The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1907-05-09
TEN IRRITATING QUESTIONS FOR
ROOSEVELT.

When the last presidential campaign
was in full swing and the charge was
openly and repeatedly made by the dem
ocrats that corporations were contrib
uting financially in great amounts to
bring about the success of Roosevelt
and the G. o. P, the New York World
asked of Mr.. Roosevelt ten pertinent
questions. They appeared in its issue
of October l, 1904, and were never an
swer.d Since the subject of campaign
cont buttons is again before the people
and the exposes of startling nature
have recently been made, The World
has again asked the president to reply
1 to these se'f-same questions as asked
then, and as asked now are as follows:
1. How much has the Beef Trust con-
tributed to MIR. Cortelyou?
2. How much has the Paper Trust
contributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
). How much has the Coal Trust con-
tributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
4. How much has the Sugar Trust
contributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
5. How much has the Oil Trust con-
tributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
6. How much has the Tobacco Trust
contributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
5. How much has the Insurance Trust
contributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
8. How much have the national banks
contributed to Mr.. Cortelyou?
20. How much have the six great rail-
& road trusts contributed to Mr.. Cortel-
your.
AS timely, as pertinent and of as
much import as at the time they were
first asked are these questions. The
American people are interested as much
now over them and just as eager to
have them answered as they were in
1904. They are because of the hair
trigger willingness to call men liars
who are above the very faintest sus-
picion of such characteristics and who
refrain from resenting the undignitied
and fish monger type of answer on &C
\ count of the official position of the man
who applied the epithet.
These questions were never answered
during the campaign until the very
close at which time Judge Parker made
I the direct and open charge that the
corporations were contributing to the
rage, called Judge Parker plain, every
+ day liar. After the campaign had closed
the truth of Judge Parker's charges was
proven Enthusiastically and beyond ques-
ton not only by the forced admission
of the head of the insurance trust under
oath, and the subsequent undeniable
proof furnished when Mr.. Perkins re-
turned to the insurance company the
money which it had contributed. Then
followed the admission of Mr.. Hartman
q III of the railroad trust, made short time
ago. The people full we'll know that
Mr.. Hartman is too shrewd business
man to be caught telling that sort of a
falsehood.
If Mr. Roosevelt was the frank, fair
and boistrously honest man that his
friends 1.-THE sderal Office holders) would
4 have the public to believe, he would at
once settle the controversy and get out
of most embarrassing predicament by
ordering Cortelyou to produce and show
the books. But he will not do it, and
Cortelyou knows that he will never be
called upon to produce the books to ex-
pose by compulsion what the public al
ready knows to be true from the evil
dence secured from other and absolutely
incontrovertable sources. The state
ment is here broadly made and will go
unchallenged that there is not repub-
lican of standing Except probably a
federal Office holder) who will deny that
the corporations gave enormous sums
to the republican campaign fund in 1904
Roosevelt's frequent vehement pro-
testations of honesty have placed him
in such position that he is more afraid
of the truth than any of the distinguish
ed gentlemen whom he has SO dramati-
cally and discourteously questioned
Why does he not tell Cortelyou to pro-
duce and show the books?
t8sf9S5 -.-----.-.-~---.--~