The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-10-28
SAYS PRESIDENTS
WORDS ARE FALSE
Jas, N. Tyner and Roosevelt
Exchange COurteSleS
STRONG LANGUAGE Is USED
Is Restrained From Calling Mr.. Roose-
welt Into Court Only Out of Re-
spect for His High
Office.

Washington, October 27.-Mr. James
N. Tyner, formerly assistant attorney
general for the postoffice department,
who was removed Office by the Presi-
dent and later tried and acquitted on
charges in connection with alleged pos
tai frauds, tonight made public the
following letter sent by him to the
President:
Washington, D. c., Oct. 8, 1904.
Sir:-Immediately after the publ
cation Of your extraordinary 'proclama-
ton last November declaring me
guilty, without hearing or trial, of
gross corruption acceptance Of brides
and other misconduct in office, filed
with you an emphatic denial of every
charge in toto, and asked for an oppor-
tunity to prove my innocence. You
ignored this humble protest. and after
l had exhausted every means of estab-
fishing my innocence and had been
promptly acquitted by jury upon the
indictments you caused to be found
against me, again petitioned you to
withdraw your unwarranted 'proclama-
ton of guilt.
Was Unfair and Unjust.
I'm reply to this | received your sec
retary's letter Oh June "a, which was SO
unfair and unjust and so clearly owed
It's character to the exigencies of your
presidential campaign that | consid-
cred 1t unworthy of notice, especially
as you withhold it from the public.
Even now | should make no reply Il
there had not recently appeared in
IT, u
which usese the very phraseology of
your letter, and which is such a DELHI
crate tissue of falsehoods and is cir
culated for such an evident purpose,
that | cannot ignore it.
Your unqualified statement that I was
| guilty OF gross corruption and of ac-
cepting bribes,- etc, while assistant at
torney general for the postoffice depart
| ment, was made in a message to con-
gres,' as you now assert. Congress was
not even in session. For obvious reasons
1t was made in proclamation direct to
| the public with the usual llmelight ac-
| cessories. If your statements had been
made to congress In the course of and as
| part of your official duties-though no
such duty could devolve upon the Presi-
dent under our constitution, as you we'll
| know-I should not have addressed you
personally but as you went outside of
yOuI IlSHlS anu uuLleS as cnleI mdRlS-
trate, and in defiance of every established
principle of law, and even without a hear
ing or without evidence, rashly and inn
petuously pronounced me guilty of these
grave crimes, and to these charges lent
the weight of your great office, / felt that
you should be given the opportunity to
justify yourself or to retract
Accusations Are False.
Your accusations are false and have
been proven false, but have no further
means of establishing these except by
hauling you into the courts, and l have
too much respect for the high office which
you occupy to do this. My object in writ
ing you was to give you the opportunity
to do just and manly act, and to vindi-
cate yourself, not me. 1 do not need your
vindication. l can face my eternal Judge
with entire peace of mind.
Your effort to override the verdict of
court and jury by a specious distinction
between the crimes you say you referred
to in your proclamation and conspiracy
to commit those crimes might be less
contemplate If its unfarness and it's in
tent were not so obvious and if you did
not know that every act referred to in
the Bristow report was fully before the
jury on tho charge Of corruption 'brib-
cry and misconduct in office Had
there been any evidence of wrong doing,
1t would have been offered and admitted,
but there was none; and you know it.
Defled You to Prove 1t.
I'm my letter to you of December 2,
1903, protesting against your unwarranted
proclamation. l defied you to procure a
scintilla of evidence to support your ac-
cusation, and prayed that my life might
be spared to face these charges; and now
after have gone to trial and every act
of my private and official life has been
laid bare and not particle Of evidence
has been produced against me, you your
self, by saying that 1 was not tried for
what you accused me of but for some
thing else.
THAT this Is false, the records show
and you know 1t. If l am guilty of crimes
other than those charged In the indict-
ments found against me, then why was
not | indicted and tried for them also =?
And Is my life is still spared me, l am
ready now, groundless and unjust as l
know your charges are, to stand trial.
Executive pressure secured three indict-
ments against me; maybe 1t can pro-
cure others. No technicalities nor pleas
of limitations will be interposed to pre-
vent you from proving your serious
charges.
VIII Undergo Any Ordeal.
Naturally, at my age and in my condi-
ton l have no desire to be again hauled
In the criminal court, but in order to
preserve my record Of forty years of pub
lie service untarnished, 1 am willing TO
undergo, IL necessary, any ordeal. l
know l am innocent and you know there
is no truthful evidence against me. And
on your statements you ought not to
stand. In my several letters addressed
to you / merely demanded what | con-
ceived to be my rights as an American
citizen. l am asking for no favors. |
wanted neither your sympathy nor that
Of jury; but for eighty years of my
life l tried to do right unto others so [
hoped they might do right unto me. If
any citizen of our republic can stand
convicted by presidential proclamation
their law is a farce and no mans reputa-
ton is safe. You preach square deals
to every man; why not practice it? Ask
ing that this protest may be filed with
the record Of my case. l am, very respect
fully, JAS. II. TYNER.
Theodore Roosevelt, President of the
United States.''