The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-04-18

riman had personally contributed
something between $4,000 and 100000
to the cause. But as the story of the
dinner was given out at the. White
House offices, at first, nothing was
said about the man being Senator Pen
rose. The President is known to have
mentioned Senator Penrose's name in
that connection to personal friend
and Secretary Loeb also said to one Of
his friends that Senator Penrose was
the man. It took considerable inquiry
to ascertain where the dinner was held
and who was the host. 1t appears to
have been very quiet affair.
Senator Penrose Immediately issued
a denial. He said he had never men,
toned such a fund, knew nothing
about it. The whole thing was absurd.
He said he could not have attended
any such dinner, as he had been away
in the West Indies. But Mr.. Penrose
went to the West Indies about the
middle of March, having left Washing
ton March Is. He returned to Penn
sylvania about April 1. But the din
ner was held long before Senator Pen
Secretary Loeb kept their secret In
the meantime.
AS the story gets out from the White
House Senator Penrose was talking all
these things to Secretary Loeb when
the dinner had been in progress for
some time. AS the report went out.
Senator Penrose said the Rockefellers,
Hartman and captains of industry in
terested in having a conservative Re-
ready raised this big pot of money.
They had a well-defined scheme to
ca pture the Presidency, intending to
nominate a conservative man and to
see to it that he was elected. Incl
dentally they would try to find a way
to check reform legislation by Con,
gress this winter
Secretary Loeb was not long reach
ing the President, when the dinner was
over. He confided to the Presidential
ear the tale Senator Penrose had told
The next day, as the account runs,
Senator Penrose called upon one of
those who had dined with him-sup.
posed to have been Senator Hans
brough, of North Dakota-and asked
what he had said the previous even>
ing. Had he said anything damaging?
The reply was quoted as being that
he had given the whole business away.
whereupon Senator Penrose went on
to convince his fellow banqueter that
for $4,000 to be used in the fellow
banqueter's own state could be drawn
in a minute.
The President seems to have been
sceptica1 at first and he set on foot
some careful Investigations. 1t was
not long, however, before Interstate
Commerce Commissioner Franklin K,
Lane, a Democrat from California, call
ed at the White House to tell the
President he had heard a remarkable
story about a band of rich conspira-
tors who were planning to capture the
Presidency. This confirmed the Presi-
dents first information. Then he noted |
the trait of the opposition in distant
States. He was told that the combin-
alton would use his popularity in some
localities to further their plans. They !
would get state legislatures to declare |
for a third term for Roosevelt, without |
any second choice. Care could be ex-
ercised in the choice of delegates and, |
as soon as it was announced to the |
convention or otherwise became ap-
parent that the President under no CIR |
cumstances would accept another term,
the delegates would be left free to