Cottonwood chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1917-current, 1922-04-28
BORAH WON'T
SELL HIS VOTE
REFUSES TO BUY OFFICE BY
DRAFTS UPON PUBLIC
TREASURY.

money to buy somebody's vote"
The letter was in response to a
telegram received by the senator
from the Pocatello post and was
made public by him.
81 observe in your telegram"
it says, 1.-The threat which you
implicitly make as to future poi
itical punishment. 1t was wholly
unnecessary for you to make
this threat. 1t reflected no
credit upon you and it has had
no effect whatever upon me.
When you come to that fight in
which you propose to inflict pun
ishment, you will doubtless be
able to say many things in the
way of censure upon my public
record.
Won't Buy With Public Money
"But one thing neither you nor
any one else will be able to say
and that is that | ever sought to
purchase political power by
drafts upon the public treasury,
or that | chose to buy a continual
ton in office by putting four
billions of dollars upon the bend
ed backs of American taxpayers.
Il haven't much respect for
the man who buys office, even
though he pays for it with his
own money. But the most Shiny
creature which disgraces Ameri-
can politics is the man who buys
office by paying for it with APP
preparations out of the public
treasury and charges his venal
political obligations to the tax
payers.
Refusese to Barter Vote.
IF | thought this measure Il
proper one, / could and would
vote for it. But, believing with
thousands of former service men
who have written me that it is
not proper one, if should vote
for it, it would be a simple mat
ter of barter, in which | use the
peoples money to buy some
body's vote; in which the &C
count of my political expenses
would be charged to the taxpay-
erS.
"Of course, you understand
that | have at all times support
ed and stand ready to support
any measure which will help the
disabled veterans"
AT the outset of his letter
Senator Borah said he had taken
his position on the bonus latter
great consideration and with
much reluctance" He added that
he understood perfectly the cri-
ticism it would bring and "the
condemnation it would invite, .
but believing that his position
was a righteous one, he could not
change.
Called an "Obstructi0nist."
Replying to Senator Borah' s
letter regarding his stand on the
bonus bill, the Pocatello post of
the American legion in a second
letter to the senator, made public
in a special dispatch to the Idaho
Daily Statesman, says:
1.-THE members of the post
fully appreciate the Importance
of guarding the public treasury.
1t would appear, however, that
Andrew Mellon would need very
little assistance, if any, in the
performance of that duty. Guard
ianship of the treasury would
have been a most appropriate
motto of yourself and colleagues
along in 1917 and in the years
since that time. 1t is strange
indeed that so few of our states
men thought of the condition of
the treasury until the introduc-
ton of the bonus bill. 1t would
seem that the public treasury
needed some regular 'he-guar-
dams about the time the three
billion dollar appropriation was
made to save the beneficiaries OF
war contracts from financial
disaster because the war was
won before their contracts ex-
pired.
Charge Soldiers Ignored.
"The payment of $50 month
bonus to civilian employees ir
Washington. ID. c., was nicely
effected without a whisper oil
opposition from the guardians OF
the treasury. AS suggested il
your telegram your opposition Il
the war, to the sending of troops
abroad, to loaning money tt
carry on the war, to the espion
age act, to the fourpower treat,