The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1903-12-11

Counsel for Postoffice Department.
Washington, Dec. S.-James N.
Tyner, who was assistant attorney
general for the postoffice department
until dismissed on account of matters
connected with the postofflce affairs,
has sent the following to President
Roosevelt:
Washington, Dec. $40 the
President-Sir: In your official state
ment as president of the United
States, addressed to the American re-
public in connection with the report
of Fourth Assistant Postmaster Cen
eral Bristow on the alleged postal
frauds, you make certain statements
concerning my supposed connection
Herewith, which l take the liberty of
answering in order that it may prop
erly go upon your official records.
81 do not desire in accepting your
good faith or sincerity in accepting
the conclusions of your subordinate,
Mr.. Bristow, and in Identifying them
with the weight of your high official
position, but has it occurred to you
that pending the trial Of the three
indictments against me based upon
the allegations of the report, and
without having heard one word from
me in my defense, your premature
and unwarranted announcements of
my assumed guilt and your call to the
court and jury to indorse the same,
is to say the least, extraordinary and
dangerous?
81 am not even asking that l should
be presumed innocent or that before
l am condemned by you or the de-
partment | should be confronted by
proof or witnesses or given an Oppor
tunity to be heard in my defense; or
that in the trial which confronts me,
/ should have a fair trial-all l am
asking is that in view of the uni
formity of my life and the fact that
my lips may at any moment be for
ever sealed, this letter be filed among
your official records of my case, to-
gether with my letter of July 27,
1903, to Mr.. Bristow, a copy of which
| attach.
Makes Denial.
81 desire again to deny any one of
the yelled charges made by Mr.. Bris-
tow in his report, and to call your at
tention to the fact that not one direct
or specific charge is made against me
in the conduct of my high office, nor
has, nor can one cent of gain be
traced to me. If my life is spared 1
shall fully refute all the surmises
shall be able to show the reasons
which which led him to withhold from
you further data and to misquote and
falsify that which he did submit to
you.
81 also desire to state that If any of
the friends of Tyner have, as you al
lege, advanced the theory that in this
case the chief offender was my
nephew, and that my alleged offenses
were due to my failing mental and
bodily powers, they did so without my
knowledge or assent. 1t Is true that
owing to two strokes of paralysis my
bodily powers have failed me, and
may have to face a third and trueI
and sterner Judge ere many days, but
my mental powers, thank God, have
never suffered, and l trust will not fai
me until I have convinced the Ameri
can public and you that my acts have
been honest, honorable and straight
forward in the sight of God and man
l am confident that the relations o.
Mr.. Barrett with me and my depart
ment were as innocent and honorable
as l am sure were all my motives anC
acts.
Gross Corruption Sentence.
81 also wish to deny your utterl!
unwarranted statement that the gross
corruption in the case of Tyner ha'
gone on for a number of years Yol
should know, and your subordinate
do know, that no single act of cor
ruptiOn, gross or mild, has been dis
covered against me; and that the
United States government, with it
40 inspectors and chief inquisitor, MI
Bristow, will be unable to discover
/ have tried during 40 years of faith
full service to my country to prove m
zeal for faithfulness and honesty Il
the public service, and l now say
you, the president of the Unite
States, my executive, as if it were tn
last word / shall ever utter, that i
vour we'll recognized and HONORABLE