Mr. WAYLAND. The day the first ballot was taken I think I talked with Mr. Tower, of Portage. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Of your own representative district? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. I am inquiring into this because you went down, having your expenses paid by Mr. Edmonds. Mr. WAYLAND. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. I know of no law that prohibits a man from going to the legislature and talking to members in regard to such a question, but I am endeavoring to get at the facts. Mr. WAYLAND. Often when Mr. Edmonds takes trips he invites me to go along and pays my expenses. The fact is, he offered to pay my expenses to Texas for the sake of my company. The CHAIRMAN. That is all. Senator POMERENE. Did you make any report of these expenditures other than your report to the legislative committee? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes. Senator POMERENE. Did you ever make any to Mr. Edmonds? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. Or to Mr. Puelicher? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. Or to Senator Stephenson? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. Were you ever asked for a report of any of your expenditures? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir; I will explain that. I believe I asked Mr. Edmonds once how a report was to be gotten up-something to that effect. He said he did not know yet; he said he was not the manager now, but he thought I would be informed. Senator POMERENE. When was that conversation? Mr. WAYLAND. That was about the middle of September. Mr. WAYLAND. Yes, sir. Senator POMERENE. He said he was not then the manager? Senator POMERENE. Who was the manager then? Mr. WAYLAND. I do not know of anyone. I came down here immediately after the primary, within two or three days, and I called at the office expecting at that time to find it open, but no one was there; it was closed. Senator POMERENE. Did you come down then to make your report? Mr. WAYLAND. I would have made my report. Senator POMERENE. You were prepared to make your report at that time? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes, sir. Senator POMERENE. Did you keep an itemized statement of your expenditures? Mr. WAYLAND. I kept a statement in general. That is, I did not keep an account for each postage stamp, and the smaller items, but I kept the character of the expenditures. Senator POMERENE. As you employed men or teams? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes, I had that. Senator POMERENE. Or when you put out lithographs or other printed matter, you would make a memorandum of it? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes; I knew to whom I gave the money in each case. Senator POMERENE. Did you keep that in a book? Mr. WAYLAND. No; I had that on slips; detached slips. Senator POMERENE. What became of those slips? Mr. WAYLAND. Along about, I think it was, the 15th day of December, when we moved the office, those slips, which were on different sheets of paper, were destroyed. Senator POMERENE. Who destroyed them? Mr. WAYLAND. I did, myself. Senator POMERENE. Why did you destroy them? Mr. WAYLAND. There were a number of those, and I copied those off on one paper. Senator POMERENE. Just exactly as they were on those slips? Senator POMERENE. Did you copy them exactly as they were on the slips? Mr. WAYLAND. My recollection is that I did; yes. Senator POMERENE. Or did you attempt to abbreviate the entries which were made? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. Or to summarize them? Mr. WAYLAND. No; but instead of saying, for instance, where I bought the cigars, I just put down the cigars. I knew, at that time, where I got my cigars. Senator POMERENE. That was here in Milwaukee? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir; that was in Appleton. Senator POMERENE. Onto your sheets of paper? Senator POMERENE. All of your expenditures? Mr. WAYLAND. My receipts? I did not have receipts. Senator POMERENE. I mean, moneys that you had received; using the word "receipts" in that sense. Mr. WAYLAND. I think I did; yes, sir. Senator POMERENE. How did you destroy these slips that you had? Mr. WAYLAND. We were moving into a new office. Senator POMERENE. Whom do you mean by "we?" Mr. WAYLAND. The company which I was representing; Mr. Edmonds with his different companies. We were moving the office, and a great many papers had accumulated. There was a great deal of correspondence for the company, which was of no particular value, not worth putting on the transferring list; and we destroyed several waste paper baskets full of different material, newspapers, circulars, and catalogues and different things. There was no object I had in it. Senator POMERENE. Was it in your office in Appleton that you had this talk with Mr. Edmonds about making the account? Mr. WAYLAND. No; at one time on the street. I was walking down the street. Senator POMERENE. What was it that he said to you and you to him? Mr. WAYLAND. I believe I asked him how I should make an accounting, or something, and he said: "I don't know." And I think there was some conversation as to who to make it to, and he said: "I am not the manager, now, and I do not know." Senator POMERENE. Did you understand that it was your duty to make an accounting? Mr. WAYLAND. I had not thought of that; but I was willing to do it, I know. Senator POMERENE. You understood that there was a statute which required the filing of an account by the candidate, did you not? Mr. WAYLAND. By the candidate; yes. Senator POMERENE. And you were wanting to furnish your account to Mr. Stephenson, or to his manager, so as to enable the candidate to file the account-was that your idea? Mr. WAYLAND. I was willing to do it; yes, sir. Senator POMERENE. I say, was that your idea at that time—that you wanted to render an account for that purpose? Mr. WAYLAND. I know that it is the first money that I had ever expended and I was anxious to account for it. Senator POMERENE. You are not answering my question. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. The question is whether, at that time, he had it in his mind. Senator POMERENE. Yes; whether, at that time, you had it in your mind to furnish this account so as to aid Senator Stephenson in filing this account? Mr. WAYLAND. I do not think I had that in mind. I could tell you what I had in mind. I knew that there was to be some accounting, and I did not know just how they would account-under what heads. Senator POMERENE. Some accounting-how do you mean? Mr. WAYLAND. I did not know whether it would be itemized clear down to the small items or not. Senator POMERENE. You mean, in order to comply with the election laws, do you? Mr. WAYLAND. Yes, sir. Senator POMERENE. Did you have any talk with anyone else, with respect to the filing of this account? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. I think that is all. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Had you ever read the election law in relation to returns up to that time, to your recollection? Mr. WAYLAND. No; I remember of filing one account. I said I had never held an office. I was a school commissioner, and spent $5.35 for gum for the ladies who voted; and I accounted for it. [Laughter.] Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Did you, during this primary campaign, expend any of the sums that were placed in your hands by the representatives of Senator Stephenson for the purpose of bribing or corruptly influencing any voters? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Was any money expended by any of the people to whom you intrusted the money for use in the campaign in the interest of Senator Stephenson for the purpose of bribing or corruptly influencing voters, to your knowledge? Mr. WAYLAND. Not to my knowledge. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Did any information ever reach you, in conneetion with the campaign, that any money had been so expended? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. That had been disbursed by you or by others under your instruction? Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. That is all. Senator POMERENE. Did you furnish money to others to distribute! Mr. WAYLAND. No, sir. Senator POMERENE. In other words, you gave it to the ultimate consumer, yourself? Mr. WAYLAND. I did; and, furthermore, I did not pay these men, a great many of them, until after the primary, so that I felt there would be no money in anyone's hands. I was very careful through my campaign. Senator POMERENE. That is all. (The witness was thereupon excused.) TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM L. ESSMANN, RECALLED. The CHAIRMAN. Are you prepared, Mr. Essmann, to give the committee a list of the papers in your possession? Mr. ESSMANN. No, sir; I have all the contents of the box sorted out. The CHAIRMAN. But you have not arranged the matter as yet? The CHAIRMAN. I would suggest before you come on the stand that, in the interest of orderly procedure, you secure the assistance of one of the clerks of the committee and arrange these documents systematically. You say there are still other documents at Madison, you think? Mr. ESSMANN. No, sir; I do not think there are any more at Madison. The CHAIRMAN. You think they are all here in your possession-all the exhibits that were before the committee? Mr. ESSMANN. No, sir; I think there are more somewhere, but 1 do not know where. The CHAIRMAN. You do not know where? Mr. ESSMANN. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. These are all of which you have knowledge? The CHAIRMAN. If you will, then, arrange them in consecutive order and classify them we will call you. The usual time for adjournment has now arrived. (Whereupon, at 4.30 o'clock p. m., the subcommittee adjourned until to-morrow, Thursday, October 12, 1911, at 10 o'clock a. m.) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1911. FEDERAL BUILDING, Milwaukee, Wis. The subcommittee met at 10 o'clock a. m. Present: Senators Heyburn (chairman), Sutherland, and Pomerene. Present also: Mr. C. E. Littlefield, Mr. W. E. Black, and Mr. H. H. J. Upham, counsel for Senator Isaac Stephenson. The CHAIRMAN. The Secretary will call the names of the witnesses subpoenaed for to-day. Mr. Riordan will be excused from the stand and Mr. Gordon will be called. Mr. Riordan will remain in attendance. Mr. Gordon, you have not been sworn? Mr. GORDON. No. The CHAIRMAN. The following witnesses summoned to appear this morning will come forward as their names are called: Adolph Rosenheim, D. J. O'Connor, N. L. James, George Beyers. Mr. Rosenheim and Mr. James responded to their names, and the oath was administered to them by the chairman. TESTIMONY OF GEORGE H. GORDON. GEORGE H. GORDON, having been duly sworn, testified as follows: The CHAIRMAN. Your name is George H. Gordon? Mr. GORDON. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What position, if any, do you hold? Mr. GORDON. United States attorney for the western district of Wisconsin. The CHAIRMAN. Where do you reside? Mr. GORDON. La Crosse. The CHAIRMAN. How long have you been United States attorney for that district? Mr. GORDON. About two years; a little over. The CHAIRMAN. Did you take part in the senatorial contest during the direct primary election of 1908? Mr. GORDON. I did. The CHAIRMAN. Whom did you support? Mr. GORDON. Senator Stephenson. The CHAIRMAN. It has appeared in the testimony already taken that certain sums of money were paid by you and disbursed by you in connection with that campaign. How much money did you receive? Mr. GORDON. $1,800. The CHAIRMAN. Who paid it to you? Mr. GORDON. Mr. Edmonds, I think. The CHAIRMAN. When was it paid to you? Mr. GORDON. At different times during the month of July. The CHAIRMAN. Can you state when you received it? Mr. GORDON. I can not state the exact day when I received it. The CHAIRMAN. The testimony that has been given indicates that on August 4 you received $1,300. Did you receive that sum at that time? Mr. GORDON. I could not tell the time when I received it or the amount I received at any given time. I received $1,800 in the aggregate. |