To democratize industry and politics, we must, among other things, democratize the political party; to democratize the political party we must among other things control its purse.

Here, as elsewhere, he who pays the piper calls the tune. Your campaign contributor may be never so public spirited your party treasurer may be never so scrupulous, and yet when the need of money is urgent, much is understood that is not written down, and much is confidently assumed that may subsequently be denied. Nor is venality, overt or veiled, the chief danger to be apprehended. What we must fear is not so much the campaign gift which buys the way to an ambassadorship or a cabinet seat, as the effect upon platforms and nominations of the anticipated need of securing funds from a few wealthy men.