The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-02
MONEY FOR CAMPAIGN.
CBaltimore Sun


According to dispatch from Chicago
the late Coils P Huntington, for vari-
Gus causes and considerations moving
him, had pledged to the Republican
campaign committee the good, round
sum of 81. 900. 600. OF this comfortable
contribution Mr.. Huntington, it is said.
had promised to give One-fourth per
sonally, and he undertook to raise the
rest. It is also understood that the
death of Mr.. Huntington is a serious
financial blow to the imperial junta, as
this unfulfned promise. not being in
the form of a pronissory note, cannot
be fled as a claim against the estate
While the courts might refuse to en-
force this claim upon the ground that
the consideration Is such a one as the
law recognizes, still Mr. Hanna no
doubt considers ii valid and binding in
politics a domain in which, according
TO another high Republican authority
the Decalogue has no place This con-
sideratipn, according to current rumor.
was the Holding up by the senate
Of the Nicaragua canal bill, which had
passed the house by a large majority
The bill is still on the senate files, but
the situation is all ''balIed up to use
a current slang phrase, by the action
of the Nicaraguan government in re-
pealing the concessions which the
United States expects to secure Wheth-
er Mr. Huntington and his friends in
the administration had anything to do
with that repeal does not appear. The
only thing certain about the whole mat
ter is that the construction OF the canal
would largely decrease the power OF
extOrtion exercised by the trauscontf-
mental railways, free the threats Of the
people of California from the grasp OF
a giant monopoly and so decrease the
money value of Mr.. HUntingtOn's rail
road by many millions Of dollars. A
million dollars is a big sum Of none.
but il is a mere bagatel1e compared
with the value of the monopoly shared
by Mr.. Huntington'S roads with one or
two others
This rumored arrangement between
the Republican committee and Mr..
Huntington illustrates the modern
practice of applying trust methods to
lobbying, enacting or defeating bills.
as the case may be. In the Olden times
and even at the present time in some Of
the states which are slow to adopt
new things, il was the practice of an
individual or a cOrpOratiOn-say a rail-
road corDoration-that desired the en-
actment or defeat of a bill to deal with
individual members or numerous inGi-
vidual lobbyists. Now the same result
is accomplished in a far more respect
able and more facile manner. There
is usually d boss in command of leg
iSlative assembly, and the applicant
for favors goes to that eminent imper-
iaIist and makes his request, Offering
a contribution TO the campaign fund
! Then the boss orders the congress or
| legislature, as the case may be. 10
pass or defeat the bill Some such in
| f1uence touched the Republican ma
tiOnaI convention, and it contains no
/ pledge to construct the NicaraRUan
canal, although it was the general IN
| Outstanding that such a pledge would
! be made But the draft of the plat
| form was changed into vaguely favor
I ing AN iSthmian canal
What becomes Of these big cOntri-
buttons to campaign funds is a matter
] of speculation All of the money does
not go to the purchase Of votes nor TO
| the legitimate expenses Of the cam
paign- Some pockets are likely lined
with a good part of it