Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1904-09-29
LETTER PUBLISHED AS FROM
RoosEvELT's PEN WRITTEN
BY NEW YORK EDITOR.
HUNT FOR GUILTY is ON
Party Who Started Story As a Real
Letter From the President to Don
nelly, Leader of the Chicago Strikers
viii Be Proseeuted-story Of the
Letter From Its True Author.

New York, Sept. 2S.-The Even
ing Post today says: "The letter
alleged to have been received by
Michael ]. Donnelly purporting to
be the one sent by President
Roosevelt was copied from an edi-
torial in the Evening Post on Au-
gust l, in which it was explicitly
stated to be letter which the
President MIGHT have written
with advantage to himself and
country" In other words it was
confessedly an imaginary letter,
written for the sake of bringing
out certain truths in regard too the
meat strike.
We had no thought Of course of
being able to make even a present
able imitation Of the Presidents
literary style, and as the article
was, at the time, commented upon
and reproduced somewhat exten-
sively in the press, we. never
dreamed of its ever coming to fig
ure as Campaign forgery"
Chicago, Sept. 2s.-President
Donnelly, Of the AmaIgamat-
ed Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen's union, fatty denied to-
day ever having received the letter
purporting to come from Presi-
dent Roosevelt, containing advice
regarding the meat strike
Washington, D. c., Sept. %. - Pres.
adent Roosevelt's signature has been
forged to a letter addressed to Michael
Donnelly. president of the American
Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen
and published in the Miners Maya
zine of Denver, Colo, the official organ
Of the Western Federation gaf, Miners.
The obvious purpose Of tie forgery
Is to array organized labor against
the chief executive in the pending
campaign.
President Roosevelt Makes Denial.
President Roosevelt last night sent
out the following telegram of denial:
white House, Washington, D. c.,
September 27, 1904.
"The letter purporting to be ad-
dressed by me to Michael Donnelly,
and printed in the Miners Magazine
of September %, is of course, an ab-
surd and 1mpudent forgery. I have
written no such letter nor any letter
even resembling it, to Mr.. Donnelly,
nor any one else. have written to
Mr.. Donnelly requesting to know if he
has received any such letter, and re-
questing him, If so, to at once lay it
before the district attorney of Chicago
to find out whether it is possible to
discover and punish the forgers.
Theodore Roosevelt"
In Use as Campaign Document.
This Is the first time, so far as is
that any one has forged the
name of chief executive for the pur-
pose of bringing about his political
downfall. Ex-senator Lee Mantle,
chairman of the state republican COM
mittee of Montana, notified the Presi-
dent by telegraph that the letter in
question was being circulated through
but the west, and inquired If the Presi-
dent had written such letter He was
notified at once that the whole thing
was a forgery and was authorized to
1eny that the President was the au-
.hor OF the letter and to make public
The fact that his signature had been
orged.
The Letter.
: The letter in which the President
was represented to have made his at
tack on union labor was addressed to
Michael Donnelly of Chicago, president
of the Butchers and Meat Cutters
lnion. The article in today's New York
Evening Post explains the origin of the
etter, but does not excuse its publica.
ion ond circulation as genuine pro-
luct of the Presidents pen. The docu-
nent Is given in full, with President
Roosevelt's name attached, but with
out date, and it is stated that it was
written in response to an appeal by
oonnelly to him to interfere for the
settlement of the late butchers strike.
Following are some extracts from it:
II stand ready to do as my illustri-
,us predecessor, Grover Cleveland did,
md assert the power of this nation
Lgatnst all local nullifiers.
Denounces the> Unions.
Last summer l felt impelled to
write letter calling upon my country
nen to put down lynching. But labor
lnion terrorism and crime are as great
. national menace as lynch law.
LET me tell you that the first duty