The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-10-30
Railroad Brotherhood Elk
penditures Under Fire
in Probe Today.
DISCUSS SLUSH FUND
Allege that Unions Are Levy
ing Special Assessments to
Aid LaFollette Campaign.

Chicago Expenditures by the rail
road brotherhoods on behalf of the La
Toilette Wheeler ticket will form one
phase of the inquiry into campaign
costs which is to be conducted here by
the senate campaign fund investigating
subcommittee under the direction OF
Senator William E.. Borah of Idaho.
A request for the summoning of w.
S. Stone of the Locomotive Engineers
organization and L. E. Sheppard, presi-
dent of the Conductors organization,
has been made to the subcommittee by
Weymouth Kirkland, counsel for the
Republican national committee.
Senator Borah and his colleague,
Senator Shipstead, Farmer-Labor of
Minnesota, are due here late today
from Washington and will get the Chi
cago end of the general investigation
under way as quickly as possible. They
are accompanied by Mr. Kirkland and
Samuel Untermyer of New York, sup
porter of John w. Davis who has been
associated before the committee with
Frank P. Walsh, counsel for Senator
LaFollette.
The attention of the committee prob
ably will be directed first to the La
Toilette charges of Republican slush
fund with William M. Butler, chairman
and William v. Hodges, treasurer, of
the 4 RepaAlican nation committee,
among the witnesses.
Inquiry On in Washington.
Washington.-H. L. Brunson Of Wash
ington, a machinist. told the committee
he had been delegated to raise contri-
buttons from the trade unions for La
Toilette and had received approximate
ly $4,000 from approximately $4,000
contributors. He declared that 94@o
of the contributors were workers thru
out the country who contributed $1.00.
1870 of the fund was contributed by
unions as SUCH" he added.
"Do you not know that some Of the
mine unions in Illinois have levied spe-
cial assessments for the LaFollette
campaign" w. L. Bourland, counsel
for the Republican national committee,
asked.
"No, do not"
At the close of the morning session
Senator Caraway issued subpoenas for
w. H. Steed, district chairman of the
United Association of Railway Employ
ees, and Otto Blaudt, president of the
shop crafts of the Northwestern Rail
way company, both Of Chicago, calling
for their appearance here. They were
summoned at the request of counsel
for LaFollette. who said they could tes-
tify regarding the bribery of labor
leaders,"
Await New Developments.
While bankers and captains of in
dustry waited in the wings for further
questioning, the senate campaign fund
investigating committee today switched
its spotlight on the delegation Of actors
who recently called at the White House
and breakfasted with President Cool
idge Rhinelander Waldo, former po-
lice commissioner of New York, testi-
fed that a Coolidge non-partisan or
ganization Of which he is the head paid
the expenses of the actors during the
trip to Washington.
Then from Gibson Gardner, a Wash
ingten newspaper man, the committee
heard a suggestion that Republican
money had been used also to secure the
use OF -l1n6S favorable TO COOl1Qge In
various vaudeville skits. Gardner, a
supporter of LaFollette, said that early
in September William Burch of Wash
ington, representing the McCutcheon-
Gerson syndicate, a subsidiary of the
Shubert Theatrical corporation, called
on him and offered to sell to the La
Toilette organization for $4,000 pub
LEFTY proposition which would include
lines worked into vaudeville programs
favorable to the candidate.
Hasn't Enough Money.
"The young man told me tfst they
would prefer to sell the scheme to La
Toilette because they sympathized with
his views" Gardner said, "and would
be willing to sell it to LaFollette at a
lower figure than to either of the old
parties"
He said he declined Burch's offer,
saying ''that is more money than La
Toilette, has"
81 judged they sold the proposition
to the Republicans when I heard about
the actors calling at the White House,
including Al Jolson, John Drew. and
Charlotte Greenwood, who were men
toned in connection with the Offer"
Gardner said.