The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1920-06-03
BONNIWELL MAKES
SENSATIONAL CHARGES
Attorney General Faces His
Accusers, and Alleges
Character Assassination

! WASHINGTON. juno @.-(By IN" AS
! sociatcd rrcss)-A fiery cross-tablc
i verbal battle between Attorney General
! Palmer and Eugene {. Bonniwc!i or
| Philadelphia, briStllng with direct
! charges Of tho misuse nf the federal
! powcr to let down the liquor bars dur
, ing the Pennsylvania prcsldcnuai pr,
marI%S sampaiGn On the one hsna' Fs;a,;on %m@
: on tn" other. norkcd the senate lnNcStl-
/ CATION today OF prc-conrcntion cam
paIgn expenditures.
I The attorney general appeared uncN-
! pcctcdly in the committee room during
/ tho luncheon recess. after Mr.. BonnI-
! we'll had launched broadsidc OF
charges. including sweeping asser-
! tion that the whole Palmer campaign
datiOn Of law.
Mr. Bonniw"ll was recalled to the
stand 10 finish his testimony. and Mr..
Palmer. tn" first Candidat" for prcsi-
! Dental nomination to appear at the
] inquiry. took a seat across tn" table
| from the witness. who. II was brought
out. was a political enemy Of long
standing.
Palmer's Reply.
News Of the impending verbal clash
| before - committee spread rapidly.
! and the ~.carlnS room soon was crowd
cd When MIR Bonniwelk concluded.
! mcnt with the charge that MI Bonnlwelk
had employed character assassination"
: methods against hlm in Pennsylvania
! for years. and cotcluding 1t with the
! RonnlwellS word is not evidence OF
| fact"
MIR. Bonniwcll said that at Scranton,
where the district attorney was MIR.
| Palmers partner. the situation was
| particularly bad with relation To open
violation of the prohibition law H."
added that men directly connected with
the liquor interests were among the
. lpnn IClpVatnS n rho nnrional
ventlon elected at the recent primaries.
Il organized a campaign IN opposition
| 10 Attorney General Palmer. BOnnlweN
said. and know all about what WAS
done In IL and a great deal abou; what
was done on the other side.
Was there ~ McAdoe campaign in
| Pennsylvania" Chairman Kenyon asked
| Yes. sir. It was exclusively an act OF
myself and assistant Mr. Bonniwcil
! said. Il met Mr.. McAdoo IN January.
He took the position that he WAS not
candidate, that he did not want 10 or
sanize."
! Failing to get permission TO us" Me
Adoos name Mr.. Bonniw"Il sad his
| friends had endeavored to get voters 10
| write his name in and We came within
200 votes of beating Palmer in Ih!la-
delpha."
The doors of the bonded warehouses
| in Pennsylvania are standing wide
open" Mr.. Bonniwell said. The brew
| SrlcS arc TuUNlnS CNCEy anu llIc
! saloons are selling percent beer.
Men concerned in the sale of liquors.
! he said. were leading the Palmer night.
! particularly IN Scranton and Lackawan-
! ma county.
! You have the situation" he contin-
ued. 'ot prob bition enforcement officer
| appointed with Mr.. ralmer's wise letting
| things go 50 bad that communities were
. protesting and taking part in this night.
, How does all this enter the preSl-
Dental primary" Senator Kenyon asked:
| Why it was generally understood
| that | would have won my campaign IN
! Pennsylvania had II not been Tor thIS
sudden unlooseninE of liquor Mr.. Bon
niwcil said "Whru il became evident
! that my friends would win the doors OF
! tn: WAREHOUSES; werG, opened and the
! bars were left down"
! Echoes Of the combat had hardly d!"d
away before 4 new element was injected
! into the committees deliberations WIN
| the fiat refusal u senator EdG". Rcpuh-
lican, New Jersey. to attend further Sos
slonS. In announcing that he had not-
! fled the chairman OF the full committee
, and the subcommittee OF his decision.
: the senator said nc believed approN!-
mate figures on all prc-conNcnton "A-
! penditureS had been obtained and thtt
! further inquiry would result only m the
airing of charges. counter charges, IN
! t!mationS and inSinuat!onS
| He added that no federal law had
! been broken, as there was II" federal
! presidential primary law In break.
! Before Mr.. Palmer appeared IN the
committee room tho Commltt"" had m
ouired into the activities Of tn" Plumb
! plan league. made further efforts TO run
4 down a presidential yampa gn for W. G:
| McAdoo and had heard two officials OF
| oil companies who had been mentioned
| in previous testimony as possible large
| contributors 10 political campaigns.
| Edward Heating. manager or the
! Plumb Plan league. declared IN" league
! had taken no part in any prc-"'nrrnuon
/ political activity. had not contrihutrd
anv money and did not plan to partlHi-
| pate in the convention struggles. lie
! added, however, that II did seek 20 de.
! feat members Of congress who voted
| for the transportation act
| Mrs. Antcnicttc Funk of Illinois. act
! i've IN Liberty Loan drives and later Tor
| ,he Democratic national committee de-
! clared positively that no campaign Tor
| obtaining the Democratic presid"nilal
nomination for McAdoo direct or Ind'-
rect, existed. much To her regret -.
II F.. Sinclair, New York. of the OIL
| company bearing his name. declared n"
had made no campaign contributions or
! hecn otherwise active politically. ana
! Eorman Bridges, connected with IN"
! pohcny oil interests testified thar he
had contributed $1,000 to Gen"ral
| Woods candidacy but otherwise khc"
| nothing OF any campaign