The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-09-13
CORPORATION CONTRIBUTORS
Parker Says Congress Should Have
Made a Thorough investigation.
Wants Punishment by lmpris-
onment, Not Fines.


disclosure of the names of those who
contributed to the Hartman fund for
President Roosevclts election and
the events leading up to It:
Congress should have performed
the service TO the country that the
newspapers are now attempting to
render 1t.
Senator Tillman introduced a reso.
luton calling for an investigation
of the charge that deemed it my
duty to make in the campaign OF
1904. That resolution should have
been passed and an opportunity af-
forded to prove the amounts contrib.
uted by the many and various pro.
tected interests of the country-the
insurance and other gigantic corpo-
rations. including the great railroad
corporations.
This should have been done, not
only for the purpose of proving
whether my charge was well or i'll
founded. for surely an investigation
was not needed for that purpose af
ter the insurance investigation which
disclosed contribution by three
companies out of many aggregating
nearly Sl50,000 to swell the republi.
can campaign chest. Since that hap
pened no man who reads and is both
fair minded and intelligent can
doubt the accuracy of my state.
ments.
But a further and broader inves-
| tigation should have been made, COW
ering all the great corporations hav-
| ing interests that the federal gov.
! ernment could protect or advance,
either by the maintenance of existing
protective statutes such as the So
called Dingley bill or by the non-en-
forcement of law, and this TO the
to the end that people might deter
mine whether federal politics and
corporate interests should be divorc.
ed or the wicked partnership of the
past shall be continued and strength
ened by a further assumption of
federal control
Such an investigation would have
disclosed that contributions were
made by the corporations whose Off
GERS knew that within a year-per-
haps within thirty days-after cleo
tion they would have to ask the
postmaster general for renewal of
their mail contracts. That, being
practical men" they realized that
the attitude OF that official might
be affected by the circumstances Of
large contribution on the one hand
or by refusal to contribute at his
request on the other hand. They
had every reason to believe that the
request for contribution l. the
chosen representatives of an admin
istration implied an agreement to
treat them as they had been treat
ed before.
Now what was done with the
money? Much of it was employed TO
corrupt the voters of doubtful states,
until In many of them manhood suf'
frage has In a considerable measure
become chattcl suffrage. 1t Is eyi-
dent that it was for that purpose
that this so-caled Hartman fund OF
100000 was raised.
Obviously In the closing hours OF
the campaign but one practical use
could be made of It and that was to
swell the fund already accumulated
to secure beyond peradyenture the
large floating vote builded up by
years of effort to corrupt the electo-
rate by means of money contributed
by those who were willing TO buy
favors from those willing to sell
them.
This, then Is the source OF the
flood of corporation evils that have
come upon us and for It our unfaith'
lul DuDllt slfNAlio aAN htb'N ~
blame. Had they been true TO their
respective trusts, the injuries from
which we suffer could not have come
to US.
In no instance that We have yet
heard of did the corporation press
It's money on the political or party
organization. In all instances 1t was
requested, and in many Of them un-
der such circumstances as to con-
stitute the request a demand, The
foremost duty OF the hour is then,
to shut off forever this corruptlng
flood.
1T can not be accomplished by