The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-25
CAMPAIGN PROBE
 COMMITTEE GIVEN | LEAD AGAINST COX
Concealed Campaign Contri- button of $5,000 In 1918 Implied In Testimony
 of Editor
By Associated Press

Washington, September 24.-An i'm piled charge that Governor Cox, demo- cratic presidential candidate. had re- ceived in 1918 concealed campaign contribution of 5000 from the Dayton (O) Metal Products Company, today sent the Senate campaign Investigating committee off on wholly different tack.
 On demand of democratic members of the committee. immediate inquiry was ordered. although the Ohio state cam paign, it was agreed, was outside the committees Jurisdiction. Officials of the Metal Products Company and of the City National bank of Dayton were called to appear tomorrow with all pa- pers relating to the transaction in- volved.
 No direct charge was made. Citing as his authority examiner for a House aircraft committee, however George B. Lockwood, editor of the Ma tionaf Republican, volunteered the statement as "a lead" which the com mittee might follow that a certain check drawn by the Metal Products Company in June, 191S was to pay a personal note of James M. Cox.
 The effort was to make it appear that this was an obligation that MT Cox had entered into with the City National bank of Dayton some time be- fore" Lockwood said. But it appears to me, from all the circumstances, 1t must have been contribution from this corporation to MT. Cox's campaign fund"
 Lockwood named E. M. Talbot, presi- dent of the Metal Products Company, and the bank officials as witnesses who should be called.
 Tt does not come within the pur- view of this committees business," Senator Reed said, but am going to insist that this matter be immediately investigated and that we get out of the realm of deductions into that of fact"
 WIDE FIELD OF INQUIRY
 Aside from the incident involving the Metal Products Company check, the committee ranged over wiGe field of inquiry during the day. It heard volun- teered statements from Assistants to Attorney General Palmer who were in San Francisco during the democratic convention that they had trave.ed on official business which they said jus tified the expense accounts approved. It failed to find any similar accounts in the poStoffice departments, the disburs- ing officer testifying that there were no trips to San Francisco at govern ment expense reported during the con- vention period. It heard something of the industrial group organization plan of soliciting campaign funds employed by New York city workers or the re- publican committee. It explored the financing of the soldier publication, Stars and Stripes. developing a pt ssi- ble connection between the paper and the democratic national committee It heard the charge made that the Amer ican> Legion Weekly was controlled by the republican national committee.
 CHARGE AGAINST EDGE
 It listened to charge that Senator Edge. republican, New Jersey, mem Der of the committee, was in some man ner connected with a campaign against The Stars and Stripes, then to an ad- mission that the charge had no basis but speculation and rumor. It heard in de- tail from Lockwood of the financing of the Republican National Weekly and of the bulk" circulation methods by which the publication reached employees at the expense of employers but without knowJ- edge of the recipient of the employer s share in the matter; and it went deeply into the financing and activities of the league to enforce peace.
 In addition, the committee heard, also from Lockwood. that documents pre- sented by Sepator Reed which prompted his investigation of the National Weekly were stolen from the files of his office in Ohio.
 An employe told him, he added. that he had been offered large sum to "sel out" certain material and asked for a certain amount of money" not to do it.
 TOLD TO GO TO HELL
 T sent word to him that he was a blackmailer and to go to hell-or to go to his committee. Lockwood added.
 Senator Reed said the papers had been referred to in the Chicago testimony of E. H. Moore, and added:
 And they are here as evidence. They speak for themselves" Lockwood said he had deferred to the alleged theft of his papers only as Jus tification' for calling the committees at tention to the incident of the Metals Products Company and the Cox note.
 Senator Reed again said he would in sist on going into that matter, what ever the Jurisdiction of the committee.
 We are ready to go to the bottom or it." Chairman Kenyon said, and ordered the subpoena for Talbot sent.
 Books of the League to Enforce Peace, presented by Herbert G. Houston, the treasurer showed total collections ot 1851, 900 in the five years since the league was organized. All of this had been expended, Houston said. except for a balance of about $600 He added that the league had stopped sollcttlng Iuhus in May 1920. and did not propose to re- sume until after the presidential election under it's articles of incorporation for bidding political propaganda of partisan character. Such bulletins as have been issued since the national conventions, he said. have been designed to furnish in- formation and not to influence voters in their choice.
 MANY BIG CONTRIBUTIONS
 The. list of contributors to the league in- terested committee members. who bored oyer the books and sought to identify the large contributors. These included Der nard M. Baruch, former President Taft. Charles M Schwab. Edsel Ford, J. F. Moran members of the Mccormick fam- iiy of Chicago and scores of others At together the names of contributors in the list were 1O.0o0 The largest single con tributor disclosed during the examina- ton was Baruch, with total of S4l.0W
 In the course of his testimony Mir. Hous- ion ssid the progress of debate in the senate and elsewhere on the League oi Nations covenant had caused some mem beru of the League to Enforce Peace ts chanee their opinions regarding accep- tance of the covenant by the United states without reservations. This aroused
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