The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-10-01
TAFT ISSUES FORMAL
STATEMENT TO PRESS
Publicity of Campaign Funds After the
Election Is the Slogan of the Re-
publican Nominee, Following
RooseVelt's Dictation.

| Lincoln, Neb. September 9O.-Accepting
| the challenge of William J. Bryan right
| in the home city of the Nebraskan w. II.
| Taft tonight not only indorsed President
Roosevelts position on the question of the
! publicity of campaign contributions, but
, defended it with arguments to establish
that position as sound from the stand
point of public good and to show that the
! Bryan position was one simply for pre-
! election effect.
Mr.. Taft made II speeches in Nebraska
/ today before reaching Lincoln and five
| speeches in Lincoln tonight. Excursion
trains came to Lincoln from many places
and the city was alive with bands and
| marching clubs.
The main meeting tonight was held at
the Auditorium. 1t was here that the can
! didate paid his respects to Mr.. Bryan re-
! garding campaign contributions.
When the Taft special reached Lincoln
| at 4 o'clock the candidate was switched
| out to Havelck to the repair shops of
the Burlington system. and there he de-
livered his address on labor. He was
brought back to Lincoln and escorted to
( the state university, where he gave
| short talk
A concert and general jubilation on the
capitol grounds was the next feature, and
| then the candidate was taken to the audi
torium, where Mr.. Taft made one of his
characteristic talks to the women.
Mr.. Taft had intended in the big meet
ing tonight at the Auditorium to reply to
the challenge from Mr.. Bryan concerning
/ campaign contributions, He became so
! engrossed. however on other topics that
he made only incidental reference to this
phase of the campaign. and made answer
to the challenge in a formal statement
which he tonight gave to the press.
Taft's Statement.
Mr.. Taft's statement on campaign con-
tributions follows:
Mr.. Bryan challenges me to take the
same position that President Roosevelt
takes with reference to the time when
publicity should be made of campaign
contributions and | accept the challenge.
| take exactly the same position that the
President takes. | have always been in
favor of law which will require publicity
! of both contributions and expenditures
Immediately after election. Mr.. Bryan
seems to favor the publication of contri-
buttons before the election, but postpones
the publication of expenditures until after
| that time. l confess | see no reason why
! if contributions are to be published be-
fore election, expenditures should not also
be published. | think that the character
! of expenditures is quite as important as
| the character and source of the contribu-
tions..
Il don't know of any election law,
either in this country or abroad, which
requires the publication of contribu-
tions or expenditures before the cleo
ton The law of Nebraska on this sub
ject only requires the publication of con-
tributions and expenditures after the
election. This was the law which the
democratic managers in 1904 in Ne
braska so flagrantly violated by fail
ing to return the receipt of $4,000
from Mr.. Thomas f. Ryan. The most
drastic law in this country on the sub
ject is that of New York, which also
| makes the time of publication after the
election.
Object of Publicity.
THE proper object of a publicity is
to prevent the use of money for bribery
and other improper purposes in cleo
tions and to enable the law officers
of the government and the public to
determine whether the contributions
made were properly expended for legit-
| innate purposes. The requirement that
| the names and amounts of the persons
| contributing should also be shown Is
/ for the purpose of enabling the public
and the prosecuting officers of the gov
ernment to Judge whether subsequent
| official action has been improperly af-
| fected in favor of the contributors by
| the successful candidate. This can all
| be accomplished by publication after
| the election.
| THE chief objection to tho publica-
| tion of contributions before the cleo
! tion is that it makes certain in the
! heat of the controversy the motives of
| those who continue to pay the legiti-
| mate expenses of the campaign will be
misconstrued, perverted and misrepre-
! sented.
After the election is over and the
| expenditures and contributions are pub
! lished the temptation to misrepresent
+ the motives of the donors will largely
| be minimized. and the public may then
! arrive at just cnclusion with respect
| to tn 70 matter.
| The known publicity to be given to
| contributions after the election will
| greatly reduce the probability that a
contribution will be made for the pur-
pose of seeking privileges or favors at
! the hands of the candidate, and tends
| to secure purity of motive in the maxi
| ing of such contributions. Mr.. Bryan
| looks rather to the publication of such
! contrib utions for platform purposes
| and references, than to the main pur-
! pose of a publicity law which is to se-
! cure the public against bribery in
elections and the improper influencing
| of official action"
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