A CONFESSION THAT MEANS MUCH.
In the St. Louis bribery trials that have had so much attention in the press of late a confession has just been made by one of the members of the Legislature which shows the inner workings of the political bribery combine that is controlling the legislation of that state. And who can say that Missouri is the only state thus affected? We quote from the convicted legislator’s own statement of the case:— The best reparation that I can make for the wrongs I have done is to confess fully to everything, in order that the public may realize what has been going on. Yielding to the pleadings of my wife, I have determined to do all I can to atone for my sins against the public. The people of St. Louis even now do not realize how they have been persistently plundered for years and years by the men they elected to make laws for the city. I became a member of the House of Delegates in 1897, and at once became a member of the combine of that body, which was an organization composed of nineteen delegates for the purpose of selling legislation. The first bill that came up after I had become a member of the combine was “the suburban loop bill.” The combine got $30,000 for their votes on this bill. On the Union Avenue bill we got $18,000. On the central traction bill we got $75,000. On the Third Street line bill we got $75,000. On the lighting bill we got $47,000. On the suburban bill we were to get $75,000, which is now in a deposit box in the Lincoln Trust Company, being placed there with the agreement that it should be turned over to us when the bill had been passed. While these are some of the largest bribes secured during my term of office, there were innumerable others ranging from $10,000 to a few hundred dollars for some minor privileges. The bribe prices were fixed in meetings of the combine, the procedure being for some member to get up, and move that a certain price be fixed on a certain bill. Other members would give their opinions, a vote would be taken, and the price securing the highest number of votes would be adopted. Then we would select an agent of the combine by ballot to negotiate for and receive the money. This agent would distribute the money among us. From my intimate knowledge of the dealing of this combine, and what has been going on here for the last quarter of a century, I make the positive statement that there is hardly a corporation in the city of St. Louis of $100,000 or over that has not been held for bribe money in the House of Delegates. I acted as the agent of the combine in a number of these deals. In the suburban deal I went with Kratz to Stock’s house, and was present when the agreement was made regarding the bribe of $60,000 for Kratz, which is now in a lock box in the Mississippi Valley Trust Company. I went with Kratz and Carroll to the office of a prominent broker in the lighting deal, and there $20,000 was paid by this broker to the combine, and the promise was made then that $27,500 more would be paid.