The CHAIRMAN. When these ballots were mailed out did you mail them out consecutively to numbers of voters? Did you number each name to which the ballot was sent? Mr. METTEN. I didn't mail the ballots. They were mailed from the tax office. I think somebody-I forget the gentleman's name who took over the work, and he had a corps of 30 or 40 girls. Whether they were numbered or not meant nothing to me, and no use was ever made of the numbers. The CHAIRMAN. Whoever had charge of that work, then, in mailing out the ballots, if they did keep a record as to the party to whom each numbered ballot went, they never came back to you or to those ballots that were returned to you to ascertain who had voted? Mr. METTEN. Absolutely not. The CHAIRMAN. They have not been out of your office? Mr. METTEN. They would not be out of our possession. We would not permit them to go out of our possession. The CHAIRMAN. Has anyone had access to them there in your offices? Mr. METTEN. No, sir. I saw them at noon. They are in the vault. The CHAIRMAN. To your knowledge, then, they have not been out of your possession, and no one has had access to them since they were returned? Mr. METTEN. And we were going to burn the ballots, but I thought we would keep them until this time. The CHAIRMAN. Did those operating with you in the conduct of this ballot send out solicitors to speed up the return of these ballots? Mr. METTEN. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Nothing of that kind at all? Mr. METTEN. No, sir; not that I know of. to promote the voting was to carry the story were not interested in any one candidate. matter. The only thing we did from day to day. We It was not political The CHAIRMAN. All of the ballots you have then accounted for in your paper of September 5 were returned to you by mail? Mr. METTEN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know, Mr. Metten, whether any solicitors were sent out by any person or any organization to speed up the mailing of these ballots? Mr. METTEN. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. Have you heard that that was done? Mr. METTEN. I have not heard that it was done. We would have discouraged it had we known it, because we were not interested in the votes of any one particular candidate. The CHAIRMAN. Was your paper unfriendly to either of the Democratic candidates at the time this poll was undertaken? Mr. METTEN. No, sir. Mr. Marvel and Mr. Bayard have been friends of mine for 30 years. The CHAIRMAN. What was Mr. Raskob's particular interest in the conduct of such a poll? Mr. METTEN. I couldn't tell you. The CHAIRMAN. Did he indicate at the time a desire to build up sentiment for any candidate? Mr. METTEN. No. The CHAIRMAN. Who was it that determined what names should go upon the ballot? Mr. METTON. I, personally. We couldn't put any names on the ballots other than those who were candidates. The CHAIRMAN. Was Mr. Bayard a candidate at that time? Mr. METTEN. Yes, sir; he was. The CHAIRMAN. An announced candidate? Mr. METTEN. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. On August 11? Mr. METTEN. I think so. The CHAIRMAN. So that, then, the names that were placed upon the ballot were those who were announced candidates for the Senate? Mr. METTEN. At that time. The CHAIRMAN. Republican and Democratic alike? Mr. METTEN. Yes, sir; and we purposely left one blank line for anyone to vote for any other candidate of their choice. The CHAIRMAN. I don't know that it will mean anything to the committee or to the Senate, but was that blank line used to any extent at all? Mr. METTEN. Yes, sir; several hundred. The CHAIRMAN. I think that is all, Mr. Metten, unless Senator Patterson has some questions. Senator PATTERSON. None at all. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Metten. Mr. METTEN. You are very welcome. TESTIMONY OF ROBERT KRAMER, WILMINGTON, DEL. (The witness was duly sworn by the chairman.) The CHAIRMAN. Your full name, Mr. Kramer. Mr. KRAMER. Robert W. Kramer. The CHAIRMAN. Your home is in Wilmington? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. What is your business, Mr. Kramer? Mr. KRAMER. Insurance business and stock selling. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Kramer, did you have any part at all in the circulation of petitions urging Mr. Bayard to become a candidate for United States senator? Mr. KRAMER. I did. The CHAIRMAN. Who instigated those petitions? Mr. KRAMER. A few citizens of Wilmington. The CHAIRMAN. What was the nature of the petition-one to be presented to Mr. Bayard asking him to become a candidate? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. How freely were these petitions circulated? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Mr. KRAMER. Well, very freely through the city of Wilmington. I don't know about the rest. The CHAIRMAN. Who was in charge of the circulation of the petitions? Mr. KRAMER. I suppose I had partial charge. I don't know as I had full charge. The CHAIRMAN. Well, did you take care only of Wilmington? The CHAIRMAN. Who took care of the other counties? Mr. KRAMER. I don't know. The CHAIRMAN. Did you order the petitions printed? Mr. KRAMER. No; I didn't give the order for the printing. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know what the cost of the printing of the petitions was? Mr. KRAMER. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. Who paid the expense of the circulation of the petition outside of the printing of them? Mr. KRAMER. I know nothing about it. The CHAIRMAN. I take it you and the others who were associated with you were friends of Mr. Bayard? Mr. KRAMER. That is right. The CHAIRMAN. Wanted him to become a candidate? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Had Mr. Bayard indicated that without such a petition he would not become a candidate? Mr. KRAMER. He had. The CHAIRMAN. He had indicated that? Mr. KRAMER. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Indicated that before he would consent to become a candidate he wanted the assurance that a sufficient number of people in the State were interested in seeing him become a candidate? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Then you and his friends took upon yourselves the circulation of this petition? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Who paid for them? You say you don't know who paid the expense? Mr. KRAMER. I don't know who paid the expense of the petitions. The CHAIRMAN. Who originated the idea of circulating petitions? Mr. KRAMER. I would not-I don't know. I couldn't tell you exactly who originated it. I partially did myself. The CHAIRMAN. Who was associated with you in that work? Mr. KRAMER. There were several associated with me in the circulating of the petitions. I couldn't just tell you offhand. There were quite a number associated; wherever I could find a party that would circulate a petition I requested them to do so and they circulated them. The CHAIRMAN. Were you not endeavoring to secure upon these petitions the names of ten people from each of the fifteen hundred election districts of the State? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. That was your purpose? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. To get, if possible, 10 names from each election district? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Was that quite generally accomplished? Mr. KRAMER. Throughout the city of Wilmington. I don't know that it was downstate. The CHAIRMAN. Was there any compensation for those who circulated the petitions? Mr. KRAMER. Yes; they were paid for their time. The CHAIRMAN. Were they paid a dollar a signature? Mr. KRAMER. There was no regular rate set for it. The CHAIRMAN. They were paid, then, for the time devoted? Mr. KRAMER. The time that they put in on the petitions. The CHAIRMAN. Who paid them for that service? Mr. KRAMER. I generally paid what I employed. The CHAIRMAN. Do you recall how much you paid for that service in Wilmington? Mr. KRAMER. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. Approximately? Mr. KRAMER. I imagine in the neighborhood of $350 or $400. The CHAIRMAN. Did you receive any compensation yourself? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. For your work? Mr. KRAMER. I did. The CHAIRMAN. How much did you receive for your work? Mr. KRAMER. Possibly $100 or $150. The CHAIRMAN. From whom did you receive that? Mr. KRAMER. I received it through Mr. George C. Barnhill. The CHAIRMAN. Who is Mr. Barnhill? Mr. KRAMER. Mr. George C. Barnhill, a citizen of Wilmington, Del. The CHAIRMAN. A resident of Wilmington? Mr. KRAMER. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Was he associated with you in the general work? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know who paid Mr. Barnhill for this? Mr. KRAMER. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Barnhill, was he well able to pay it himself? Mr. KRAMER. I don't know whether he would be or not. The CHAIRMAN. Did you receive any compensation for salary or for expenses for any other part you took in the conduct of the primary election campaign? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. From whom did you receive that? Mr. KRAMER. The Bayard campaign committee. The CHAIRMAN. Whom? Mr. KRAMER. Bayard headquarters. The CHAIRMAN. You became a part of that organization? The CHAIRMAN. How much did you receive for your services? Mr. KRAMER. All I received is in your report that Mr. Curley submitted. I don't know what the total was that I received. The CHAIRMAN. How was this paid to you-in currency or by check? Mr. KRAMER. Check. It was all by check. The CHAIRMAN. I don't think Mr. Curley has listed here the names Mr. KRAMER. It would be in the checks that he offered to turn over to you, on the Fourth Street Trust Co. The CHAIRMAN. Can you state how much you received? The CHAIRMAN. Surely you would have, Mr. Kramer, some rough idea of what you received for your services there? Mr. KRAMER. Well, I have not, unless I would have the notes made. I handled some of the blocking and handled a great many of the men, and I don't really recall just exactly what the sum was that I received from the committee and used. It was all used by check. The CHAIRMAN. Did you hire those who did the work in what you call the blocking. Mr. KRAMER. Partially. I hired some of them. The CHAIRMAN. How did you pay them? Mr. KRAMER. By check. The CHAIRMAN. You paid by check? Mr. KRAMER. They were paid through the regular committee check, and we have the canceled check for that. The CHAIRMAN. You mean when you engaged helpers you paid them by checks or the headquarters paid them? Mr. KRAMER. They were paid from the regular pay roll of the Bayard committee. The CHAIRMAN. So that you didn't receive a check to pay all of them cash; they were paid by check? Mr. KRAMER. By check. The CHAIRMAN. Then the amount you received was the amount owing alone for your service? Mr. KRAMER. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You didn't receive and pay other workers? Mr. KRAMER. Oh, no. I just simply placed them on the roll, to get their check; put them on the pay roll to get their check for whatever work they had done for me. The CHAIRMAN. So that all you received was for your own personal services and your expense? Mr. KRAMER. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. But you can't recall approximately what you received from this campaign committee in payment for your services? Mr. KRAMER. I don't recall the amount. The CHAIRMAN. Did you receive it all in one payment? Mr. KRAMER. No. I received it at different times. I imagine it was in the neighborhood of $150; about that. The CHAIRMAN. Did you solicit any contributions to the campaign? Mr. KRAMER. Not any. The CHAIRMAN. Are you in any way affiliated with the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment? Mr. KRAMER. I am a member of the association; yes. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know whether or not that association took any part in the Delaware senatorial campaign? Mr. KRAMER. I do not know, but-I am not on their committee. The CHAIRMAN. Do you have any reason to believe at all that the association did spend money in that campaign in Delaware? Mr. KRAMER. I have no reason to believe they did. The CHAIRMAN. You don't think they did? Mr. KRAMER. I don't think they did. |