The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-02-25
Mr.. STUBS REPLIES.
Railroads Used Big Slush Fund in
1904 Without His Consent.

w. r. Stubs has given out a state
ment about the railroad contributions
to the Republican campaign fund while
he was chairman of the committee. He
says that he accepted 81, 900 each from
the Santa Fe, Rock Island and Union
Pacific railroads, but declined $1,000
from the Missouri Pacific. He claims
that these gifts were made uncondi-
tionally, and that he refused a sup
posedly conditional offer of $4,000 more
in railroad contributions.
This is the Stubbs statement:
"Balie P. Waggener, attorney for the
Missouri Pacific railway, made false
statement in the Kansas state senate
Friday when he said. as is reported.
that the chairman of the Republican
state central committee asked the rail-
ways of Kansas for contributions in
1904 to the Republican campaign fund.
His further statement that the chair
man had asserted that he would accept
no contributions from corporations is
also untrue.
THE facts are that 1 was besieged
by railroad politicians who wanted me
to accept an enormous campaign fund
from the railroads and the national
committee. The financial agent and
political representative of the Kansas
railroads came to me and stated he had
raised GOO in the campaign in 1900.
and could do the same for me, which
services 1 declined.
Later in the campaign Howell Jones,
one of the railroad attorneys, volun-
tarily came to headquarters and stated
that the railroads wanted to contribute
something to the campaign fund, and
1 replied that on exactly the same
terms and conditions as any private
citizen they could subscribe; that the
gift must be absolutely free and un-
conditional and 1 further stated that
they would receive exactly the same
treatment in the legislature if they did
q would
did.
''As chairman I accepted only one
thousand dollars ($1,000) each from
the Santa Fe, Rock Island and Union
Pacific railroads during the entire
campaign.
1.-THE attorneys of these roads with
out solicitation stated that they were
willing to contribute further to the
campaign fund. ]. H. Richards, at
torney for the Missouri Pacific railway,
brought one thousand dollars $1,000
to me at headquarters and I declined
to accept it. The railroads distributed
over my protest, through their own
noIitical agencies, a large Slush fund
throughout the state. They attempted
to do this without my knowledge and
denied it when / charged them with It,
hut admitted it when confronted with
indisputable evidence which 1 had Sc
cured.
II can furnish the names of the
men who received this money and the
man who paid it out, if necessary. and
have indisputable evidence of the
facts. During the campaign, 1 die
state that no money would be received
from any source that carried with 1t a
COM EDITION of any kind and this was
faithfully observed throughout the
campaign.
During this same campaign, the
contributed to the Roose-
Welt campaign fund and we were try
ing to follow and not lead Roosevelt in
Kansas Recent disclosures have con-
WINGED Mr.. Roosevelt that corporations
should be prohibited by law from con-
tributing campaign funds to any po-
litical party.
.sThe New York architect under the
guise of friendship overwhelmed his
Victim with favors. compliments and
gifts seeking all the time her final de-
era dation The railroads employed ex-
q ctIy the same methods to secure their
nolitical ends. man is judged as
much by the character of his enemies |
as of his friends and it is one of the |
things 1 am most proud of that I am
SO frequently honored by personal tri- |
butes from the distinguished repre- |
tive of corporation interests in |
the Kansas senate