The San Francisco call., 1905-01-19
|STONE SCORES
THE PRESIDENT
Attacks ROosevelt's Attitude
During the Campaign OH
the Trusts Contributions
WANTS INVESTIGATION
Missouri Senator Includes
Root and Cortelyou in
His Heated Arraignment

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1S.-The charges
Of impropriety made in connection
with the campaigns. of 1896 and 1904
were revived for time to-day In the
Senate by Stone of Missouri, who spoke
! in support of his resolution providing
| for an investigation of the charges. He
used with much freedom the names Of
President Roosevelt, Judge Parker and
| Chairman Cortelyou, and again related
| the allegations that Cortelyou had used
! the information secured by him as
Secretary of Commerce and Labor to
! secure money from the trusts In part
he said:
These charges have been made by Alton B.
Parker and Theodore Roosevelt They are not
are definite charges. We cannot ignore them
Let the inys stfsation go on. II the Demo-
cratic party has a,so peem recreant II IT als9
government. let it suffer the consequences.
'.Hew to the line; let the chips fall where
they may.
To what level have We fallen If the A1neri-
can necole can look upon such conduct with
we fallen i: the American Senate can contem-
plate this national shame with Indifference
! The confession made by the President and
decry condemn II: 1t speaks for itself.
Taking up the charge made during
the campaign that Cortelyou had used
his secret official information as a Cab
met officer to secure contributions,
Stone said he could neither affirm nor
deny this terrible Indictment" be-
cause he did not know. He added:
only know that the damning admission
stands that the trusts did supply Mr.. Corteyou
with campaign funds. Mr.. Cortalyou has never
made answer to this charge Why Mr.. Cortel-
you stands dumb under this dishonorlng ar
rafp I will not COntecture That
is said TO be wise who knows how and when
to hold MS tongue. Perhaps the good name of
the country would have ben better served IL
the President and Mr.. Root also had sought
shelter under the same kindly wing of 81
ence.t
Mr. President it is hard to believe that Mr.
Corteiyou. any man OF character. would
prostitute official opportunity to partisan ends
so base. I am 10th TO believe IL: and yet a
charge so specific this and which SO deeply
concerns the public honor and welfare cannot
be silcnced by cortemptuously pooh pooling
WHY did the President select this mex
perienced convert to be head Of his party
organization? This accusing fact will
down. that the trusts did fiji Mr.. Corteyou's
campaign Golfers to oyerfowins. Happily we
both Mr.. Root and the President. that the
trusts had no improper motive in making these
contributions and that no improper means were
The country is asked to believe but no
doubt 1t innocently will and does. that the
trusts brought their gold to Corteyou out of
purely unse,nsh and patriotic considerations
and that they expect nothing in return. These,
indeed. vlrtuous trusts and theirs is an
idealistic self-sacrihcng patriotism. They
scorned all base expectations of favors to come
and secuted the very thought that their gold
would be used to corrr2t,
Stone also expressed the opinion that
the Presidents charges against the
Democratic campaign management
should be inquired into. He based his
demand for an inquiry into the cam
paign of 1896 on the allegations Of
Thomas W. Lawson. made in recent
magazine article. Concluding. he said:
Theodore Roosevelt is insrinctively an honest
man. But he IL also ambitious. and I have
thought that ambition had so blurred his nat
ura1 honesty .as to blind him momentarily and
to make him do things suffer things to be
done that would otherwise have been repulsive.
] prefer to believe the best of him, and. all
things considered. the best can believe Is that
the President being honest man. snarting
under the sting OF remorse and being himself
longer interested in campaign contributions.
has resolved unselfshly to exert his strength to
promote the public welfare in this behalf.