Mr. LITTLEFIELD. It is B-i-n-g here. I understand that that should be R-i-n-g. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. That is a mistake of the printer evidently. Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. It should be Ring. The CHAIRMAN. What is the next item of which you have knowledge after the item of $150 to Dr. Frank? Mr. EDMONDS. The same date, $100 that we discussed on yesterday, to C. C. Wayland. The CHAIRMAN. Who is Mr. Wayland? Mr. EDMONDS. He is from Appleton, Outagamie County. Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Where does he live? Mr. EDMONDS. Milwaukee. The CHAIRMAN. Then he is available as a witness? Mr. LITTLEFIELD. He is here. Mr. EDMONDS. He has been subpoenaed, I believe. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Yes, he has already been subpoenaed. The CHAIRMAN. When you gave him that money what did he engage to do in consideration of it? Mr. EDMONDS. I have not any distinct recollection of that particular time. I paid him at different times, and I saw him very often. He was in Appleton where I lived, and was associated with me in business, and I met him almost every time I would go home to spend Sunday. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. He is the gentleman about whom you testified in detail the other day? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. You paid him a considerable amount of money in the aggregate? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; I think it was stated here yesterday to be $1,100-about. The CHAIRMAN. Have you any knowledge as to the manner in which he expended any part of the money that you gave him? Mr. EDMONDS. No personal knowledge; no, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What kind of knowledge have you? Mr. EDMONDS. The only knowledge that I have is from having talked with him a great many times before and since. The CHAIRMAN. Give us the substance. What did he say he was doing with the money? Mr. EDMONDS. He was spending it in different towns of the county and in the city. The CHAIRMAN. How was he spending it? Mr. EDMONDS. Well, he was arranging with men in different towns to distribute literature. I say literature, and I mean the posters, and putting them up. He had, I believe, in some instances and I am only saying that I believe, because I talked with him The CHAIRMAN. What he said to you is very proper. Tell us that. Mr. EDMONDS. He had gone so far as to hire men in certain instances to go around throughout the county to work up sentiment. The CHAIRMAN. What county? Mr. EDMONDS. Outagamie, where Appleton is. The CHAIRMAN. Just one county? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. What else did he say to you as to how he was spend ing this money. Mr. EDMONDS. He had arranged in some of the localities for getting out the vote by hiring teams. The CHAIRMAN. How many precincts are there in that county? Mr. EDMONDS. I do not recall. I am not very well acquainted with the politics of Outagamie County except in a general way. The CHAIRMAN. Is it a large county? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, it is one of the large counties of the State. Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. It would only be an estimate that I could give. The CHAIRMAN. How many Republican votes did it cast? Mr. EDMONDS. At the primary? The CHAIRMAN. At the general election. You were chairman of the State central committee and you probably would know. Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; but I could not recall. The CHAIRMAN. Approximately, how many? Mr. EDMONDS. Perhaps 10,000; possibly 15,000. Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Is it a Republican or an adverse county? Mr. EDMONDS. Usually Republican. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Republican or opposition? The CHAIRMAN. What was the Republican vote? I am endeavoring to find out what this man was paid for. I have no political curiosity in the matter. Mr. EDMONDS. I can not tell you. I do not know what the vote was, but my best judgment would be possibly 7,000 or 8,000 Repub lican votes. The CHAIRMAN. This money was paid for getting the vote out at the direct primary? Mr. EDMONDS. Oh, yes; not for the general election. The CHAIRMAN. All of it? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. How many votes did you get out at the direct primary? Mr. EDMONDS. I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. You have no approximate idea? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir; I could only learn that from looking up the records. I have not the slightest idea of the number now. The CHAIRMAN. You did not interest yourself as manager of the Stephenson campaign to know how many votes were cast for him? Mr. EDMONDS. Most assuredly I did at that time. I knew at that time, but I do not now. The CHAIRMAN. Were there others besides Mr. Wayland engaged in getting out the votes? Mr. EDMONDS. He was in charge, at least, and expended the money to get the vote out. The CHAIRMAN. Where did Mr. Wayland vote-in what precinct? Mr. EDMONDS. I think the second ward in Appleton, though I am not positive. The CHAIRMAN. How large a place is Appleton? Mr. EDMONDS. We thought we had 20,000, but The CHAIRMAN. Was that before or after the census? Mr. EDMONDS. Since the census was taken we find that we have 17,000. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know how many votes were cast in that town at the primary? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Haven't you any list as to the votes at the primary in the State? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, there is a printed report gotten out by the State showing the vote in each precinct. I have not got it here. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Would the chairman like to have that? Senator POMERENE. Is it a report of the secretary of state? Mr. LITTLEFIELD. I understand the Senator would like to have the statement of the votes cast in that primary? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. I presume we can get that. Mr. EDMONDS. There is an itemized statement, I think, published by Mr. Beck, the labor commissioner. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. The chairman need not spend any more time on that. Mr. Black says that he can find it, and we can furnish it to the committee. The CHAIRMAN. I presume it is in this building. I am inquiring as to the consideration received or agreed upon for the money paid to Mr. Wayland, and I am inquiring as to what he accomplished. For that reason I inquire as to the vote. Do you know how much you paid Mr. Wayland altogether during the primary? Mr. EDMONDS. I could only get that from The CHAIRMAN. I want to know if you know? Mr. EEMONDS. I think in the testimony yesterday it was brought out that I paid him $1,150. The CHAIRMAN. About that. Did you pay him all of that money? Mr. EDMONDS. I believe so. The CHAIRMAN. That is to say, it was a transaction between you and Mr. Wayland, and not between Mr. Sacket and Mr. Wayland? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. Mr. Sacket had nothing to do with it. The CHAIRMAN. So that whatever use was made of that money was made under the arrangement with you and not with Mr. Sacket? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. So it will not be necessary to inquire of Mr. Sacket as to the use made of that money? Mr. EDMONDS. Not at all. The CHAIRMAN. Will you state one item as to the use of that by Mr. Wayland: give us one item. money Mr. EDMONDS. Of my own personal knowledge I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. Did he ever tell you? You say you talked it over with him. Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What did he tell you? Give me one item that he told you he expended that money for. Mr. EDMONDS. He expended the money for the purpose of getting out the vote, by hiring teams. The CHAIRMAN. What teams did he hire? Mr. EDMONDS. I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. Is there a statement anywhere of the expenditures made by Mr. Wayland? Mr. EDMONDS. I believe so, which this special investigating com mittee brought out. The CHAIRMAN. Have you examined it? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Did you ever see it? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. He only expended it in the one county, did he? Mr. EDMONDS. One county, I believe. The CHAIRMAN. So that we do not need to inquire as to anything outside of that county to account for payments and expenditures, do we? He does not claim that he expended it anywhere else? Mr. EDMONDS. I am not certain as to that. His home had formerly been in Portage County, and it is possible he had gone there, but not to my knowledge. The CHAIRMAN. What was your contract with him--that he should expend this money in one certain county, or that he should expend it anywhere? Mr. EDMONDS. I do not think I had any contract with him. The CHAIRMAN. Well, your agreement. Mr. EDMONDS. He was very close to me in a business way, and I asked him to do different things which I do not now recall, and whatever I asked him to do I am sure he did without compensation to himself. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Do I understand you to say that Mr. Wayland was not to receive any compensation? Mr. EDMONDS. He was not. Mr. LITTLEFIELD. And did he receive any? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir; I do not know that he received a cent. The CHAIRMAN. You say that you do not know that he received a cent. Do you know whether he received any compensation, a cent or otherwise? Mr. EDMONDS. I mean to say that he received no compensation, to the best of my knowledge and belief. The CHAIRMAN. You are willing to say that, and yet you can not enumerate a single item of expenditure that he made out of this $1.150? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir; I have the most thorough confidence in Mr. Wayland's integrity. The CHAIRMAN. I am asking you for facts. Confidence might rest upon friendships and not upon facts. As a business proposition, and as a matter of fact, can you account for a single item, a single dollar, or any sum that Mr. Wayland paid to anybody? Mr. EDMONDS. In no other way than I have stated. The CHAIRMAN. It is just your confidence? The CHAIRMAN. How long have you known him? The CHAIRMAN. Then you had known him for about a year or so before the campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; perhaps two or three years. The CHAIRMAN. Where? Mr. EDMONDS. There in Appleton, and I had formerly met him. The CHAIRMAN. Where? Mr. EDMONDS. I do not recall where I first met him. His home at that time was in Portage, Columbia County. The CHAIRMAN. Did you have anything more than a passing acquaintance before the campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; we were in business together. The CHAIRMAN. Oh, you were in business together? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. What business? Mr. EDMONDS. The Badger Portland Cement Co. Mr. EDMONDS. In Appleton. The CHAIRMAN. Were you associated in business during the time of this campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. When had you severed your business relations? Mr. EDMONDS. You asked me if I was in business with him. The relationship still existed. He was the secretary of the company, and I was the president. The CHAIRMAN. At the time of the campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And during all the time you paid him these sums, amounting to $1,150? Mr. EDMONDS. All the time. The CHAIRMAN. Did you see him during the campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Often? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. How often? Mr. EDMONDS. He talked with me every time I would go home. The CHAIRMAN. How often was that? Mr. EDMONDS. On Sundays. The CHAIRMAN. Did you talk over the expenditures that he was making on these occasions when you would see him? Mr. EDMONDS. I think without question I did; yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Are you willing to say you did discuss them? The CHAIRMAN. And that included a discussion of the character of expenses that he was incurring, of the use that he was making of the money? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; he would tell me where he had been and what he had done during the week. The CHAIRMAN. Did he lay aside his business during the campaign? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; there was not much business during that year. The CHAIRMAN. And he devoted his time to going about in the county? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. All of it? Mr. EDMONDS. Yes; I should say all of it. |