The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1909-10-29

campaign one year ago
While the accredited representatives
of the Nebraska democracy were thus
setting at naught statute which no
body has undertaken to assall In the
courts, the republican state committee
was taking steps for full and exact
compliance with that statute. It's OBJ.
servanCe of the law has been complet-
ed by filing with the clerk of Pawnee
county, which is the voting residence
of Treasurer II. c. Lindsay. a detailed
statement of the receipts up to last
Saturday and supplementary show
ing for Monday, which was the last
day allowed for getting the first report
on record The republican committee
will obey the additional requirement
of the campaign publicity act by filing
daily statements of its receipts from
now until election.
Not only have the officers at repub
lcan state headquarters taken pains
to follow the law themselves, but they
have sent out instructions to county
chairmen to do the same in their re.
spective counties. This was done
wherever the committee expected
there would be any donations as large
as $25, the minimum amount which
must be reported In large number
of counties no campaign assessment
has been made and the state commit
tee has not been advised as to how
generally the county chairmen there
have complied with the law.
A statement by Treasurer Walton
G. Roberts of the Lancaster county
republican central committee is on file
with the county clerk. showing both
receipts and disbursements. In the
latter respect, the statement goes be-
You'd the laws requirements.
BY disregarding the campaign pub
licity statute. the democratic commit
tee officials have made themselves liza.
BILE to fine of from $50 to $500 If any
one should cause criminal complaint
to be filed against them.
The following telegram was sent
this morning to William j. Bryan at
Edmonton, Alberta. where he Is billed
for an address today during tour Of
western Canada:
Nebraska campaign publicity law,
enacted by last legislature, has been
observed by republican state commit.
tee and ignored by democratic. Time
limit for first filing and two subse-
quent daily reports now past. Please
wire comment.
lI
In order to make sure of reaching
Mr.. Bryan, the same message was
wired him at Calgary, Alberta, where
he spoke on Monday.
No reply was received from Mr.. Bry.
an, but this may have been due to diff.
ficulty in reaching him on his journey
from Calgary to Edmonton.
The contention of Mr.. Bryan and his
political lieutenants all through the
canvass of 1908 was that publicity
should come before election, in order
that the voters might be cognizant of
what funds had been placed at the dis.
posal Of each party, and where they
came from. The democratic state com.
mittee, composed Of Mr.. Bryan's fol-
lowers, has apparently forgotten this
cardinal feature of his presidential pro-
gram in its efforts to make the non
partisan judiciary issue paramount.
Chairman Hayward, when seen by
a News reporter concerning the failure
of the democratic state committee to
comply with the publicity law, said:
81 am not at all surprised, and be-
lieve this failure on their part shows
more than ever that many of their
laws are agitated and passed, not so
much for the good they will do the
people in operation as for the good
they will do the democratic party in
agitation. The violation of this law
on their part, following in direct Sc
quence on the failure of Chairman AL.
len to account, under the republican
corrupt practices act for the $4,000
received from Wall street in the cam
paign of 1904, the forced resignation of
the democratic national treasurer,
Haskell, during the campaign of 1908,
and the failure and refusal of Judge
John ]. Sullivan to comply with the
law providing for the publicity of can
didates' expenditures in the primary
election, must prove to the people of
this state that the democratic party
in Nebraska is in the hands of either
blunderers or takers. | might say at
this time, as Mr.. Bryan has said in
every one of his campaigns, that the
opposition were getting ready to de-
bauch the electorate and steal the
election but / do not believe such
extravagant statements, founded on no
basis of fact, arc either profitable,
honest or just.
"In view of some of the Trades
against courts, state and federal, which
we have lately heard it is significant
that the democratic state committee
has proven to be the greatest 'nullifier'
of them all, of laws passed by the per
sonally conducted legislature.
"Our committee, while making no
boasts of its purity and giving no
thanks that we are not as these others
are, still claims some small degree of
credit for scrupulously and honestly
attempting to comply with every pro-
vision of every election law ever