Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 May 1912 — A HOT ONE FROM PERKINS. [ARTICLE]

A HOT ONE FROM PERKINS.

Roosevelt's Aid Writes McKinley Wall Street I- laughing fiver Tiust Suits. New York. April 2 S—George W. j Perkin-, a New York capitalist, in I a. letter sent tonight to Represents-! live William B. McKinley, President Taft's campaign manager, calls, on! the President to make public the] corre.-pon deuce exchanged within the last twelve months between the White House; and officials of the International Harvester Company, of which Mr. Perkins is a director. He criticises publication of the harvester correspondence oi 1907, and •barges that it was done for the] purposes of strengthening Taft's cause in the forthcoming Massochu- 1 •fts primaries. He says also that 1 Wall street has nothing td fear front the Taft- administration because "the trust busting suits have been farcical. and . that Wall' street is “Laughing in its sleeve.” j Mr. Perkins defends his course in supporting Colonel Roosevelt for the presidential nomination. He denies that J. P. Morgan is secretly behind him in the .fight in behalf of Colonel Roosevelt. , Regarding President Taft's policy in dealing with corporations, Mr, Perkins says: Says Wall Street Backs Taft. >.aLnot you see that it is impcssible fcr me to be opposing Mr. Taft because of the ’ filing of the steel suit or the threatened suit against the harve-ter company? For if I were actuated by the base motives that you impugn to me I would be with you heart and soul in your efforts to renominate Air. Tate; tor what nicre could a sor.iid. s: fish' corporation man wan; , than to have his corporation dissolved. cn paper, in such a way as to bring increased profits to inside stockholders and increased cost to ouLide consumers, as in the case of the Standard Oil and tobacco , companies?; Because oi the farcical results >of the trust ‘busting’ programme ; of ll *e Taft administration, Wall street knows that it has nothing further to, fear from Washington. It is laughing in its sleeve at what has been going or. It is behind Mr. Taft almost to a man and no one knows this better you, Senator

Crane and Mr. Taft’s other prominent supporters. Toils of Campaign Gifts. “You have persistently connected my name with the harvester company in particular in giving out in-1 formation to the effect that I was' contributing money to the Roosevelt cause—and have done this in such ; a way as to try to oonvey the impression that it was a very improper and wicked thing to be going on and that the Roosevelt committee ought to be ashamed to have the or my money connected with its cause. The latest attempts in this 1 direction have been to call attention to the contribution I made to the Xew York campaign prior to j tte recent so-called primaries, and also the publication of the harvester correspondence. ‘ "There is a peculiar business about all these attacks on me in 1 view of the following; "First —Otto T. Bannard is recognized throughout the country as Mr. Taft's warm personal friend and staunch -tipporter. He is also pres-; :den- of a large trust company in the very center of the Wall street district. In 1909 he ran for 'mayor of this city on the republican tick-, 1 supported him and personally j contributed more money to his am; aign than I did to the recen t * primary Fight in New York. “Second—When Mr. Stimson, now; a member of Mr. Taft’s cabinet recently ran for governor of this -tate, 1 supported him with all my might and main. I personally con-; • ributed exactly he same amount o his campaign that I contributed to the recent so-called primaries in city. I supported Mr. . Stim.- on because I believed absolutely in the principles being fought for in i that campaign. } • *nee Gave 815,000 to Aid Taft. ' Third—When Mr. Taft ran for president in 1908, I supported him in every way that I could. During the Taft campaign of 1908 Senator Crane called on me and telephoned .me repeatedly about the financial progress of that campaign, being particularly solicitous as to what could be done for Massachusetts. i “When the Taft campaign w r as over thd treasurer found that he had some bills he could not pay, amounting to about $15,000. He 1 told me he was unable to raise ! this money from any one. It was evident that the friends and relaI lives of the newly elected president t* ok no interest in paying left-over bills after Mr. Taft had been elected. I was asked to loan the commi'tee % 15,000. which I did. taking the note of Mr. George R. Sheldon, treasurer, which as yet has not been paid.

"All of the above activities on n y part covered a period when I was not only connected with the S*e. 1 corporation and the International Harvester Company as I am now. but when I was also a member of the firm a. J. P. Morgan & Co : a director in the National City Bank and other prominent Wa>i street firancial institutions from which I have since retired; and if, according to your view of things, if it is a henious crime for a great jwdjtical cause to accept support from me now, it must have been far more henious to acceot it in the above named three instances.” Asks Mom Harvester Letters. Mr. Perkins then says the rumor that Mr. Morgan backs him in big fight for Colonel Roosevelt is a "downright falsehood.” After criticising publication of the RooseveltHarvester suit correspondence, he says-: \ "Why don't you publish all that has occurred between the present administration and the Harvester company during the past twelve months? Such information, if made public, would give the people an : excellent opportunity to form a "faiV judgment as between the Roosevelt way of doing things and the Taft j way oi doing things.”