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Show INQUIRY IS i I$I?iflPi?MI?ilJlii I Junior Bliss Exhibits Letters of Father to In-1 In-1 vesication Committee Washington. Sept. 30 The senate J sub-committee's renewal of the Inves-S Inves-S tigatJon of presidential campaign contributions con-tributions today marked the beginn'iig of hearings that were expected to bring many of the leading financiers, politicians and candidates to the witness wit-ness stand during the next two months. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and J. Plerpont Morgan were sched- tiled Id step into the spotlight later this week, the financier appearing Thursday, and Colonel Roosevelt on 'f Friday. Ornisby McHarg. contest manager : for Colonel Roosevelt at the Chicago convention, and who organized the f south for the colonel, was on hand His story of the pre-convention capi-H capi-H paign and of the contests he manined for President Tart in the 1908 campaign cam-paign was expected to be the chief testimony C. C. Togothoff, secretary of the late E. It. Harriman. and Chas. ? A Poabody, Mrs. Harriman's personal counsel, were to produce any papers : they might have in connection with ' the alleged raising of $250,000 in Wall ' street by Harriman for the Roosevelt fund of 1904. r Junior Bliss Called. Cornelius N. Bliss. Jr., son of the treasurer of the Republican campnign ! committee In 190-1, was called to pro- duce any papers in the files of his L) father's estate bearing on the charge that Colonel Roosevelt acquiesced in the acceptance of $100,000 from the : Standard Oil interests in 1904 and in a further demand for $ 150,000 from the same source. Senators Clapp, Oliver. Payntcr and I. Penrose were present when the com-i com-i mltleo wont into session. Mr BUss m, was the first witness. He said he B was an executor of h's father's estate ft' and had solo custody of bis fatehr's papers. V "Have you found any papers bear- m Ing on the campaign funds handled by K 3 our father?" asked Chairman Clapp m Mr. Bliss placed in evidence a re ft port from tho "auditor who examined his father's accounts when be resfen- cd as treasurer of the Republican W, committee. He said the records did M t not show any contribution by Jonn D. Mb) Arcbbold or the Standard Oil com-MP" com-MP" Examined Records. JXp ibers or the committee exam- Iw - le records. .' names of contributors to the w campaign fund appeared in the m 1b. Mr. Bliss was asked one r o read his father's letter of reslg- JL nation to Harry S Xew. The letter II set forth that the late Mr. Bliss had m held as confidential the names of B contributions and tho amounts of m their contributions In the last four years In which T have acted as treasurer treas-urer "1 hae continually failed to make these reports." the letter said, "be-, "be-, cause I consider th? contributions to , liarty committees as confidential. I believe the right to refuse to make j public these contributions, is as sacred as the right of aman to cast secret ; ballot In the election. " The tetter Bald that the Republican I receipts in 1900 amounted to a trifle over $3,000,000. In 1S9G. $3,5000,00 and In 1S92 $1,600,000. The witness said he had discovered tbreo other letters of a ' personal and ' more or less intimate nature." These h he banded to Chairman Clapp. One r was from President RooBevelt another ' from William H. Taft, as secretary of J- war. The committee members" read I the letters privately. Senator Clapp had them placed In the record as exhibits. ex-hibits. They were not read aloud and their contents were not divulged ' at the time. Mr. Bliss said he had no i other documents and no recollection of any conversations with his father which would throw any light on tho subjects under Investigation Contents Known. jR Later, however, the contents of two of the letters became known. That S ' from Secretary Taft, written May 6, y 1904, urgod tho late Mr Bliss to take I the chairmanship, saying President jjj Roosevelt -was "most anxious" for it. J and adding that as chairman Mr. I Bliss would "secure the confidence Ji of those from whom contributions may 4 bo expected." The letter from Prcs- '61 Idem Roosevelt dated the same, also urged him to take the place. Under examination by Senator Payntcr, Mr. Bliss said that his fath-f fath-f er had told him the books of the Republican Re-publican national campaign wore to be destroyed because be, the elder Mr. BUbs, believed the records were use-i use-i less. The books were said to have contained the name3 and nmountB of ' the vurlous contributors. The witness raid ho did not lunw who had do- : slroyed them He could not remember remem-ber having talked with bis father about tho much discussed $100,000 Standard Oil contribution. Mr. Bliss said that since his father's death ho had destroyed a groat many of tho papers left by the elder Bliss. "! know of nothing that I destroyed fgl that could in any way assist UiIb com- 1 mlttee," ho declared emphatically. la ; A vigorous cross-examination by M I Senator Pomcrcno failed to shake his B j statement. H t Mr. Bliss then was excused and I William 11. Llbby of New York, for-J for-J f elgn representative of the Standard H I Oil company, was sworn In Hi Chairman Clapp askod Mr. Ubby If Bj he had anything to do with advising H A the company about legislative affairs. H J "Only as to tariff matters, when it Ba I was threatened to oxompt the Stand-pi Stand-pi 'A ard Oil company from the protectlvo yffi i tariff," replied Mr. Llbbv. ym ,T "The campaign of 1908 foreshad- WM i 5wed tariff revision," suggested t (Continued on Pago Nino.) I - llNOfflRV K ri I l M HI ffl I I ll H uliidBV loin n v I REOPENED jfe (Continued From Page Ono.) JlSenator Clapp. "What part did vour Wcompanj take In that campaign?" nr "Nothing that I know of in the way ijof. contributions," said Mr. Llbby. 'h g-ao informed by Mr. H. H. Rogers Ithat In 1904 the Standard Oil com-pauy com-pauy made a very large contribution ffto the Republican national campaign fffund," ho added, but said he knew nothing personally about it. He had not been told the amount or by whom it WR3 made, : Did you sco any members of congress con-gress on thp tarfff matter?" asked Senator Pomerenc. I Mr. Llbby could not remember what public officials ho had talked with, but .thought that probably he had discussed dis-cussed it with President Taft and ofll cials of the state department. Ho said that he would produce anv letters written in that connection if. he could And them. ! This concluded Mr. Libby's estl-mony. estl-mony. Tho committeo decided that Ornisby McKarg should not be heard today. Letters Made Public. While tho committee seemed at first confused as to tho disposition of tho three letters to Mr. Bliss, put in evidence, the substantial portions of them were finally mado public. Two were of no particular Import, but the third, dated March 26, 190C, written by President Roosevelt from the .While House to Mr. Bliss In New York, made specific denial that he thad evor been Influenced for or against any persons or Interests by the contributions In the 1S04 campaign. cam-paign. f "It is not only true there has come to mo no suggestion that tho giving of contributions ontltles any giver to any consideration beyond his fellows," fel-lows," wrote President Roosevelt in the letter, "but it is furthermore truo tViRt nn n miTnJvr cT nr.rnlrni fnq for instance in connection with tho tobacco interests and in connection with a wealthy man who wished to ibe considered for the position of minister min-ister to Belgium) contributions wore Immediately declined when it was found either that the donor hoped for some favor, or even that tho government gov-ernment was about to take some action ac-tion which affected the donor or donors; while as soon as it was shown that certain big financiers as well as Influential politicians like Mr. Odell had urged tne appointment of James H. Hydo as ambassador to Franco, Mr. Cortelyou and. I believo, you also, protested strongly and the financiers In question at once ac cepted my explanation of why it would be imposslblo to put so new and untried a man In any such position, posi-tion, and abandoned all efforts to press him." Believed Fund Small. ' President Roosevelt wrote that he believed the 1904 campaign fund had been only half as big as the Republican Repub-lican campaign fund in 1896 or the Democratic fund In 1892. "This, however, Is aside from tho point,' ho continued, "which Is that tho money was Bpont legitimately, that it was contributed freely by men who did not ask and who never have received ono particle of consideration consid-eration in the shape of legislation or administrative acts as a reward for having so contributed; oxactly as no man has been in any way discriminated discrim-inated against for not having contributed. con-tributed. . "Mr, Frlck was one of my Btaunch-Bt Btaunch-Bt allies, Messrs. Ryan and Belmont wo of our most resolute opponents. Tot only has no singlo act been done i.v the "administration or by congress Inch could bo construed by Its most rantlc opponent Into favoring the financial fi-nancial Intorcsts of the ono side, or is discriminating against the financial nterests of the other, but I do not elleve that even tho most inendn-ious inendn-ious crkic would assert such to be he case May Not Be Worthy. "That all the contributions were vorthy no man can say, any more han it is possible to say that all hose are worthy who are contributor contribu-tor to the Red Gross fund for the Japanese sufferers, which Is being collected by my authority. But In mo case, as In the other, immense uajorlty of thoso contributing wero and are worthy men influenced by worthy motives. "Indeed, considering tho action taken tak-en by tho administration in tho various var-ious suits against the beef trust, tho tobacco trust, against the railroad companies in the mattor of rebates, etc , and In view of the course wo have pursued throughout in all corporation matters, It ought to be wholly unnecessary unnec-essary so much as to allude to any allegations al-legations that any contribution from any source has been allowed to influence in-fluence In tho slightest degree any administrative act of mine or any legislation I haTe recommended sinco I have beon president." The letter commended Mr. Bliss and added that he hoped Mr. Bliss had '"not been bothered by those outras- j eous assaults upon you In connection I with tho campaign contributions." "1 have felt the keenest indignation as I have read them," the president said. o |