Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-08-11

eral supervise on of elections. Since we /
are compelledby your rule to vote for
or against the pezding measure as an
entirety, without the privilege of |
amendment, we will vote against it.
If you republicans were in good faith, |
if every claim you make to political in
tegrity were not fraud ard sham
you would permit the house 10 vote on
the passage of the Mccall. bill without
| attaching to it this o4ious and revolving
proposition of federal control and
supervision over state elections"
The publicity of campaign contribu-
tons bill was not reported to the house
until after Mr. WILLIAMS, democratic
leader, had announced chat fer the re-
mainder of the.session he would refuse
unanimous consent for consideration of
measures until there was reported to
| the house for its consideration some
publicity of campaign contributions
bill. In that announcement he said: 81
care not whose name is attached to it,
republican or democrat"
That was on March "a, 1908. On.
April 9th, 1908. he again requested the
republicans to permit the majority of
the house to express its opinion upon
the passage of a campaign publicity
5;l. On May 9, 1908, Mr. Williams
boldly challenged the republican lead
ers to action upon this question in the
! following language Here I stand
witt shoulders not too broad and
strength not too great and presence not
too imposing, but standing here at least
Knowing that | represent the demo-
cratic party in that regard, and so
standing here | challenge you that
every dollar that goes into campaign
funds shall be published to the world
the day after it is received so that the
world may judge the motive of the
giver and the cause of the giving and
the means of corruption in the possess
sion of the recipient
What do you say for the present?
What do you say for the future? Let
the dead past CO."
In the light of these facts which are
recorded in cold print in the pages of
the Congressional Record the attempt
of the Record Herald to show that tie
republican members of the house
favored publicity of campaign contri-
buttons, and that the democratic mem
bers opposed it, merits and should re-
ceive the just condemnation of every
fair minded citizen no matter what his
political leanings are.
do not wish to convey the idea that
all the republican members of the House
were opposed to the publicity of cam
paign contributions, for that is not the
fact. There were a number of republi-
can members who would have gladly
registered their votes with their demo
cratic fellow members in favor of such
bill had they been given an oppor-
tunity to vote upon that measure by
itself. The democratic party does not
fear to publish the source from which
its contributions come NO democrat
fears that such publication win reveal
that the funds which should have been
a sacred trust for widows and orphans
will be plundered by those who are en-
! trusted with their care for the purpose
Of swelling the democratic campaign
fund. No democrat fears that such
publication will show the names of the
tariff barons who have unduly pros.
pered at the expense of the consumer
No democrat fears that there will
appear upon that list the names of the
ceal barons, transportation kings and
so called financiers of Wall street who
have CLEANED their richest harvest in
the panic that has paralyzed the indus
tries of great nation.
Fearing that journal which could
so misconstrue and misstatc facts
would give little space to an effort to
correct such Misrepresentation, have
trespassed upon your space to this
extent, believing that there is enough
of patriotism and fair play in the breast
of the American citizen to impa~tially
consider the matter when the facts are
fully before him.
Respectfully yours,
j. w. MURPHY.
Plattville, Wis, July 81, 1908.
: COUNTY CORRESPONDENCE.