The Sentinel=record., 1911-07-21
DENY HINES
 TESTIMONY
SENATOR ALDRlcH SAYS PREsl- DENT TAFT EXPRESSED NO
 PREFERENCE FOR LoRIMER.
Simply Said He Was Not Objection able to Him-Aidrich Says Hines Statement of the Case Is Who'll
 ly Unfounded.

W story of the administrations attitude toward the election of Senator Lorl- mer as told by former Senator Nell lson w. Aldrich of Rhode Island, and the activities of R. ]. Shields of Su- perior, Wis, an insurance agent, Tn Icollecting affidayits from witnesses in the investigation featured the sen- ate Lorimer committee hearing today.
 Instead of sending Edward Hines, the Chicago lumberman, to Spring lfield with word from the Washington administration that Lorimer should be elected, Mir. Aldrich testified tnat he told Hines President Taft was not lsupporting the candidacy of anyone but that Lorimer was not objection able to hx&. The former senaror said he toH Hines previously that the president had no objection 10 Albert U. Hopkins or Henry s. Boutell for the senatorship.
 A statement from the White House 
 last March in regard to the election was read to the witness. The only lpoint concerning which he said he knew nothing was the declaration that a request had been made on the president to sign a telegram stating his views on Lorimer's candidacy. cfa at oiu out March 29, was as follows: "The facts with reference to the presidents relation to Senator Lofi- mer's election is this:
 That during the tariff fight, gen. tlemen came to him and expressed their interest in passing the tariff bill and said that it had been suggested from Illinois that it would be wise for the president to express an opln- ion in favor of the election of MT. Isorimer. He did not know Mir. Lor- inner well, although he knew he was an \lfluentN member of congress, but he did know Hopkins. He Knew very little about Illinois politics, but expressed a desire that there should be two republican senators from H. Iinois, but when asked to put that in the form of telegram urging the election of MT. Lorimer he uecnnec to do so.
 '''rhe statement by Mi. Hines iaii q : the president was anxious for and was urging the election of Mir. Lori- mer is wholly unfounded."
 e. F. Wiehe, secretary of the Ed- ward Hines Humber Company, said R. J. Shields had collected the ar fidavits of witnesses, wno testified yesterday that Wlehe did not remarN to William Burgesson the Winnipeg Flier' last March that he subscribed S10000 t, a Lorimer election fund. Wiehe said no arrangement had been made to pay Shields anything, but that he had asked him to collect the affidavjts 'just as would ask the senate to hand me a fan"
 He said Shields spent two weeks traveling in Kansas, Iowa, Northwest Canada and Washington to find the witnesses. The witness said Sh-sds had drawn upon the lumber company for his expenses.
 For an hour Wiehe was questioned as to whether Shields represented the Hines company in Wisconsin poli- ltics and how it happened that Shields would leave his own interest to hunt Iup evidence for others without some kind of an arrangement about com pensation. Wiehe knew nothing oi lShields' political activities for the lcompany, but called attention re- Ipeatedly to the statement that Sheiids got about $4,000 out of the Hines lcompany as insurance premiums. hc said he expected to pay Shields if he lprsselded a bill.
 N7Tiehe said he could not assist the loommittee in locating Shields. |