life Assurance Company which were taken up by the New York legislature and referred to a committee for investigation. The committee's task was the examination of the affairs of life insurance companies doing business in the state of New York; its attorney was Charles E. Hughes. The results of the investigation amazed the country. The exorbitant salaries paid to officers, the unreasonable expenses incurred and the disregard of the rights of the policy holders were of concern chiefly to persons doing business with the companies. But it also appeared that several of the larger concerns had divided the country into districts, and had systematically influenced legislation affecting either insurance or financial interests to which they or their officers were related; enormous sums were expended and records not kept, or so kept as to conceal the real purposes of the expenditure. The report of the committee showed that Chauncey M. Depew, a member of the United States Senate, was paid $20,000 a year for legal services, without his rendering any return that seemed to warrant the payments made. The contributions of the companies to the Republican campaign funds were very heavy—$50,000 by one company in 1904. It appeared from testimony that Democrats also sought contributions from the companies but were refused. The final report of the committee unsparingly condemned these abuses and embodied a program of legislation for their reform, which was put into effect. The public received an education in the connection of corporations with politics, and Hughes himself at once became a figure of national importance, the favorite of the reform element, and was launched upon a career that made him governor of New York, a member of the United States Supreme Court and candidate for the presidency.[10]

Laws regulating campaign expenditures had long been on the statute books although they had been little heeded, but as the result of the insurance investigation, New York in 1906 forbade contributions by corporations for political purposes. In 1907 Congress passed a similar law concerning federal campaigns, and most of the states have since passed laws placing restrictions on the use of campaign funds. In the campaign of 1908 Bryan requested that the Democratic National Committee receive no contributions from corporations, that no sums in excess of $10,000 be received from any source and that a list of contributors be published in advance of the election. By a law enacted in 1911 Congress compelled a statement of the amounts of money spent by committees, and limited the amounts which might be spent by candidates for Congress. In 1919 the Chairman of the Republican National Committee announced that the party would raise funds for the next campaign in amounts from $1 to $1,000. Both parties were discovering that public sentiment opposed large contributions from individuals and corporations, because they expect a quid pro quo after the election.[11]

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The best brief general accounts of recent conditions are in F.A. Ogg, National Progress, with an excellent bibliography, which may be supplemented by the American Year Book. On hours and conditions of labor, J.R. Commons and J.B. Andrews, Principles of Labor Legislation (1916). The decision in Lochner v. New York is in United States Reports, vol. 198, p. 45. For the courts and economic legislation, C.G. Haines, American Doctrine of Judicial Supremacy (1914), already referred to. An excellent historical account of the workmen's compensation idea is by A.F. Weber in Political Science Quarterly (June, 1902). Ida M. Tarbell, New Ideals in Business (1917), describes the accomplishments of the industrial leaders rather than of the rank and file.

Some of the political innovations are discussed in A.L. Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government (1913); Proceedings of the American Political Science Association, V, 37, "The Limitations of Federal Government"; Elihu Boot, Addresses on Government and Citizenship (1916), "How to Preserve the Local Self-Government of the State." The most complete account of the historical development of the power of the president is in Edward Stanwood, History of the Presidency, II (1916), Chap. V. The fullest account of the movement for popular election of senators is G.H. Haynes, The Election of Senators (1906). The initiative, referendum and recall have given rise to a literature of their own. Convenient volumes are: C.A. Beard and B.E. Shultz, Documents on the State-wide Initiative, Referendum and Recall (1912); W.B. Munro, The Initiative, Referendum and Recall (1912); J.D. Barnett, Operation of the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall in Oregon (1915).

American Political Science Review (Aug., 1915), "Presidential Preference Primaries." The articles in A.C. McLaughlin and A.B. Hart, Cyclopaedia of American Government (3 vols., 1914), are a convenient source on most topics considered in this chapter.

On the use of money in politics: Report of the Legislative Insurance Investigating Committee (10 vols., 1905-1906), Armstrong-Hughes committee; Testimony before a Sub-committee of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, United States Senate, 62d Congress, 2d session, pursuant to Senate Resolution 79 (Clapp Report).

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[1] Above, pp. 320-323.

[2] Below, p. 508.