The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1907-07-03
PLAN TO FIGHT GRAF!
Banker Suggests the President
Lead Organization Against It.
INCOME OF 81, 100000 NEEDED

That graft and corporation dishon-
esty in the United States could be
stamped out If President Roosevelt up
on his retirement would head an or
ganizatlon to be formed for that pur-
pose is the opinion Of E. Clarence
Jones, a New York banker, who recent
ly left for Paris to begin his annual
automobile tour OF the continent, says
q London special cable dispatch to the
New York Herald.
Foreigners are criticising American
securities and American business meth
DDS so adversely and with so much
justice in many cases that the necessi-
" of reform is apparent to every hon.
est American business man." says Mr..
Jones. 1T is a fact that the small
shareholder suffers from graft In al
most every great business enterprise
in the United States.
ut may be that the robbery amounts
to only two or three dollars on each
share of stock. But think Of the ag-
gregate on hundreds Of millions Of
shares whose owners suffer from Or
ganized populations!
MANY years experience and thought
have convinced me that the only meth
cd of dealing with this widespread dis
honesty is by a powerful unpurchasa-
BILE organization which could offer at
tractive prizes for information and con-
viction. At its head there should be
man whose personality is Of interna
tional weight whose name is synony-
nous with the square DEAL to wage
a successful campaign.
This association would require an
income of S1,OOO,OOO a year, which
means that it would have to possess a
capital of S2OOOO.OOO. l do not say
twenty men could be found who would
be willing to subscribe $1,0O0000 each
to this fund, because S1000,00O is lot
Of money for man to part with at one
time But do believe there are enough
wealthy men in the United States who
have the same horror Of graft that l
have for the raising Of the necessary
capital TO be a possibility, while there
are many more who would be willing
to leave large requests to the fund.
"If Mr.. Roosevelt would consent to
take the head of such an organization
the necessary money could doubtless
be raised quite easily, for everybody
In the United States. Irrespective Of
party, has confidence In his integrity.
at may be argued with some reason
that such an Organization would be
liable to become a great blackmailing
agency, but with a big, honest man at
the head this could not happen. Mr..
Roosevelt is the one man, In my opin-
lon, who could lead such a force as
suggested and he is the man who
could make 1t absolutely efficient.
with an income of 100000 a year
the association could offer prizes for
the detection and conviction of dishon-
esty. Nobody commits crime without
somebody else knowing 1t. II false
entry is made by order of the manager
of a corporation some clerk shares the
secret. II the clerk under present con-
ditions were to tell he would lose his
Job and find It impossible to get an
other
"If you go to the district attorney
with information OF wrongdoing that
is not actually murder, what does he
say? MY dear Mr.. So-andso. If you
will get me evidence that will procure
conviction l will get you an indict-
ment. But this office has no funds to
run down every rumor brought In
what is the result? Most of the ev-
idence against corporations, as was evil
denced In the recent government In
Vestigation In the rebate cases, Is OBJ
tained through the fundamentally Of
rival business organizations or Of per-
sons who have an Individual grievance.
'In San Francisco it was possible to
obtain the conviction OF Schmitz and
Ruef only because Rudolf Spreckels
put up 100000 to make the fight. Do
you suppose the county officials would
have been able TO do anything without
such assistance?
"The United States government pays
for information regarding the viola
lions of customs laws. State govern
ments promise immunity to minor par
Elephants in crimes who turn states
evidence. There is no surer way to
awaken individual honesty than by
touching the nerve that leads from the
pocket.
make graduated prizes which will
enable men In minor positions to hire
attorneys to prepare cases for the in
formation they furnish and rid them
selves from fear Of the immediate flu
ture; make 1t worth while for the thou
sands of brilliant young lawyers all
over the country to pass their spare
time hunting for evidence Of fraud and
preparing them. No manager Of a cor
poration is going to steal II he knows
some underling is constantly on the
alert for such thing and will be paid
70 tell about 1t.
coincidence In American bonds and
stocks has been so thoroughly shat
tered abroad that unless something
along these lines be done there will be
great difficulty in restoring It. With
the management Of all the great cor
porations remaining in practically the
same hands since the recent investiga-