Evening star., 1936-04-22
LIBERTY LEAGUERS
AIDED ROOSEVELT.
Raskob and Du Pont Gifts
to Democratic Party
Cited by Hastings.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

ut one time accepted whole-heartedly
the work and the financial support Of
some of the very men who today con-
gtitute the American Liberty League.
Revelations put into the official rec
ords by Senator Hastings of Delaware
are to the effect that the Du Pont
family and their associates, among
them John Raskob, contributed to the
Democratic party huge sums, Mr..
Raskob, for example. contributed
S375.000. entirely apart from large
loans he personally made and other
loans personally guaranteed" In one
instance it is revealed that one of the
Du Points contributed SIS 900 even after
Mr.. Roosevelt was inaugurated.
Mr.. Hastings with true partisan zeal
was attempting to answer the impress
sion that the Liberty League is a Re-
publican organization, or at least that
1t has sprung from Republican parent
age. His main contention is that the
Liberty League is managed. supported
and in large part made up OF members
of the Democratic party who broke
with the Roosevelt administration be-
cause the latter violated the Demo-
cratic platform of 1882. He pointed to
the two men who won the party nom
ination for the presidency in 1924 and
1928, respectively-John w. Davis and
Alfred E. Smith-Who are prime
movers in the Liberty League.
Roosevelt Talk Cited.
Mr. Hastings read into the record
the remarks of President Roosevelt,
delivered in Chicago just after he was
nominated, when he was addressing
the Democratic National Committee:
I had hoped to get here while my
old friend. John Raskob. was pre-
siding. I want to tell you all of the
very splendid work that has been done
for the party by the retiring chair
man. 1t was his conception three
years ago that gave to the party q
permanent, active headquarters in
Washington.
'Mr. Raskob spoke to me at that
time and we went over the plans.
As you all know, my old friend. Jouett
Shouse. was made chairman of the
Executive Committee, and another old
friend, Charlie Nicholson, was placed
In charge Of the publicity. They
made the country realize that the
Democratic party was very much
alive.
Praise for Shouse.
II am interested that my Republi-
can friends, after 1928, raised the old
question, Is the Democratic party
dead?' The answer Mr. Shouse and
Mr.. Nicholson gave to that resulted
in 1880 not only in the election of a
Democratic House. but in the election
Of more Democratic Governors and
local officials than in any year since
. 1921. These gentlemen deserve the
t. gratitude of the party"
. Mr.. Hastings then asks:
When did Mr.. Shouse and Mr..
Raskob become such thorn in the
flesh of the New Deal? When they
refused to follow the New Deal into
the morass OF socialism and when it
deliberately violated every Democratic
principle for which all good Demo-
Gratis stood when Mr.. Roosevelt was
nominated IN 1882"
- Importance of Disclosure.
-. The importance at this time Of the
disclosure Of Mr.. Roosevelts indorse-
s.ment Of Messrs, Shouse and Raskob
is that it appears he fully realized
how the money and work furnished
by Mr.. RaSkob and his associates laid
the foundation for the present sue
cess Of the Democratic party. Also
Mr.. Roosevelt did not turn down the
supposedly tainted money" Of the
Du Points even after he was inaugu-
rated. In fact, the Democratic party,
it is apparent, received more money
from these same Liberty League
sources than did all the farmers coun-
ellis, Leagues to Support Southern Con-
stitutionalism, Sentinels of the Re-
public and other anti-New Deal or
ganizations put together. Indeed.
the support given to the Democratic
party probably exceeded the amounts
furnished to the Liberty League itself.
Mr.. Hastings reveals the record:
"On September IL, 1928, Mr. Ras-
kob contributed $4,000 to the Demo-
cratic National Committee.
"On October 3, three weeks later,
he contributed another $4,000.
Loan to Committee.
con November IA he loaned the
committee 100000 and during Octo-
ber and November the Democratic
party borrowed s1,5o0,o00 from the
County Trust Co. of New York upon
the Endorsement of Mr.. Raskob.
"On April 25. 1929, after the elec-
tion was over and the Democratic
party apparently was dead, Mr.. Ras-
kob contributed another $150,000 to
the Democratic National Committee.
A little later that year on two occa-
sions he loaned the committee in the
aggregate $4,000.
In 1880. an election year, he
loaned it Sl80, 900, in 1881 the sum of
s122000 and then as they approached
the campaign of 1882, when Mr..
Roosevelt was the candidate, Mr.. Ras-
kob Cancelled two loans of $4,000
each, amounting in the aggregate to
100000. and on October 81, 1882,
Just before the election, he contributed
$25, 900.
Total Raskob Gifts.
"If you make a summary Of these
contributions and cancellations of
loans, you will find that, between
September 12, 1928, and October 81.
1882, Mr. Raskob contributed to the
Democratic party the huge sum Of
S375.o00. This, in addition to the
large loans he personally made and
other loans personally guaranteed"
The foregoing means that Mr.. Ras-
kob practically financed the publicity
campaign carried on by Mr.. Michel
son and also the activity of Jouett
Shouse, which consisted in no small
part Of a "smear-Hoover" barrage, of
which Mr.. Roosevelt was ultimately
to be the beneficiary IN votes in No.