The Falls City tribune., 1908-08-28

though the receiver is q member OF
his family and the speoder his closest
political associate and admittedly his
most confidential representative to
the recent national convention which
for the third time makes Mr.. Bryan
the party candidate for the presi-
dency.
Nebraska has a stringent campaign
publicity law. known as the corrupt
practices act" enacted by the repub'
lican legislature which elected Judge
M. L. Hayward United States senator
in the session of 1899. The provisions
of this law require that the democratic
%lslush-fund above noted should have
appeared in both the receipts and dis
bursements of the democratic commit
tee, the purposes for which disbursed'
plainly stated under oath of the com
mittee treasurer and the statement
filed with the county clerk in the
county of the %treasurer's residence for
public inspection. In this year of
democratic gum-shoe tricks, sucking
eggs and hiding the shells, no report
of this New York fund was ever filed
as required by law and the distin.
guished disburser of the fund so ad-
mits.
In this campaign Berge was the
democratic nominee for governor and
Bryan the choice of the democrats
for U. S. senator in case of the cleo
ton of a fusion legislature. Neither
can deny the attitude of a beneficiary
if the money had provided a demo-
cratic success at the polls in Novem-
Der 1904. Under the statutes of Ne
braska no possible excuse can be
made for the failure to report the re-
ceipt of this fund and the items of
dts disbursement and heavy penalties
are provided for the failure to do so.
1t must be logically concluded that
the uses to which this corruption fund
was put would not bear public scru-
tiny and that the parties of immediate
interest took their chances" with
the law rather than their chances
with public opinion and the co-inci-
dent smirching of the garments of the
peerless leader. If Mr.. Bryan did not
know of the slush-fund then he at
least does now and has for weeks past
and yet no move is made to compel
the captains of politics. who are still
fighting in his army and close to his
person, to comply with the outraged
laws of Nebraska which now, and for
years past, have required the most
complete and thorough publicity of
campaign contributions and which law
has been cheerfully and literally con
piled with by the republican party
since the date of it's enactment.
Nothing can more glaringly set out
to view the hypocracy of the Bryan
democracy than this interesting item
of New York corruption money, used
in a Nebraska campaign in defiance
of the most stringent publicity" laws,
while the battered army of sixteen
:to-one and "no-more-fourth-of-July"
enters into the present campaign
shouting for publicity of campaign
contributions"
The insincerity of the democratic
propaganda is so well known in Me-
braska as to require nc lengthy conf
ment and it is doubtless for consump-
ition in distant states and places re-
mote from home that the publicity"
issue is raised by the faithful dis
bursers of the Ryan-Sheehan Wall
street corruption fund.
Democratic publicity" like the
usual crop of democratic issues is
shown to be a delusion, a fake aud
a mere bunco trick for the purposes
of attracting votes to the party of
insincerity, false promises and gen.
eral debility.