In 1944 E.L. Craig figured that once World War II was over, America would enjoy a building boom. So, at the age of 69, he started a shingle business in an old Joplin, Mo., streetcar barn. He and his wife named the company TAMKO, after the first letters of their five-state service area: Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

He was right about the building boom but wrong about the service area. TAMKO now is a national firm, one of the largest privately-held roofing supply companies in the country. E.L. Craig’s daughter, Ethelmae Humphreys, 81, is chairman of the board. Her son, David Craig Humphreys, 51, is president and chief executive officer.

TAMKO is way more than shingles now. It manufactures composite lumber and decking materials and all sorts of roofing and building supplies. And, since Aug. 28, it has taken a huge position in an unrelated business: Missouri government.

In the two weeks since Missouri’s new unlimited campaign contributions law went into effect, the Humphreys family — Ethelmae, David and David’s sister, Sarah Humphreys Atkins of Arlington, Va, who lists herself as “quality consultant” to TAMKO — have contributed $750,000 to the three Republican candidates for the state’s top offices: $300,000 each to Kenny Hulshof’s campaign for governor and Peter Kinder’s campaign for lieutenant governor and $150,000 to Mike Gibbons’ campaign for attorney general.

It seems clear that the new no-limits law will make the 2008 governor’s race the most expensive in state history; in 2004, candidates in the primary and general election spent $27.6 million. In the first day after the limits were removed, Mr. Hulshof raised $1.16 million and his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Jay Nixon, raised $411,000.

On Friday, Mr. Nixon reported a $50,000 contribution from the Painters Union in New York and $20,000 from Landon Rowland, who heads Stilwell Financial Services in Kansas City, along with $600,000 from the Democratic Governors Association, matching the $600,000 Mr. Hulshof received from the GOP Governors Association.

This week Mr. Hulshof reported the money from the Humphreys family and $25,000 from Herzog Contracting Corp., a St. Joseph-based rail construction firm.

The nice thing — if there is a nice thing about influence being peddled so blatantly — about the removal of the campaign contribution limits is that contributions of more than $5,000 have to be reported within 48 hours.

The people of Missouri now know, for example, that the Humphreys family is in for three-quarters of a million. If you know further that the family has a strong libertarian streak — Ethelmae Humphreys sits on the board of the Cato Institute and has contributed in the past to numerous conservative causes and candidates — it helps you make judgments about Mr. Hulshof’s priorities.

Similarly, if you know that Mr. Nixon received $175,000 in the first two days after the limits were removed from two personal injury law firms, you might get an idea of his priorities.

Unfortunately, Missouri’s new campaign finance law left the old-fashioned laundromat in operation. If you’re not like the Humphreys family or the personal injury firms and want to disguise your contributions, you still can funnel your money to party committees — such as the Republican and Democratic Governors committees or legislative district committees — who then make donations to candidates.

The candidates then use this money to run television commercials in which they drive around in pickup trucks and talk about how closely they’re in touch with common folks. Someone who really cares about common folks would get himself elected and then work like a dog to return elections back to them.