Page:The History of the Standard Oil Company Vol 2.djvu/148

 a prominent personage in the same concern. Their lieutenants were also members of the company in one capacity or another. Large sums of money were alleged to have been circulated. There was a rumour that Oliver Payne said the election cost him $100,000. It was claimed that it could be proved that a check for $65,000 had been cashed in Cleveland by one of the men most prominent in the Payne boom, and that the whole sum had been spent in Columbus.

A perfect uproar of indignation followed the announcement of Mr. Payne's choice. All over the state the Standard Oil Company was charged with the election. The Democratic press was particularly bitter:

The comments were not confined to papers of the state. The New York Sun, under the head "Was Payne's Election Bought?" said:

"The subjoined communication from a source which we always respect is worthy of more attention than is usually bestowed upon the animated expressions of those whose preferences have not been realised:

"'It is now believed, and I believe, that the Standard Oil Company recently bought