Illinois: The High Cost of Politics

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Judge Will asked Dirksen whether he had ever spent campaign contributions for clothing for himself. "I came very close to it on one occasion, your honor, and it might have been a sizable sum," replied Dirksen gravely, settling into his chair for a good anecdote. As a freshman Congressman in 1933, the witness said, he arrived in Washington for Roosevelt's inauguration without a dress suit and was described in the newspapers as "the man who attended the inauguration in a rented suit." Recalled Dirksen: "It was a frightful embarrassment, and it resulted promptly in the raising of a fund of $2,700 to buy me a white tie and a long-tailed coat." He said that he had not used the money for that purpose, finally giving it to charity, but added: "I felt I might have been justified in doing so."

With Ev's testimony, the defense rested.