The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-12-28
OFFICIALLY. DENIED.
The Assistant Secretary Of State
Ridicules a Newspaper Yarn.
cABoTLoDaE PRoNoUNoEs 1TsILLY,

There Is Absolutely No Truth in the
Statement That Anyone Outside
the Department Enjoyed Special
Privileges Not Accorded to All. |
BosroN, Dec. 2s.-The Washington
Post yesterday published an article
charging that valuable historical mate
rial, obtained by the government at
great cost, had been virtually placed at
the control of Henry Cabot Lodge and
Henry Adams and New York firm,
who had paid literally for their privi-
leges, in the form OF fees for copying,
had rayaged them and forestalled many
Deserving, capable and honest writers,
who were striving to examine them. Mr..
Adams, who has an office in this city,
could not be found but Congressman
Lodge, who was found at his Beacon
street home, was quite communicative.
Said he;
We'll, that is a silly story; the most so
that has ever been printed. OF course L
bad the documents copied as everybody
else has right to do who has got the
secretary of states permission l got
Mr. Bayard's permission to copy the
Hamilton documents when | was editing
them for the Putnans, and the Putnans
themselves also got permission. IhatwaS
IN 1885 or 1888, think. They are being
copied continually by historical students.
The works of Washington and Franklin
have also been copied in the same way
by Mr.. Ford, who was at one time in the
employ Of the state department, and the
Jefferson papers are now in process of
publication from the originals of the
State department. ] understand that the
saine we'll defined rules have been fol-
lowed III each case | have not seen the
story published III the Washington Post,
but Judge from what / have been told
that it was perfectly senseless puhlica-
tion, because these papers are entirely
public.
The copying for my set of Hamilton
documents was done under tho super
vision of Theodore Dwight, and the copy
ing was paid for by the Messrs Putnam,
but / don't know who did the copying,
1T would have been dishonest not to
have paid for it, but if it was done by
government clerks IL was certainly not
done i'll the government time, but alter
hours. 1t would have been impossible
for clerks to have done it within their
hours, and IL was not so done. | know
nothing of Mrs. Gouverneur and never
heard of the lady before in connection
with historical documents or otherwise.
] presume Mr.. Adams has also had docu-
uents copied, but am sure he has no
moro access to them than had, and
had no more access than any other per-
Bon who secured the secretary of states
approval to their being copied. They
are part of the national archives, and |
don't see why there should be any talk
about having them copied The story is
started because | am candidate for the
senate, and it is thought it would hurt
n,e, The man who wrote it, and whom
! know, is Il personal enemy of mine'
The journal prints an interview with
Assistant Secretary Of State w barton, in
Washington. in which lie says; The
state department has certain rules and
regulations under which persons may
apply for access tu the papers in its GUS
tody Any person may thus consult
them OF copy them if it does not inter-
fore with the work Of the department.
We have good many persons now at
work on them, and do not know that
any one has ever been refused this re-
quest, The statement that any one out
side the department has had privileges
that We're not accorded to all is utterly
untrue"