Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1904-05-31
A Few Expense Items.

Some years ago Tom Dennison, of
Omaha, a notorious gambler and
blackleg, planned the robbery Of
man named Pollock, of s75, 900 worth
of diamonds. Frank Shercliffe was
the tool for this fine job. An ihdict-
ment found against this man Denni-
son at Logan in this state from an ac-
count book found among DennisonS
effects showed the expenditure Of
S14, 850.50 paid by Dennison to prom
inent republican politicians to procure
the parole from the penitentary Of
the boy, Shercliffe, by Gov. L. NJ.
Shaw, of Iowa.
This record found in Dennison's eff
fects led to an examination of the
records in Gov. Shaw'S office at Des
Moines, In which the names of N. M.
Hubbard, the political boss of Iowa,
who discovered Gov. Shaw in the OBJ.
Scurity of his home; j. N. Baldwin, a
railroad corporation attorney; II. G.
Mcmillan, prominent in republican
politics; j. q. Blythe, prominent rail-
road attorney; G. G. Hipwell; Dave
Mercer, republican congressman from
Omaha.
Dennison' expense account for the
parole of Shercliffe shows: Paid to
Hipwell, 1851; paid to congressman
Mercer "see" our governor, s40o; gave
cash to Mcmillan, $500; cash to take
niggers to Council Bluffs to vote them
in the interest uf Senator Gear, to get
Blythe's help with the governor, 5000.
This is part of the shameful rec
ord. N. NJ. Hubbard, in his letter to
Gov. Shaw asking the parole Of Sher-
cliffe was frank in saying that Dave
Mercer had helped 'us" in passing
the bill for the settlement Of the
Sioux City aud Pacific indebtedness,
which caused public scandal because
Of its robbery OF the public in the in
terests of corporate greed. Hubbard
adds: II suppose there is no doubt
speaking of Shercliffe) that he is gull
ty Of the crime charged, but Dave
says he has been punished pretty well
now and that 1t will be worth 300 to
400 votes to'him from relatives Of Sher.
cliffe IL he eau be paroled."
The trial judge and the prosecuting
attorney protested against the parole.
Yet for political reasons Gov. Shaw
granted the parole, and at his recent
visit at the republican state conven-
ton he might have shed flood of
light upon the political use of execu-
tive clemency. In Indiana the repub-
lican governor protects republican
indicted for murder in an adjoining
state, and in Iowa its governor parol.
ing convicted thief to aid republi.
cad congressman, ought to prevent
the party from pointing with pride'
to its record, in these two states at
least.
To this man Shaw, fostering in cor.
ruption and political rottenness ia
given the distribution among pet
banks for political purposes, sl5s, O00,.
0O9 collected from the public by an
oppressive system of taxation, sane,
TONED and maintained by the "stand-
patters" of the republican party be-
cause Of the liberallty Of the benefc
aries of this loan in responding fol
campaign funds. The banks obtair
this vast sum OF money from the
United States treasury free Of inter
est and from its use realize an annual
interest Of $9,4S0, 900. OF course, these
banks are interested in the success Of
the republican party, the mainte.
nance Of tariff that will produce
this surplus of revenue beyond the
needs of the government, and may be
relied upon to share the profits re-
sulting from its use for the perpetu
alton Of republican ascendency in the
United States. And all this had the
sanction and acquiescense of the re-
cent republican convention In Iowa