 William Randolph Hearst 's New York Journal was hostile to McKinley throughout the campaign ; prior to the Republican convention , Alfred Henry Lewis accused Hanna of acting on behalf of a syndicate , controlling McKinley . During the general election campaign , the Democratic newspapers , especially the papers owned by Hearst , attacked Hanna for his supposed role as McKinley 's political master . These articles and cartoons have contributed to a lasting popular belief that McKinley was not his own man , but that he was effectively owned by the corporations , through Hanna . Homer Davenport 's cartoons for the Hearst papers were especially effective in molding public opinion about Hanna , who was often depicted as " Dollar Mark " , in a suit decorated with dollar signs ( a term for which " dollar mark " was a common alternative ) . McKinley 's 1893 personal financial crisis allowed him to be convincingly depicted as a child , helpless in the hands of businessmen and their mere tool in the 1896 campaign . Hearst and the Journal gave $ 41 @,@ 000 to Bryan 's campaign , one of the largest the Democrats received , but that amount was dwarfed by the sums raised by Hanna . 
