The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-10-21
Perkins Shakes His Fist.

I
| turned the money to the company.
Perkins Shakes His Fist.
Mr.. Perkins denounced as an "un-
mitigated faisehood" the charge that
he had underwritten the Roosevelt
preconvention campaign this year il.
the sum of 100000. Rising from
his chair and shaking his clinched fist
Mr.. Perkins shouted:
Among the lost list of unmitigated
lies throughout this campaign that
statement perhaps ought to be placed
at the top because it is the largest
will be here today. He made that
statement on the floor of the senate
and he ought to be required to prove
it or, like gentleman, he ought 20
take it back. There is not a scintiI-
Ia of truth in it from a to ~
Just a minute" interrupted Chair
man Clapp. "All that is necessary is
that you deny it. All the committee
can do it to determine the proof or
the absence of proof"
Mr.. Perkins was not to be stopped.
He continued:
II want to know where I stand.
want to know whether | can be charg-
ed with these things on the floor Of
the United States senate and not be
given an oportunity to disprOve them."
He insisted that Mr.. Penrose should
be brought before the committee and
say whether his charge was mere hot
air.
Taking up accusations by Chairman
Hilles that the Harvester company
had made large contributions to the
Roosevelt campaign, Mr.. Perkins de-
clared with heat:
This is an absolute falsehood made
out of the whole cloth and if Mr..
HilIes has any reason to believe that
contributions have been made by the
Harvester company he owes it to me
and to others to have the books of the
proving or disproving the accusation"
Here Mr.. Perkins rose from his
seat and protested that he had been
''villifled'' as no other man had been
and he insisted that the committee
require his accusers to prove their
charges.
Senator Clapp replied that the COM
mittee had no means of doing that.
What He Would Do.
IF I were president and q Subordi-
nate should make such a charge as
Mr.. Hilles has made, I should make
MIN prove it or dismiss him from of
lce, replied Mr.: Perkins, still stand
ing and shaking his hand violently.
The chair reminded him hat he had
been brought TO Was nington to speak
in his own behalf.
THAT is fine he said, "but what
want to know is whether the commit
tee is going to bring Senator Penrose
or Mr.. Hilles back and compel him to
make god"
MI HeEhlnS COMMENDED Cnat 1t would
be easy to prove what had been con-
lr1buted to the campaign f.1nd from
the treasury of the Harvester COM
3any. He said he was a member of
the board of directors of that company
and chairman of finance committee
and knew that not a cent IF the COM |
pany funds had been given to aid Col |
0nel Roosevelt. Mr.. Perkins gave his
contributions to the Roosevelt pre- |
fund as eoIIo1s;
To New York state committee S15-t
BOO; to E. H. Hooker for the national /
fund, $22,50O; to the Washington bu-
reau, $32,500; for polls etc, in New
Y ork and Brooklyn, $4,000; sent to |
$4,000.
This statement is absolutely com
pIete said Mr.. Perkins. MY total |
were $122,5O0."
MI Perkins declared that he urged |
publicity of campaign contributions in |
he Hanna campaigns and the 1904 |
campaign but without much result.
He produced memoranda showing that
n the campaign of 1903 he urged !
Chairman Hitchcock of the RepubIi-
can national committee TO make pub
lie the campaign contribution and ex-
0enditureS before election