Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1905 — CORRUPTION IS PROVED [ARTICLE]

CORRUPTION IS PROVED

Columbia University, New York, has taken the lead among the large colleges of the country in abolishing football.

A special from Washington D. C., states that Congressman Crumpacker perdicts that Governor Hanley, of Indiana, will be the republican nominee for president in 1908.

Col. W. W. Huffman of Ander. son, a prominent republican politician, has been indicted by the federal grand jury on the charge of soliciting campaign contributions from postoffice employes, and will have to face the charge in the United States Court.

The efforts to saddle the loss of county funds deposited in the McCoy sheepskin bank on to the public seems about to bear fruit once more. This time it is the creditors of the bank who will stand the brunt of the loss, however, if the proposed compromise goes through, rather than the people of the whole county.

It is said that the life insurance agents over the country are finding business mighty dull these days. And no wonder. The exposures made by the insurance investigation still going on is enough to make people want to “carry their own insurance’’ and keep their money in their pockets. But this plan will be mighty tough on the republican campaign fund of the future.

Three football players are dead from last Saturday’s games—one at Sedalia, Mo.; one at Marshall, Ind., and one at Union College, New York. The game has become so strenuous —not more so than usual, but more publicity has been given to the casualties — that the Indianapolis News devotes a whole column of editorial criticism to the game, although every other Hue of the criticism is an apology for having written the previous one.

Sunday’s Chicago Tribune gave a partial list of the football accidents for this season —the few weeks devoted to the “sport”—and the list included nineteen killed and one hundred and thirty-five badly injured. Two players have died since the Tribune’s list was published, and the list of injured, which the Tribune says is far from complete, it is noticed, does not contain either of the Shortridge players so badly injured at Rensselaer early in the season, one of them so badly that it was a miracle that he ever survived. The Tribune further says: “The record is not yet complete. A few games will be played next Thursday and they will swell the list of maimed. And, in addition to the certainty of more accidents, can be added the logical development of serious injuries that always follow a football season as the epidemic of lockjaw reaps its harvest after the youth killing celebration of the Fourth of July. “Of those slaughtered to make a touchdown eleven were high school players and ten of the killed were immature boys of 17 and under. Three hardened, seasoned and presumably physically fit college men were slain. The others were amateurs. “Body blows, producing internal injuries, were responsible for four deaths, concussion of the brain < lanned six victims, injuries to th -pine resulted fatally in three oas \ blood poisoning carried off

two gridiron warriors, and other injuries caused four deaths. “The list given here includes details of 19 deaths and 136 injuries, but of course is in no respect complete. It is taken from records kept by “The Tribune” and supplemented by reports of casualties published in various sections of the country. “The injured list merely reflects the aggregate of miscellaneous accidents. A full list of players who were injured at some time during the season would sum up close to 1,000, aud then would include only the injuries of a really serious character, In hundreds of cases those injured bSVe been patched up so as to be able to play on with their teams, bnt with internal effects that, judging from the statistics of the past, will impair seriously their subsequent physical condition.”

Vast Sums Paid to Republican Campaign Fund. WEALTH MENACES THE REPUBLIC Boodle and the Corporation* Control the Corrupt Old I’arty—Era of Graft and Scandal* the Result of Enorinou* Expenditure* For Political Power. When the Democrats claimed in 1896 and succeeding campaigns that an enormous corruption fund was raised from the railroads, banks, trust companies, insurance corporations and other sources it was Indignantly denied by the Ilepublicans. Since those campaigns the evidence has been leaking out that those charges were true and the amount not exaggerated. Enough money was subscribed to buy every voter that was willing to sell his vote In the doubtful states, and the result In 1896 showed that of the votes so bought about 20,000 divided between the close states decided the election. The latest evidence on the providers of that corruption fund has been given by Mr. Perkins, partner of J. P. Morgan and also connected with the New York Life Insurance company, before the committee of the New York legislature now Investigating .the life Insurance companies In that state. He testified that the New York Life Insurance company paid $50,000 last fall to the Republican campaign fund and that greater sums were paid in 1896 and 1900. These enormous contributions from one corporation Indicate the vast amount of money used to corrupt the voters of the United States, for there is no doubt the other Insurance companies paid similar amounts and the railroads and trusts even more. The year 1896 was the beginning of the era of graft and corruption that have since spread like a prairie fire from one end of the country to the other and that have resulted in the scandals that have been exposed of the Republican management of our national affairs and those stages where that party is in the ascendency. Will the honest voters allow such a system to continue? If they do, It is not too much to say that the republic will be undermined and a Wall street oligarchy of wealth will sodn rule instead of the people. We are not very far from that today. We bear of visits of Wall street magnates to the president, and we see their partners appointed to positions where they can do vast service to their associates, which from the nature of things must be to the detriment of the people. President Roosevelt must have known of the large contributions from tlie Wall street interests to his campaign fund. Mr. Bliss, the treasurer of tb<- Republican national committee, received the money, and Mr. Cortelyou, who has since been rewarded by his appointment as postmaster general and Is still chairman of the Republican national committee, expended what the trusts and the corporations provided. The late Senator Hanna might be excused for demanding and expending such vast sums as he received In 1896, for the Republican emergency was great, but last year there wis no need to corrupt the voters. It was patent to even superficial observers that Mr. Roosevelt would be elected at least three months before the event occurred. The fti’ct is that the Republican workers have become so debauched by being paid that they refuse to work or vote until the usual honorarium and boodle were forthcoming. Is any one foolish enough to believe that these corporations contribute these large sums without expecting and probably being promised advantages or special privileges In return? The trust corporations pay to prevent tariff reform; the railroads pay to prevent being controlled; the bankers and life insurance companies pay because they are controlled by the same financial interests and receive special favor aud privileges from the political managers. How do the Democrats who are paying double for life Insurance what It is honestly worth aud who own stock In railroads and banks like their money being expended to keep the corporations In power instead of the larger dividends that would be paid under an honest administration? It is now' up to the voters to stop this corruption, and the only way they can stop it is by defeating the party that is in league with the corporations.