The Detroit times., 1910-08-25
MACHINE MAKES
DESPERATE FIGHT
ON la TOILETTE
It's Anything To Assassinate Wiscon.
sin Senator, Foe of Standpatters-
His Nomination at Primaries
Seems Assured.
His Enemies Plan To Slaughter Him
!, in Legislature by Violation Of
y Popular Endorsement.
BY gibson GARDNER.

- BY gibson GARDNER.
MADISON, Wis, Aug. 25.-Wiscon-
sin is today the plugger's paradise, a
land flowing with blk and money
for the man who Is willing to sell him
self to work against LaFollette. The
food gates of lucre have been opened !;
a cataract OF corporate coin Is delug.
ing the state. It's anything and every.
thing to beat Bob" LaFollette-a con
certed attack of the interests against
this spectacular insurgent, with Presi.
dent Taft's own man, w. d. O'Connor.
directing the job of political assassina-
ton.
Ordinary, common citizens who
have very little to deliver besides their
political work. A LaFollette man in
Madison was offered and declined $25
IL he would go out and get so names
on petition. II Is an open secret
that In Milwaukee any man who has
any sort of political influence can get
$50 a week by going to the Conner
headquarters and asking for 1t. Spot
tiers" are getting $25 per week for
checking up the $50 pluggers.
SHOW Much Can Be Spent7"
Just how much money Is available
to corrupt Wisconsin Is, Of course,
not known except by those who are
doing the work. Common rumor sets
down the brewers, railways, paper
mills and the lumber kings as the
greatest contributors and Jas. j. Hill
as a big outside giver. In addition a
jackpot has been obtained by fat-fry-
ing the big protected industries-the
cotton, lumber, wooden, iron, steel, cop
per, lead, oil and other industries
mostly controlled by trusts-so large
that the question confronting the Con-
nor management In any given case Is
not how much money can be had, but
how much money can be spent?
And yet In spite OF all this LaFol-
lette will win-in the primaries-by a
large majority. They plan to slaugh-
ter him In the legislature by securing
enough men willing to violate the pop
: ~ular Endorsement. The real fight will
be waging after the primaries on
Sept. 6.
E. A. Edmonds went to the Janu-
airy seance OF standpat leaders in Chi
cage. He had managed Stephenson
santorial campaign, and was state
chairman. He expected to become the
leader. And there came
also James Hemenway OF Indiana,
whose retirement from the United
States senate was due, in part, to the
roll-call OF his record, read by Senator
LaFollette over the entire Indiana
Chautauqua circuit.
Passing Of Edmonds.
Edmonds got up In meeting and
read an attorneys Interpretation OF
the Wisconsin corrupt practices act.
explaining just how far one might
spread cash. According to a circum-
stantial story. this marked his down
fall, for Frank Steele arose TO declare
that Edmonds talked too much any
how, and that Taft wanted W. d. Con-
nor TO run the campaign against La
Toilette. Jim Hemenway bore witness
that Steele spoke with authority. Ed
monds, his neck neatly wrung, sub
sided.
Conner took charge He Is a lum-
Der man, reputed wealthy, and was
originally a LaFollette man. He be-
gan flooding the state with standpat
literature.
E. l.. Philip, OF Milwaukee, another
ex.La Toilette man-who had origin
| ally joined the insurgent movement to
| help kill it-called convention" In
| June at Milwaukee to sound a few
keynotes, nominate ticket and Of
| ficially inaugurate the movement
against LaFollette. Conner wasn't in
voted, but no prairie grass grew In
his pathway. On the eve OF the con-
yention he had stirred up 80 much ex-
element that he was called into con-
ference.
II represent Taft" he told Philip.
81 have the money. I'm going to run
this campaign"
Every Speech Censortd.
Philip himself made the motion
next day putting Conner In charge OF
the campaign. No ticket was noniin-
ated. Every speech was censored and
for fear of his magic even among that
small gathering of tried stand-patters
the name OF LaFollette was tabooed.
Since June. Conner has been SUI
preme. He Is the real candidate of
the stand-patters against LaFollette.
and he Is running his own campaign.
To he sure there Is one Samuel A.
Cook. of Neenah. wealthy paper manu-
sacturer. who has filed his petition
and IA going before the primaries.
Put Cook Is the stalking horse only.
Connor, the millionaire lumberman. is
expected by the interests to sit beside
ISAAC Stephenson, multimillionaire
Iumberman, after LaFollette is
beaten.
Wisconsin's stringent corrupt prac-
tees act carefully limits the use OF
money in political campaigns. That
seems TO be the reason why most of
the financing Of the campaign Is be-
ing done from Chicago.
Nobody could be found to run
against Newcomb Spoor. the LaFol-
lette candidate in Greenlake county.
His election seemed sure. One day
young man appeared from Chicago.
He brought satchel. He took the
satchel In an automobile to the home
~ Tobn Kelly. He took the satchel
inside. An hour later he emerged. still
With the satchel. Mr.. Kelly Is now
candidate.
Another story: In on esenat0rial
district two LaFollette men and
Btand-patter were running for the
Nomination. One OF the former, named