Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-24

Convicted by the Press
81 was convicted by the press of bribery
and fraud. 1 was convicted by the courts
with misconstruing a statute. l was guilty
of nothing Ny only Offense was that L
had offended the head of the Political Com
munity OF Interests the President, and the
most powerful member of the Commercial
Community Of Interests. the sugar trust.
These and these alone. are the offenses for
which | have suffered. l violated no law
II doubt II the country has ever FUZZY
realized why l was prosecuted in St Louis.
The President evaded the question, Attor-
nev General now Senator Knox, refused 10
answer il. My attorneys often asked the
question and they could get no answer
No truthful answer could be given that
was not a confession that in proceeding
against me in st. Louis the government
had violated the very spirit of the Consti-
tuition. Four of the five payments were
made TO me in Washington. If l rendered
any services that were prohibited by the
statute, / rendered them In Washington,
and not in ST. Louis.
Why was then taken thousand miles
away from the place where 1t vas alleged
| rendered the prohibited services, where
four of the five payments were made TO me,
where most of the witnesses resided, into
a strange city where ! had never seen or
communicated with any postal official?
There was a wild crusade against accused
officials in Missouri at that time. and the
storm center was at 81. Louis. There is an in
herited prejudice in that city against a
kansan, but that was very slight. as COM
pared with the far deeper prejudice then
existing agar t any high official charged
with crime. Governor Folk then circuit
attorney. had instituted prosecution against
public officials and other persons, and the
excitement had grown so intense as to pro-
duce. for a time, judicial anarchy in that
place. Nearly all of the upper tendon of
st. Louis had been guilty of violating the
law. and those who had not We're under
suspicion. For some time vicious attacks
had been MAZE throughout the country
against the United States Senate There
fore the prosecution of a United States sen-
ator in the city OF St. Louis furnished a
shining mark for all the hate that had
been aroused against high officials. and left
to man then in my position in strange
city very little chance for fair trial.
Fairly Elected to the Senate.
Mr.. Burton denied the charge that lie had
secured his seat in the United States Sen
ate by the corrupt use of money con-
tributed by the railroad. Ne railway COM
pany nor other corporation no firm, nor
person, ever paid one cent to elect him to
office, he said. at his request or even to
his knowledge. Some of the men for whom
lie had secured appointments. he said, had
sent him money, but he had returned it in
every case. He called uron his appointees
to bear him out in this assertion that they
had never paid one cent for their office
Il won my election in a fair and open
fight. with the help of a baud of friends
as loyal and true as ever supported any
candidate. I took my credentials unfair
nished and when / resigned they were
Untarnished still. l know full well that the
latter part of that statement is denied by
Judgment of the highest court in the
land. realize. perhaps. more than any
one else can the deep stain that is upon
my name, and the name of a proud state.
But it is not an indelible stain That de-
ccree records lie. My past life contradicts
1t. l hope. if l live, my future life will
help to wipe it away
II have been frequently asked who it was
that inspired this unjust and cruel persecu-
ton against me. l have not made any
public answer to that question. l do it
now. 1t was Theodore Roosevelt. True he
had To operate through others. Some of
them acted with malice of the kind that
animated Roosevelt. Others were driven
to help in the great wrong through fear.
1t was like him TO deny having anything
to do with instituting proceedings against
pe until after | was convicted. Then he
boosted. 1t was ! who aimed the gun
The question naturally arises why he did
it.
The Cuban Reciprocity Legislation.
he
was pending in the Senate | made a
speech that made ME temporarily notorious
if not famous. ! said. in substance that |
would not support the measure in its then
form; that it was plainly in the interest of
the sugar trust that it would be a gift
of many millions of dollars annually to that
great corporation ard a crushing blow to
the beat sugar industry; that the whole
measure was conceived in Hypocrisy; that
it violated the cardinal principals of the
republican party on the tariff that Cuba
was prosperous. and did not need it; that
the Cubans would not get the benefit of the
reduction of the tariff on sugar if made.
and that to support a bill of this kind was
either an insult 10 the intelligence of re-
publican senators or an indictment of their
integrity, or both.
When the caucus at which made this
speech broke up. il was with the under
session. But smooth old senators were only
pretending. They knew what the sugar
trust had done for the republican party
and did not care to oppose its wishes and
they also wanted to stand in with the
President. Hence. they were only too will
ing Ia give me. and other western senators
new To the game, far more credit than We
were entitled 10 in the killing of the bill
There was another incident that aroused
the wrath of the President against me- /
could not agree with him about who was
In command at the naval battle of Santi-
ago. and | had thu temerity to voice my
convictions. which is objectionable crime
with Roosevelt. unless what you say re-
fleets his wishes"
Mr. Burton referred at some length to
the Kansas delegation to the republican
convention of 1904. saying that the move
ment supporting Hoxe for governor was
gwen false coloring, and the President
believed that II was fight. under cover,
on him. and that Burton was working for
Mark Hanna. This, he said, was untrue.
This Is why" he said Il was first
struck down. why | was bounded for years
for crime l never committed why all
the vast enginery Of the government was
brought up against me to hunt me to death
But the door of hope cannot be closed
against me, nor against any man who will
waste no time in provoking, nor brooding
over injury. but has abiding faith in the
PHILOSOPHY"