Mortgage v. Strangle Hold

Republicans and Democrats fell to haggling again last week over national political finances. In reporting their current position, the Democrats revealed that they were still $707,054 in the red, of which $295,250 came from Chairman John Jacob Raskob. During the last three months Mr. Raskob has increased his party's debt to him by $40,000. These figures caused the Republican National Committee to remark through the convenient mouth of West Virginia's Senator Hatfield: "Mr. Raskob is steadily increasing the size of the mortgage which he holds on the once proud party of Jefferson and Jackson."

It took the Democratic National Committee a week to collect figures for a reply. Washington's Senator Clarence Cleveland Dill, as the party's respondent, pointed out that of the $6,541,000 in the 1928 Republican campaign fund, $2.580,000 was contributed by 239 rich men. Said he: "The Standard Oil's contribution was $92,500, the automobile manufacturers' $225,000, the steel magnates' $127,000, Wall Street's leading figures' $305,000. . . . Here are the names of 31 men whose contributions to elect Hoover reach the surprising figure of $698,000. . . . These men and these interests have no 'mortgage' on the Republican party, it is true. They have a strangle hold."

Next day to drive home his point Senator Dill named 24 men who he said gave the G. 0. P. $477,000 in 1928 and got back from the Treasury, either individually or through their corporations, tax refunds totalling $114,655,279. Though Senator Dill would have great difficulty in proving any connection between these funds and refunds, his charge was prime political ammunition. Large contributions and refunds listed among the 24: Jeremiah Milbank $25,000 and $891,443; the Brothers Van Sweringen $65,000 and $353,364; the Rockefellers, father and son $50,000 and $8,545,309; William Nelson Cromwell $25,000 and $222,652; Harvey Firestone $25.000 and $2,960,000; Charles Hayden $25,000 and $1,876,000; the late George Fisher Baker Sr. $20.000 and $97,388,915.

"It pays to be a Republican," declared Senator Dill. "They get their money back 24,000%."

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