The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-22
"WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER ss, 1905.
TALKING OUT PLAINLY.

4 The Portland Oregonian IS one prom nent Republican paper that refuses to justify the use of trust funds to ad- vance the interests of political party. It refuses to subscribe to the doctrine that the end justifies the means, even, in politics. It refers to the arguments used by some of the insurance officials that the defeat of Bryanism was es- sential to business prosperity and that they were justified in using trust funds to accomplish 1t. Then 1t continues:
 It would be sound reasoning. if the managers had been Using their own money. But they were using a trust vert in any particular from the strictly Legitimate uses for which 1t was placed in their hands. The silver craze did ened fife insurance especially: for had 1t succeeded in its purpose it would have changed the money standard, im- paired the value of all policies, hurt very probably ruined some Or all of them. It was right to warn all policy holders of these dangers, and to urge them. one and all, to their utmost effort to defeat free coinage of silver and save the money standard. All this was within the field of legitimate influence and effort. But no trust fund can be diverted rightfulIgg fully from nsp its proper Gb- fraction of the lay of the trust can be admitted in any circumstances.
 Political demagogues, partly through ignorance, partly through indifference to any result save their own success, had long been misleading the people. Men who should have been leaders of the people in right ways for years had These politicians abounded in every State. oregon had its full share of them. They believed this was the way to win. They found in silver the clap clinations and capacities; and they brought about conditions that nearly wrecked the business of the country. "A tremendous effort on the part of 9he Intelligence of the country, and of the legitimate influences of property, finance and business was necessary to prevent the disaster. But contributions thereof, even for such an object, were not moral" as the President of Metro politan Life asserts. but immoral and illegal. and criminal, too; for 1t never can be less than criminal to divert in- surance or other funds. in trust. from the strict purposes of the trust.
 We quote somewhat liberally from The oregonian's editorial because so many of it's Republican contemporaries attempt to use the overworked argu- menL that the emu JuStlnes tne medIiS' 1t is an argument which cannot hon. estly be stretched to justify the use of sacred trust funds to advance the in- terests of a political party, 1t matters not what may have been the policies of the opposition. Many prominent men and newspapers have attempted to jus tify the action of the trust and insur- anee companies on the plea that the success of Bryan and Bryanism would have imperilled the interests of the policy holders.
 This fear of a political error may have been sincere and legitimate. and If the officials of the big insurance companies had seen proper to use some of their own ample salaries as cam paign contributions no one, would have objected. In this day political cam paigns cost money and any man has a right to contribute of his own funds but no line of reasoning and no code of moral or financial ethics can justif, the diversion of trust funds to politica purposes. The oregonian uses plain and emphatic language and it's Repub- lican contemporaries would do we'll tC follow it's lead.