New-York tribune., 1906-12-09
SENATOR B4ILEY'S LOANS.

The case of Senator Bailey, of Texas, will
raise some nice questions in Interpretation. Will
Mr.. Bryans stern law forbidding any Democrat
to have anything to do with the trusts apply TO
the tangled relations of the Senator and the
Standard Oil Company through its branch, the
Waters-Pierce company: The hearts of the
Democrats of Texas are filled with sadness as
they think that they may be compelled TO execute
the provisions of that stern mandate The Sen
ator may be constrained to revise his declared
opinion and conclude that after all public men
have 10 remain poor in order to be considered
honest" To have struck hands with trust,
even through an intermediary, arouses suspicion
In these days, when the difficulty of being con-
| sidered honest is multiplied hundredfold, but
does it put a Democratic statesman in that un-
happy catecC.y Of Mr.. Bryan's-persons whose
prominence il a hindrance to the party?
Senator Bailey is apparently not letting his
Texan friends know any more about his rela-
tions with tentacle of the octopus than is abb
solutely necessary. Since last spring he has
made a great many speeches and explanations,
but none of them seem 10 have coyered the whole
ground. New facts keep coming out which oc
cupy the Senator with new explanations, but not
one of these new facts comes TO light through
Senator Bailey. The anarchists" and social
ists' who bounding him refresh his men,
Ory with evidences of the intimacy of his
financial relations with the octopus, and he
rushes into print with new explanations showing
how these relations are perfectly compatible
with Jeffersonan simplicity and Bryanistlc dis
interestedness 4 few weeks ago he was pro-
testing vehemently that his friendly offices to
the WatersPierce company were purely philan-
thropic and non-mercenary. He never, ne de-
clared. had received cent of money from that
concern. On Thanksgiving Day-observe the
6endish malice of his enemies ON Thanksgiv-
ing Day he awOke to read in the papers that the
Attorney General of Texas had made public GER
tain vouchers showing various and sundry pay
| ments to Joseph w Bailey, amounting to about
$4,000, and, worse still, loan" Of $4,000 TO
him, audited by an auditor of the Standard Oil
Company! 1t is enough to make angels weep to
see virtue and -mercenary philanthropy so
| enmeshed by circumstance
On Friday Senator Bailey had his day at the
public ear. The sums in the vouchers were all
loans. The first, for S3.300 for instance on a
voucher dated, as circumstances would have it,
at the time when by his good offices the Waters
Pierce company obtained a license TO operate in
Texas, loan. Mr.. Pierce wanted to pay
Senator Bailey for his friendly action. The Sen
ator, Spartanlike, would not listen TO such a
proposal TO receive pay for Influence But the
Senator had it in mind TO buy some horses. and
for that purpose obtained loan of $500
All Of these lOans even including the SS. 900 loan
audited by the Standard Oil COMPANY were
loans like this one of $4,000 from Mr. Pierce per
sonally 10 himself Another item. charged on
the books OF the Waters Pierce company as ION
account OF Texas cases." Mr.. Bailey says was a
payment TO cover expenses Gin connection with
some personal business of H. c. Pierce which
81 attended to-
1t is peculiarly unfortunate that Mr. Pierce
should have entered his personal loans and his
payments for personal expenses in the books of
his concern. But circumstances made of Mr.
Bailey an even worse victim when they con-
trlved that one OF Mr.. Perce's personal loans"
should pass through the auditors office OF the
Standard Oil Company. In the light of these
last developments it seems too bad that the Scn-
ator when lie denied the receipt of any money
from the Waters Pierce company did not take
the public into his confidence about the loans
Perhaps he prefers to have his enemies bring
out such things that he may have the pleas
ure of confuting them In these days evidently
Il beffs a Democratic statesman TO be circum-
speCt about borrowing. y loan which he thinks
he IS obtaining from bosom friend NAV be
youched for on paper signed by the auditor of
some trust Would loan SO audited disdualfy
q statesman from further prominence in a puri-
fed Democracy? We confess our inability 10
apply The law of Bryan TO nice a question.