The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-24
SWEEPING CHARGES
 OF CORRUPT|ON CulbersOn Wants Investiga- ton of Campaign Costs HE REFERS TO 1908 Carges That Cortelyou Took Advan-
 
HE REFERS TO 1908
Carges That Cortelyou Took Advan- tage of His Knowledge of Cor poration Affairs to Force
 Contributions to Fund

Washington. January 2S--Demanding an investigation into campaign expenditures in 1904 and 1908, Senator Culberson of Texas in the Senate today made sweep ing charges of corruption against the re- publican committees for those and other years. Indirectly he charged that foreign ambassadorshlps were bestowed as a re- ward for campaign contributions and in- ferentially he charged that Former Presi- dent Roosevelt had condoned the use of money in politics.
 Mr Cubersons address was made In anticipation of an unfavorable report by the committee on contingent expenses OH his resolution providing for an investiga- ton.
 Especially 1908
 Referring especially to the campaign of 1908, MT. Culberson said the contributions to the democratic fund had been made by 74,O00 persons with $5000 as tho largest while those of the republican fund were made by 12.3S0 persons. with Charles P. | Taft. brother of the republican presiden- tial candidate, at their head with dona- ton of $11o,0Oo. Among the contributors mentioned were Ambassador Reid and lxernes and Minister Larz Anderson. MT. Culberson referred to the fact that | George R. Cortelyou in the 1901 campaign l was chairman ot the republican national l committee while he was secretary ot 1 commerce and labor, and intimated that | Mr. Cortelyou had taken advantage of the secrets of corporations whose affairs might he investigated under the federal law, to procure money for the campaign.
 Raised $11.OOO,0O0
 "It has been estimated" he said that I the enormous and unconscionahle sum of 1 Sl1, ,O0oO0O was raised and probably ex- pended that year by the committee of which he was chairman The very size and audacitv of this fund. if anproNl- mateiy correct, smacks of eXtortion and corruption"
 l MT Culberson declared there should I be an induirv to answer these questions. l He went into some detail regarding the newspaper ch9-ges that the late E. 1 H. Hartman had raised the fund or ls260,0O0 to which he himself had con- 1 tributed S50,000 in support of the re- publican ticket in the campaign of 1904. l He deelared that within the past few i weeks an. effort hnd been made to clear lup thta clmi4e snd, added aSfhis ai- tempt pni5ad npnl the dead ui oblo- ] guy of this disgraceful transaction l,Vhieh Is said to have changed 50,000 votes in the city of New York alone, I may be significant in several ways It may be the common and ordinary case of malefactors waiting for the abscond- ing or death of witnesses, or it may pre- sage political movement of national consequence and magnitude
 Not Back of 1904
 l Cantendino that bis resolution did n of go back of 1904 MT Culberson said this was due to the necessity of fixing linn it and was not because money had not been corruptly used prior to that time. In this connection he said:
 Men high in party councils. one of them afterwards attaining the Vice | Presidency and then the Presidency, laughed and reioiced in 1880 around the banquet board that soap was potential In elections. IL will be remembered how James B. Foster, president Of the repub- lican league in 1888 would have forced the fat out of special and protected in- terests to force campaign contributions. Honest and patriotic men will never cease to recall the shame and mortifi- cation that with the s2 notes, Dudley foaters were organized into blocks Of five in the election In Indiana in that year. Nor have campaign ambassador ships been only recently measured by fat contributions for the public revolt against Van Allen and Hyde Is fresh in the memory of the well informed"
 In response to questions from Senator Gallnger, Mir. Culberson said that the figures regarding campaign contribu- tions had been taken entirely from newspaper reports. He added his con- viction that they were fairly well auth en ticated but expressed the opinion that they should be officially investigated.