Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-08-22
Assessments" Against Business Men


Letter of the Texas Brewers Asso-
! citation to the Kansas City Machine
Works.
Dear Sirs:-We have a statewide pro-
hibition fight on our hands and it is fast
and furious. We need money
and are appealing to all merchants. man
ufacturers. persons. and corporations
as bought goods in the year 1907 to give
us 10 of the amount of the bill bought
and paid for. On this basis we assess you
the sum of $500. Kindly send us your
check at once. making it payable to the
writer individually.
These operations are carried out by
the National Association Of Commerce
and Labor at the head of which IS Mr..
Percy Andrae, Chicago brewer. His
salary is $4,000 a year. The records,
according to L. s. Dist. Attorney
Humes of Pittsburgh show that the
| name Of this organization was selected
because of its similarity to that of one
of the departments Of the Federal
government.
In speech at the time Of the organ
ization Of this association. Mr.. Andra Q
describes the careful political surveys
made in the Congressional districts
The value of this work to the drew
| ing) industry in each state wherein it
| is accomplished will be very appre-
c.able for 1t is impossible to obtain
and use as I have described the po-
litical knowledge concerning Congress
sional districts in any state without
; at the same time acquiring the same
data concerning the counties and
Senatorial districts Of that state"
Vast Sums For Politics
Mr.. Humes says: 1.-THE financial ac-
| Invites of the National Association of
Commerce and Labor in CARRYING out
| this comprehensive plan Of Mr.. An
| drae are most interesting During the
year 1914 the L. S. Brewers Associa-
| ton turned over to Mr.. Andrae the
sum Of s33o.13s. The Wholesale Liquor
| Dealers Association paid him 100000.
| These items and miscellaneous contri-
buttons which he received aggregated
! in that year 1925 116.2S The only ac-
tivities of Mr.. Andrae and his asso-
ciates were political in nature. They
| participated extensively in numerous
state campaigns, using their funds TO
| influence the election of governors.
lieut. governors, U. S. Senators, Mem
bers of Congress and members of state
| legislative bodies"
The extent of the operations Of the
L. S. Brewers Association in 1914
reached startling proportions
| Tn 1914 we have an absolute record
OF collections aggregatins at least
| 1899 3oo.ss. How much more was col
lected during that year of which we
| have no knowledge because of the
destruction of the association records
we can make no estimate. We do
know however, that the bank accounts
| which we have thus far succeeded in
! discovering show an aggregate in the
reighborhood of million and a half
dollars"
| Wholesale "Fraud in Texas"
/ In their political activities the
brewers have attempted to control
| in federal elections. The evidence of
the Texas trials concerning the man
! ipula ton of the negro vote is abundant.
An agent of the brewers writes tp.
1888:
II have four thousand cards like the
enclosed and I will place one prominently
| in every negro barber shop. eating house.
| saloon and every other negro business
/ in Texas and will supplement this adver-
| tisement with the help of every negro
official in secret society lodges. every ne
! gro preacher and the negro newspapers
/ in Texas. I am satisfied I will induce az
| least D,00o negroes in Texas to pay their
/ poll taxes in time"
The extent to which these operations
rave gone on comes out on p. 2S7.
Paget a political agent of the brew
ers' boasts: IF I had ten days more
there would have been 10000 poll taxes
| paid"
How the political work among ne
groes is masked can be illustrated by
one instance. (p.7S)
Prior to 1910. one J. D. Griffin, a
negro preacher. known as Sinkiller
Griffin and other negroes formed an
| organization under the name Of the
Rescue Association Of the United
States Of America and Africa and IN
corporated the same under the laws
! Of the state. the charter granted au-
| thoriZing it to engage In the work Of
rescuing fallen women. Such charter
was secured in fraud upon the state
and the public: and the purpose of
such organization has never been such
as named. but to do political work
| principally among negroes for the
Texas Brewers Association"
! Widespread and successful attempts
to control the labor vote are indicated
In this from Mr. Lowry Humes' Mem
orandum to the Federal Court at Pitts
bureh:
| An official Of the Brewers political
organization in his report concerning a
particular state remarked:
! ~ went over the state more with a view
/ OF meeting with the most influential labor
| men and in securing their support now
and IN the fight that may come; and am
sure II 1t IS necessary we can muster to
our support all the labor men in the state
with one or two exceptions and they be-
heve they can deliver the union-labor
vote"
Pro- German Work by Beer officials
On the executive committee of the
Brewers National Association for Com
nerce and Labor is, or has been, Mr.. c.
J. Hexamer. the President Of the Ger
man-American Alliance. Through the
German-Amercan Alliance has been car
ried on In large measure the German
propaganda in the United States. The
German-American Alliance is also an i'm
portant agency through which the brew
ers do their political work joseph KEEL
Ter. the President Of the School Board OF
indianapolis, Is the Secretary Of the Ma
tional German-American Alliance. An
/ article IN tina 1,,,s