Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-05-31
AMERICA AROUSED
BY COP. ATTEMPT
T0BUY PRESIDENCY
Estimate of Wood Slush
Fund Reaches
$2,500,000.
SENATE APPALLED, BY
THE AMAZING EVIDENCE
Prohibitive Legislation Sure to
Come From Exposure of
Big Business.
ALL PASS THE BUCK"
Candidates Managers Disclaim Re.
sponsibility for Lavish
Expenditures.
SENATE APPALLED, BY
THE AMAZING EVIDENCE
ALL PASS THE BUCK"
Candidates Managers Disclaim Re.
sponsibility for Lavish
Expenditures.
BY RICHARD LEE.
Staff Correspondent of Universal,


Service.
WASHINGTON. May 3o-one week
of Senate inquiry into preconvention
campaign expenditures has opened
tho nations eyes to the fact that the
hig-money interests that control the
Republican party regard the presi-
dency as something TO he set up on
the auction block and Knocked down
to the highest bidder. From the
people throughout the country is
coming the command. stop the sale!,
With this testimony of political
campaign managers under oath, the
country at large has gotten its first
insight to the number of millions of
dollars these interests are willing to
pay for their representation in the
White House. They have admitted
spending si,1So,ooO for Major General
Leonard Wood and s414.0o0 for Cow
ernor Frank q. IIowden.
Senator'S conducting the investiga-
ton with view to legislation that
will end subsidizinE OF the White
House by Wall Street freely make
the charge that these enormous ex-
pcnditures represent. only tho money
that cannot be conveniently con-
cealed. They have estimated the
Wood fund, for instance, at Sa,50o,0Oo
Aggressive leaders in both the Re-
publican and Democratic parties are
awake now, as result of the ex-9
pose by the Senate inquiry, to the
fact that money rule in politics has
dug It's own grave. ,sI54 n ST
AntieSpenditure planks undoubt.,
edly Will be written into both party
platforms even ahead OF the legisla-t
ton that will forever preclude pres-
identfal candidates being rated on the.
size OF their slush funds.
Collection Also Startling.
Methods OF collection and disbursea
mont of these President-making funds
have been even more startling than
the size Of the figures themselves.
Code systems of the most Intricate
and puzzling nature have been en-
ployed to cover up with a nicely the
significance of contributions. Money
In hundred thousand dollar lots is
passed on the bat of an. eyeiash
Take, for instance the experience
of John T. King. of Connecticut. the
first manager of the Wood presiden-
tial exchequer, whose funds, by the
way. are entirely outside ,fthe
S,ls0,o00 expenditures admitted by
the 100000 Wood manager OF today.
w. c. Proctor. Mr.. King had the
habit Of receiving letters containing
mysterious $4,000 checks.
"At one time I received a cashiers
check for $4,000. and on another oe-
casion a similar check for $10,00o-s
from whom 1 never knew" testified
Manager No. 1. whose only knowl-
edge was that Dan r Hanna, son
OF tho late Mark Hanna, had prom-
ised to start the Wood fund OF at
100000.
DO you mean to tell this commit
tee that you had no idea whatever
regarding the source of that $4,000 2,
asked Senator Reed. of Missouri,
when Mt. King made that statement.
King Had Gum-shoe Idea.
''Not the slightest" was the reply
of the campaicn manager. He said
his theory of campaign was to "garn1
shoe around" the country and drop
$1,000 here and there, a, policy appar.g
emily too modest for the Proctor
million dollar regime now In fulIs
sway.
To get an idea OF how close the
sl.S00,000 figure comes to the amount
bid by the Wood hackers for -FOUR
years possession OF the White House..
the members of the Investigation
committee have undertaken separate
inquiries by States. They wanted to
learn how much was spent by States
in addition to the State allotments
from the sl,1So.oO0 fund.
Tha first state taken up IN that
fashion was responsible for the
semiofflcial estimate oof $s5o0,oo
made on the total Wood expendt.
lures That was Ohio. Tho natiouaI
campaign committee admitted hav.
ing put s12S,000 into Ohio, So Tar
thing spent in Ohio was outside ths
s12S0o0.
Testimony of Wood managers
themselves established tho fact that
not cent OF that s12s.0o0 represents
the outpouring- OF money in the
campaigns in Hamilton (CincinnatD,
Cuyahoga. tcleveland). and Frank.
lin, tColumbus) counties In those
three counties nearly two.thirds of
the total vote OF the state was cast.
Committee Astounded.
Astounded by the revelationss one
of the members OF the committss,
who declined to permit the use of
his name. because OF his member-
ship on the committee. .mado thls
statement:
1T is beyond the question Of doubt
that over s3.ooo.oo0 and, possibly
100000 has beer put into i pot soFS
the purpose OF buying the prssidsncy
for General Wood, Huge sums have
been spent for other cnndidAtss, lsd
! 15I lcontlnasd On sscona F7FEE y