The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-07-09
CASH IN CAMPAIGNS.
The Foolish Cry Against II when LrsIti.
mntrly Expended.

mntely Expended.
Washington Post (Ind. Dcm.): 4
week Or two ago u correspondent OF q
western newspaper stated that AR. Han
mas account books showed TINT he Ind
expended 5000 0 In promoting the Nc
Kinley boom. The items were not Civ
en- In detail. md It is quito improbable
that they ever viii! be; for there Is no
law, either statutory or moral, which
requires such q publication. In this
land OF the free and home OF the brave
1t Is one OF the rights OF every citizen.
10 spend MS much money as he sees 1T
IN exploiting a theory or promoting n
boom. One hundred thousand dollars
seems n large sum for even 4 rich and
generous man. to put into n preliminary
campaign, but the size OF the pile does
not necessarily imply corruption OF any
Kind.
We notice, however. that the Boston
uiobc Is suspicious OF Hanna and his
cash. 1t Gays that the most cxper fig
urers fail 10 detect any Legitimate uses
to which half the sum named could have
been put" We do not know who thes,.
most expert iiGurcrs' are. They may.
be the census takers OF Chicago, Mime
apolls and st. Paul. Possibly, Mr.. Ed
ward Atkinson Is n OF them, and he
may have. been assisted by the experts
who have. time and time again. figured
out n surplus under the present deficit
producing tariff. But whoever they are,
they are not doIngpustlcc to their rcpu-
tatIon rs experts. The work accom-
plished by MIR. Hanna from the date OF
the inception OF the Mckinley movement
TO the close OF the st. Louis convention
covered n great deal OF time. n vast area
OF territory, n many millions OF vot-
ers. When one rCmcmbcrs that there
are forty-lyc states in our union, md
that the Republican party claims about
six millions OF voters, the sum OF $780,
900 seems Il small amount for the task
executed by Mr.. Hanna. As to "!egitl-
mate uses" what are they? All uses
TINT are not Violntlvr Of law are lcGltl-
mate. 1t was not unlawful nor immoral
to employ mon to travel through all the
states and counties and organize the
Mckinley forces.
: The superstition that one hundred
thousand or ten times that amount could
have bought up the strength shown by
Mckinley mt st. Louis would be absurd
as well MS an unwarrnnted reelection on
American morals. Does the Globe sup
pose that there was my money cNpend-
cd in New Hampshire to secure n Bnub-
bling of Mr.. Reed In the Republican con-
rention OF that state? iCould IL f1w
pnltry dollars out of TINT hundred thou
sand have DETECTED Vermont at q crIti-
cal %juncturc md laid the Reed boom on
It's beam ends? No. the voters of the
United States md the agents whom they
send to conventions are not purchased
cattle.
We do not believe that my amount OF
money could have bought the st. Louis
nomination, nor do we believe that It
would be possible, with unlimited re-
sources, to buy the Chicago nomination.
The Globe inquiries, AT the pace of
spending money started by Hanna, what
may 1t not cost to pull Mckinley
through before the whole campaign III
ovcr?" We will not attempt to figure
out this problem, prcfcrrlng to leave Its
solution to "thc most expert ilgurcrs."
Ruttherc Will be- lots of money expended
by each and ull OF the three principal
parties, md even the smaller parties
will find uses, Legitimate us,e." for
many stCckels. II may b. the good for
tuna OF the Democrats TO repeat their
happy experience OF 1883 and lSg9, in
each of which ycnrs they found 4 pa
tr!ot!c and wealthy citizen willing TO
put UP $4,000. But nobody has any rca-
son to fear TINT u presidential election
Will be bought. There are honest, Inv
fnl and proper why's Of using much mon
cy In Il great national campaign.
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