OCR Text |
Show STANDARD OIL LETTERS. f i The Hearst Standard Oil letter, have created a big .sensation, j In 190S, Hearst made public some letters that had passed -between f John D. Archbold and Senator Fjrakcr, Senator Bailey and others. ? At that time Penrose was warnccHhat Hearst had a few letters "on" f him, showing that the Pennsylvania senator had been tarred with S the Standard Oil stick. - jj It was explained at that time how the letters came into posses- sion of Mr. Hearst. The letters- were stolen from the Archbold files by a negro in Mr. Archbold 's office and sold by him to the Hearst papers through a white man, a confidential messenger of the Stan- ( dard Oil company, according to an article in Collier's Weekly for f October -i, 1008. The Negro and the white man are said to have l made $12,000 Out of the transaction. The white man hinted that tho I best of these letters were yet to be used and that those held in f reserve bad to do with Senator Aldneh and Senator Penrose. t utc article is ncacica, -n uearst s rnicvcs, ' and is written by Arthur IT. Gleason. One of the men, who, according to Mr. Glea-son's Glea-son's story, got the letters for Mr. Ilearat, is William W. Winfield. a negro, Avho was file clerk, messenger and door tender in Mr. Archbold'? Arch-bold'? office, and stepson of Mr. Arch hold's negro butler, James N Wilkins. Winfield had been in the Standard Oil office ten years when he was discharged in 1905. The other man was Charles Stump, whil6, in the Standard Oil office for six years when he, too, was discharged in 1905. Winfield is represented as furnishing the brains of the combination, while Stump was merely used by him as a white go-between to arrange the negotiations with the Hearst people. The white man and the negro are said to havo played the races Saturdays. Along in 1904, just after the presidential election, Winfield Win-field brought to Stump the first batch of Archbold correspondence, and soon after Stump began making visits to the offices of the nearst publications. These offices were the natural market for such merchandise mer-chandise at that time, because the Hearst Cosmopolitan Magazine was running a series known as "The Treason of the Senate." But the material was a sort which could be used with great effect at another an-other time and the letters' we're put away' in a saf-e. Following the publication of several of the letters Mr. Archbold Arch-bold made a statement in which he corroborated the story in Collier's. Mr. 'Hearst, speaking at San Francisco, a few days later, said: "I read in El Paso a letter from Mr Sibley, a Republican, spying spy-ing and reporting on Preosident Roosevelt. I shall now read one from Senator McLaurin of South Carolina, a Democrat: BennottaviUo, S. C, Sept. 30. 1904. (Confidential). Dear Mr. Archbold Arch-bold In the sanio mail by wljich your letters carao was one that I wish to quote a few sentences from apropos of your remarks about Mr R. The writer of that letter was cmployod in a confidential way by Senator Sen-ator Hanna, in matters of importance Ho is a shrewd, close observer, not oer scrupulous, but a very Intelligent man, whoso public experience and acquaintance is wide I knew him well in Washington and when he saw my article in the Sun ho wrote me a long letter, indulging in some unexpected criticisms of the President to which I replied, combatting his position He 3ald In part, viz "Reading on Sunday Lawson's Frenzied Finance recalled to mv mind a remark boat I heard him (Roosevelt) make that ho hoped some day to be able to take a fall out of that Standard Oil gang, and if he succeeds himself, mark my words, he will try to make good his statement, as he will try to make good his statement, as 'he believes be-lieves it will appeal to the masses and keep him In the center of the stage." I thought it might bo a friendly act to copy this and -give It to jou In strict confidence. From my position I cannot say whether it is worth the Ink or not. It will show, anyway, that I am not unmindful of your various kind actions toward mo. With kindest regards, jour sincerely, JOHN LOWDEN McLAURIN. To Mr. John D Archbold. |