The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-11-19
The Two National Committees
Spent So, 100000
During the Presidential Cam
paign of the Past Summer.
HANNA HAS A SURPLUS
Republican Committee Spent
100000 a Week For Postage
None Of the Money Was Squan-
dered or Stolen.

New York, Nov. 19--The World says:
The presidential campaign just closed
cost the Republican and Democratic
national committees alone more than
81. 100000 Chairman Hanna had at his
command over 100000. The Demo-
cratic national committee fund was
nearly as large. The five silver produc-
ing states and the mine owners raised
three-fourths of all the money Chair
man Jones spent.
For the first time in 20 years the Re
publican national committee completed
its work, paid all its debts and had
surplus
Money flowed into the Republican
Golfers from the east. The west gave
little or nothing, except to its state or
ganizatiOns Chicago bankers devoted
most of their spare funds to their state
machine which had troubles of its own
IN It's hght with Algeld- The mOneyed
men of st. Louis We're a source of grave
disappointment to the national commit
tee, owing to their small contributions.
From the east the big contributions in
round numbers were as follows.
New York ................. $500 900
Philadelphia .......... .-........ 475.0O0
FlVtsDurg .--.-..---.... ...-.----. z5O,OOO
Boston .-..-.-..-.. .-.......--.... $4,000
scattering .--..--..--... --------- 10000
Total .............. ............$l, 462. 900
Within the past week about ali the
accounts Of the national committee
have been settled, and Treasurer Cor
nellius y. Bliss finds himself in possess
sion of a surplus
This was a somewhat different exper-
fence than MI Bliss had in 1892, when
the national committee closed up its
Fifth Avenue headquarters the Satur-
day after the election a little above
S67 900 short OF this sum Mr.. Bliss
had to pay nearly $50 900 and carry the
account over until this year.
lit is hard to ind out just how much
AT rrTE
on hand. Neither will tell, but Mr..
Bliss denied couple of days ago that
it was about 100000 A well known
Repu blican leader, who has been close
to the national committee during the
campaign told a World reporter yester-
day that the balance on hand after all
expenses We're paid would be between
$4,000 and $50, 600.
This viii be used to carry on the
permanent organization and to prepare
for the battle of 1900.
mo national committee" ne said,
'ever had such enormous financial re-
sources at It's disposal, and never before
has there been SO much money spent in
legitimate campaigning in the way of
speakers. campaign literature etc
The dissemination Of literature was
the heaviest item Of expense. This was
practically all done through the Chi
cago bureau, presided over by Perry
Heath.
Through this bureau there was sent
out in one of the biggest weeks of the
campaign 5y,V5V, UuU documents by mani,
each piece covered with a tWo-cent
stamp. This meant an expenditure Of
$50 900 for postage alone
These are large 6gurses. but they are
not worrying some Republicans nearly
as much as the question Of what viii
become Of the balance on hand in the
national committee Golfers.
If reports are true there was a ma
tiOnal committee which solved a sim
liar problem not a great many years
ago by dividing up some $40 600 among
the headquarters leaders the day be
fore election. and that was why the
committee had to carry a small debt
for four years more.
There is no chance Of that happening
this time Mr.. Hanna saw to it from
the start that every dollar received
went to Mr. Bliss, and that official
adopted a plan of bookkeeping by
which not a dollar could be drawn out
except with the knowledge and con
sent of Chairman Hanna, Secretary Os-
borne and the treasurer. No banking
house or mercantile business was done
on closer business principles than Mr.
Hanna's machine, and if any of that
balance gets away without proper
vouchers it viii have to be taken with
a jimmy.
1t is said by big Republicans that it
was this big bank account that led Mr.
Hanna to make his plans for a perma-
nent orga nization. headquarters and a
continued agitation of political mat
tiers from now until the campaign of
1900. This scheme viii be put through