CHICAGO HEARINGS SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES . MONDAY, JULY 26, 1926 UNITED STATES SENATE, Chicago, IU. The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o'clock 9. m. in the Federal Building, Chicago, Ill., Senator James A. Reed presiding Present: Senators Reed of Missouri (chairman) and La Follette. The CHAIRMAN. The clerk will call the names of the witnesses. The witnesses whose names are called will please come forward if they are present. The clerk of the committee called the following witnesses: Chester A. Willoughby, Frank L. Smith, George E. Brennan, Charles V. Barrett, Robert E. Crowe, Roy O. West, Samuel Insull, Edward H. Wright, and William Hale Thompson. The CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE. Mr. Robert E. Crowe is out of town. A BYSTANDER. If the Senators please, Mr. West, I think, communicated with you, did he not? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. (The following witnesses came forward and were sworn by the chairman: Chester A. Willoughby, Frank L. Smith, George E. Brennan, Charles V. Barrett, Samuel Insull, Edward H. Wright, and William Hale Thompson.) The CHAIRMAN. I understand Senator McKinley is ill, and a subpæna has not been served on him for that reason. Mr. Smith, will you please come forward? TESTIMONY OF FRANK L. SMITH (This witness had been sworn by the chairman.) The CHAIRMAN. Your name is Frank L. Smith? Mr. Smith. Yes, Senator. Senator Reed, may I ask the courtesy and privilege of the Senate committee of making a statement before I am interrogated? The CHAIRMAN. I think we have not done that. I think we will be able to develop all the facts that are relevant. Mr. Smith. My name is Frank L. Smith. Mr. Smith. I run a bank; I am a farmer; I have various business interests. The CHAIRMAN. You were a candidate for the nomination on the Republican ticket for the United States Senate at the last primary held in Illinois? Mr. Smith. I was. The CHAIRMAN. Who were the candidates, if you recall, on the Democratic ticket for the same office? Mr. Smith. George Brennan, a Mr. Monroe, and a Mr. McDermott. The CHAIRMAN. Did you have any organization for the purpose of promoting your candidacy? Mr. SMITH. I did. The CHAIRMAN. Will you please tell us what that organization was? Mr. SMITH. A campaign committee known as the Frank L. Smith campaign committee for United States Senator. The CHAIRMAN. Who was the chairman of that committee? The CHAIRMAN. Can you give us the names of the members of the committee? Mr. SMITH. No; I can not. The CHAIRMAN. The clerk will issue a subpæna for Allen F. Moore. Do you know whether Mr. Moore is at home now or not? Mr. Smith. I think not. I think he is in Chicago. Mr. Smith. I do not now. He is stopping, I believe, at the Union League Club. The CHAIRMAN. I presume he could give us the names of the committee? Mr. Smith. I assume he can. I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. Do you know any of the members of that committee? Mr. Smith. I paid no attention, Senator, to the organization, other than that Mr. Moore was the chairman of it. The CHAIRMAN. Do you not know some of the members of your own committee? Mr. Smith. I do not. The CHAIRMAN. You never even heard any of their names? Mr. Smith. I do not know whether he has got one, other than that he is the chairman of the committee. The CHAIRMAN. At whose request did he act as chairman? The CHAIRMAN. When was it that you arranged with Mr. Moore to undertake the business of acting as chairman of your committee? Mr. Smith. I should say in November of 1925, or probably September. I think it was September. The CHAIRMAN. September? The CHAIRMAN. Where were you when you met Mr. Moore to talk this matter over? Mr. Smith. At his home in Monticello. Mr. Smith. I asked him, if I became a candidate for United States Senator, if he would undertake to take charge of my campaign. The CHAIRMAN. Who was present? The CHAIRMAN. Did you have any conferences with other people than Mr. Moore in regard to creating an organization to carry on your campaign? Mr. Smith. Yes. Mr. Smith. I tried to get Mr. Garrett De Forest Kinney, of Peoria, to manage my campaign, but he was going to be a candidate himself for another office. The CHAIRMAN. For what office? Mr. Smith. For State treasurer. The CHAIRMAN. Garrett De Forest Kinney? Mr. SMITH. Garrett De Forest Kinney. The CHAIRMAN. I meant, however, to inquire whether you consulted with others than with Mr. Moore regarding the organization which was to be created? Mr. Smith. No; I did not. The CHAIRMAN. Is the committee, then, to understand that you arranged with Mr. Moore to manage your campaign, and that he undertook the task of creating the organization and conducting the campaign except in so far as you yourself would make speeches and see the people? Mr. Smith. That is it; yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And is it a fact that Mr. Moore did have charge of your campaign in the manner I have just indicated? Mr. Smith. It is. Mr. Smith. I can not give the exact date; I think some time in the fore part of November. The CHAIRMAN. 1925? Mr. Smith, 1925. The CHAIRMAN. Did that remain your headquarters, then, throughout the campaign? Mr. Smith. It did until the 15th day, I think, of April. The CHAIRMAN. That is, it remained your headquarters until the primary campaign was over? Mr. Smith. During the primary; yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Did you ever have any talk with any person or or persons with reference to campaign contributions? Mr. Smith. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. You did talk the matter over with Mr. Moore, then? Mr. Smith. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. When did you talk with him about it, or did you talk with him on a number of occasions? Mr. Smith. I talked with him about the time that we were discussing the probability of my candidacy and his taking charge of the campaign. The CHAIRMAN. What was said at that time? Mr. Smith. We discussed in a general way the probable cost of a campaign, and I indicated to him what I thought I would be able to give. The CHAIRMAN. What did you conclude at this first conference would be the probable cost of the campaign? Mr. Smith. $150,000. The CHAIRMAN. You say you indicated how much you would be able to give. What was that amount? Mr. Smith. I told him I could not give but very little. Mr. Smith. I do not know the exact date, but some time in the early part of November. The CHAIRMAN. Did you draw this money out of any bank before you turned it over to Mr. Moore? Mr. Smith. Draw it out of any bank? |
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