New-York tribune., 1919-05-16
Continued from page 4

(OuElDueu 1rOm page
lowed up by the second proposition,
was dangerous thing, in my mind"
"You did not think much of Burke's
offer when he made it, did you?"
well, | would mott would not
tempt me-"
Didn't you think it was a good deal
Of q hoax?'
Tried Everything in World
Thompson, who had been answering
the questions somewhat listlessly,
leaned forward as Burlingame finished
and answered earnestly:
mo, did not. He tried everything in
the world, / guess, to find out what /
wanted. There seemed to be every
thlng tried that wanted. And there
are some disordered minds that think
a man in the Senate must want some
thing, and if it was not one thing it
must be another; and having tried
everything else. why, it must be Gov
ernor. And he found out that that was
another thing l did not want"
From your mental state, the matter
got much more serious, didn't it, after
you saw the Governor ?"
Yes, much more serious"
And you coupled that with the
Burke incident?"
Yes, that is true
Senator j. Henry Walters, President
Pro Tenn. of the Senate, interrupted at
this point to ask:
The seriousness of it in your mind
was the usage of it as the basis for a
published story, the ultimate effect of
which YOU hoped would be to bcst this
hlll to which you were opposed? ?"
Bill Was Then Beaten
"Oh, I think the bill was beaten
them" replied Thompson, "but |
thought there was q good deal of dan
ger in it if Mr.. Whitman and Mr..
burke were going to organize together
and go at it the way they started for
me-
Senator Walters asked no more ques-
tlons and Chairman Burlingame re-
sumed his examination of
Thompson.
Q.-Weli, now, when you left Gov
ernor Whitman's hotel, did you deem
that you had been offered bribe A.
What is that?
Q.-When you left the st. Regis Ho-
tel, where you had had luncheon with
Governor Whitman, did you deem that
you had been offered bribe? A.
Q.-Oh, no, in any sense, that there
was lobby or that there was an { fort
to bribe you? Al thought that he
was lobbying in the full meaning OF
the term.
Q.-Were you much incensed over it :
Al did not like it, and l got crosser
over it the more thought Of it.
Why He 'Phoned Whitman
oil i
ernor up the succeeding Monday morn
ing on the telephone? Ale had
asked me to see him in relation to the
bill and had sent me copy of the bill
and had asked ME to read the bill, and
he had asked ME to see him the next
day, and he had asked me to see him
Monday morning; and I called him ur
for the purpose of telling him that
was not going to see him.
Q..Well, you parted as friends when
you left him after luncheon, didn'.
you? A.-Oh, / guess We were just as
friendly then as we ever were.
Q.-And you did not take this bribe
situation as serious, did you, until some
time after? A.-No, / took it seriously
then. | do not like 70 have you say a
bribe situation. It was an improper
practice, no question about that
Q.-Well, you were not very much
heated over the matter right away,
were you, when you left him ? A.LWcll,
| was kind of heated over it the next
day.
The Cost of Campaigning
Dwell, now, Senator, tell the COM
mittee, is there any other source of in
formation that you know of that will
enable US to get any closer to this
situation of lobbying whereby you were
offered a $500,00U slush fund to
run for Governor, as the result OF
your proposed vote-changc of vote
A.-That s5OO,0OO slush gund gets
rather based on the preceding. I would
not say they offered me a $5O0,00C
slush fund. 1 have been told by those
in position to know that it costs up
ward of that sum to run for Governor
and make a campaign in the primaries
and another one in the election; but
don't suppose that it is used as a slush
fund.
Assistant State Attorney General
Jerome l.. Cheney, counsel to the COM
mittee, then took q hand in the in
vestigation. He tried to get an ad
mission from Senator Thompson that
be had previously testified that he did
not take Burke's suggestions about the
governorship seriously He was not
successful.
Senator" inquired Senator Loring
NJ. Black, "did you take the Burke
proposition seriously after a similar
proposition had been made to you by
Governor Whitman ?''
ooh, yes" answered Thompson
Senator" continued Mr.. Black, read