Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1912-10-17
CORTELYOU IS MUM
WHY DOESN'T HE TELL WHAT
HE KNOWS CONCERNING THE
ARCHBoLD CHARGEs2
LOOKS DARK FOR ROOSEVELT
Assuming the Standard Oil Man Told
the Truth, All Others Concerned
Are Involved in What Was Ma
tonal Disgrace.

Where is Cortelyou and what has
he to say regarding the Archbold
charges? Alone of the living partici-
pants in that famous deal, he has
kept silent Yet it was to him that
Mr.. Bliss reported, and to him that
Roosevelt appealed in his letters
and telegram. He knows and should
tell whether Archbold has concocted
this story in order to cast discredit
upon Roosevelt and the Progressive
campaign or is reciting facts. His
apparent unwillingness to say any
thing on this case is certainly an
alarming phase of the situation. 1t
can be construed in either way, for
or against Roosevelt. Cortelyou's
loyalty to his old friend and patron
may make him reluctant to expose
that friend On the other hand, he
is now president of the New York
Gas company, brought to New York
by Frank Vanderlip, president of the
National City bank, and if he were
minded to dispute Archbold, his new
alliances might give him pause. Yet
in the very nature of things he must
speak and give his version Of the dis
pute. Without his testimony or with
it even the affair may not be settled.
Indeed, it bids fair never to be set
tied One item remains for Mr. Arch
bold to produce and that is Mr.. Bliss
receipt That certainly ought to be
-, h.,
and if it is not found the failure to
find it will be cited as a point in Mr..
Roosevelt's favor. Thus far the col
onel's denials have lacked substance
and verisimilitude. In the old days
he was lavish with documents and
other material with which to over
whelm his critics. Now he INDUCES
in lurid adjectives, The case looks
dark for him.
But, assuming that Archbold told
the truth, 1t looks almost as dark for
all others concerned. Mr.. Archbold
acknowledges or claims that he gave
the money with the distinct under
standing that Roosevelt should know
of it, which means that the president
of the United States was thereby to
be put under obligations to the
Standard Oil company. Quid pro quo,
clearly. Later there was demand for
more and when Archbold hestated,
Mr. Bliss feared the Standard people
were making mistake'-which
freely translated, meant that unless
thau noOn dnwn AGAIN thav mould
feel the pressure of governmental dis
favor In other words, blackmail.
And in this Matchmaking were in
volved the president and his adiutants
in the antitrust hunt on the one hand
and Mr. Archbold and his ramifying
associates on the other.
Dear Mr. Bliss" was involved. too,
in a sense, for he later expressed to
Mr.. Archbold his deep regret at the
presidents actions, bewailing his own
failure to influence him. Mr. Cortel-
you is involved too, for he must have
known what was going. on, at any
rate during the campaign. There
were thus two parties to the trans
action, the bribe-givers and the bribe-
takers. All the brige-givers seem per-
fectly at ease in their consciences at
their action, regarding it as simply
phase of politico-commercial life. How
their acts will appear to posterity
and to the world at large may be an
other matter. The only justification
for them lies in the fact that they
were approached by the other side
in the beginning. That, of course, is
usual, but not lnvariable Then, too
they had courage enough to refuse
to be bled still more. although warned