The Grit-advocate., 1904-09-30
DARING FORGERY
USING THE PRESIDENTS NAME
Forged Letter Appears in the Miners
Magazine, Published at Denver
President Will Try to Discover the
ForQer,

Fof0eo Letter Appears IN the MlnSfS
Magazine, Published at Denver
President Will Try to Discover the
Foraer.
Butte. Mont. Sept. 2S.-When Sena-
tor Fairbanks and his party arrived
here they found the Republican lead.
ers considerably exercised over the
publication in the Miners Magazine,
published at Denver by the Western
Federation of Miners, of what pur-
ported to be a denunciation OF labor
unions by President Roosevelt and q
denial of its authenticity by the Presi-
dent.
The Presidents contradiction was
sent to Former Senator Lee Mantle
in response to telegram Of inquiry
from him. and was as follows:
White House. Washington, Sept. 26.
Hon. Lee Mantle, Butte. Montana
Your telegram received. The letter you
refer to, purporting to be addressed by
me to Mr.. Michael Donnelly and printed
in the Miners Magazine Of September
22d, is, OF course, an absurd and i'm
pudent forgery. have written no such
letter, nor any letter even resembling
1t, to Mr.. Donnelly, nor any one else.
! have written MIR. Donnelly, request
ing to know il he has received any such
letter, and requesting him, if SO. to at
once lay it before the district attorney
Of Chicago to find out whether 1t Is
possible to discover and punish the
forgers. (Signed)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The letter in which the President
was represented to have made his at
tack upon union labor was addressed
to Donnelly, president of the Butchers
and Meat Cutters Union OF Chicago.
The document is given in full. with
President ROosevelt's name attached,
but without date, and it Is stated that
1T was written in response to an ap-
peal by Donnelly to him to interfere for
the settlement of the late butchers
strike. Following are some extracts
from it:
'Sir-You state that the strike in the
packing industry is now up to me- And
you add that one word from me would
settle the strike in favor of organized
labor. see in this a combined threat
and challenge under which no one but
q weakling would be silent. propose.
therefore, to give you a word, but only
to tell you and men Of your mind some
wholesome truth, since l feel that If
were to hold my peace in the presence
of such extraordinary demands as you
make the very stone would cry out.
Il first have to say to you that l re-
sent from the bottom OF my heart your
attempt to drag this strike into poll
tics. Your implication that would do
for you in presidential year what l
would not do ct another time is an in
suit. If cannot be elected without
getting on my knees to labor unions.
then in the spirit of my distinguished
opponent. let the election 60. Nothing
does more to degrade our political life
than such efforts to put pressure upon
a candidate in the hope that to win
few votes he will lose his self-respect.
That is dearer to an honest man than
a thousand presidencies, and tell you
frankly that you only hurt your cause
with me when you intimate that the
electoral vote Of Illinois. may be hang
ing in the scales of the beef strike.
my final advice to you, Mr.. Don
nelly, is to quit when you have had
enough. :. :. It is evident that
your strike was ill-advised. This is
proved by the fact that your employ
ers are able to get plenty Of men to
take your places. The right Of the lat
ter to work unmolested is one that
must be upheld unless this govern
ment is to sink into the pit. Accord
ingly counsel you to make the most
advantageous terms you can. You
have staked all and lost; now make
the best of it like a man. In any case
be assured that shall keep my hands
off unless your folly brings you into
collision with the laws OF the United
States, when my hand will go on in a
way you will not like. 1 am not to be
neither wheedled nor frightened into
meddling with what is none Of my
business. This is a government Of
laws, not OF dictators or of busybodies
or even of anxious candidates. The
law must take its course, and it will
run over you if you get in the way"
After advising DonneIry to put a
stop to the strike, the President is
represented as saying:
Let me tell you that the first duty
of the officers of the law, whether they
be sheriff, constable, municipal Off
GERS, mayors, governors or the Presi.
dent himself, is to maintain public or
der and put down the mob with. an iron
hand"
ORIGIN OF FORGED LETTER..