The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1909-03-26
SENATOR WHITEHEAD.

weeks remain, at least one of which
undoubtedly will be devoted principal
ly to the continuation of the probe into
the campaign methods of Senator
Isaac Stephenson.
Varying opinions have been ex-
pressed by public men and by legisla-
tors on the floors of their respective
houses and informally as to the value
of the inquiry in determining the ex-
lures of money in primary and general
election campaigns; and as to it's
value in determining what is the mat
ter with the primary election law as
it stands; but all factions seem to
agree, with a few isolated exceptions,
that the investigation has been a his
tory maker and productive of much in
formation tending to point out the
necessity for reform along various
lines.
Sensations Last Week.
The fifth feek of the probe was not
without its sensations, chief among
which were:
First-AdmissiOn by Henry Over
beck, state game warden for two years
under Governor LaFollette and for
two years under Governor Davidson,
that while in office he ordered his
deputies to do political work while on
the state payroll and at the states ex-
pense. AS a result of this admission
certified copies of Overbeck's testi
n1Ony have been sent to Governor
Davidson and Attorney General Gil
bert, to be used as they see fit, wheth-
er to prosecute Overlook or not
Second-Charge by Senator S. NJ
Marsh, of Neillsville, chairman of the
investigating committee, that w. e.
Black, of Milwaukee, one of the attor-
neys for Stephenson, who has been at
tending the sessions Of the committee
regularly, had coached witnesses be-
fore they appeared on the stand. Black
strenuously denied the accusation and
the chairman as strenuously held to
his statement, declaring he had
abundant knowledge and could cite
circumstances in support of his asser-
ton
If the assembly and senate members
of the committee ever appeared to be
getting together so far as policy is
concerned, that time is past. Ere
quent divisions and disputes, with the
assemblymen eloquently pro-Stephen-
son and the senators as emphatically
the opposite, have served to widen
the gulf between them, and a unani-
NOUS report is manifestly impossible.
Poor Memory of Witnesses.
During the progress of the inveeti-
cation, and especially during the last
week, the senator members have
made much of the poor memory which
obtains among those who handled
money for Stephenson. There were
exceptions, but, according to Senator
Husting, the Democrat on the commit
tee, they only proved the rule" One
instance of this was Attorney Charles
s. French, of Lake Geneva, who
handled $500 and failed to account
definitely for any of it. On the con-
trary. J. Earle Morgan, son-in-law of
Senator Stephenson, who spent $3.50
so in Winnebago county, kept quite
memorandum and in addition his mem
DRY ran to small details, even to SIS
bills handed to precinct workers.
Examinations of various witnesses
brought out the fact that whenever a
man was paid for services" in behalf
of Senator Stephenson, especially SO
far as organization work was con-
cerned, he was paid we'll A. r. Ames,
a Madison real estate dealer, received
$3.50 a month salary for organizing
Dane county. Attorney Roy Morse, of
Fond du Lac, in charge of that county.
received $25 day for about eight
days just before the primary, besides
his expenses ]. r. Jones, of Racine,