The Elbert County tribune., 1905-10-05
FAVORED LOOMS
THE LATE SECRETARY HAY CON-
DEMNED BoWEN's ATTACK.
STATEMENT OF PRESIDENT
Substantial vihdication of Assistant
Secretary of State loomis Fur
nished in Letter by President
Roosevelt-contrary Reports De
MED.

Washington.-In correspondence be
tween Presidept Roosevelt and Assist
ant Secretary of State Loomis made
public here Sunday, the President says
Secretary Hay disagreed with him on
even mild censure" of Mr.. Loomis in
the Taft report on the investigation of
the charges brought by Mr.. Bowen. for
merly minister TO Venezuela, and adds
that Secretary Hay strongly con
densped Mr.. Bowen's course.
The Presidents letter is in reply to
one by Mr.. Loomis asking If there is
any truth in the paragraph published
in New York paper, saying:
Practically the last official act OF
Mr.. Hays life was to visit the White
House for the purpose of urging the
President not to dismiss Bowen and
TO dismiss Loomis, but learning the
Presidents mind was made up. ne
went away with his message unspo-
ken. Mr. Hay thoroughly disliked and
distrusted him Qoomis) and told the
President so. but was unable TO pro
! duce any effect on the Presidents
J mind"
President Roosevelt in his reply
says:
My Dear Mr.. Loomis:-In answer
10 your letter of September 25th de-
sire to state. in the broadest and most
emphatic manner, that the statement
you quote as appearing in certain
newspapers and especially certain
newspapers of New York. as to the
supposed differences of opinion be
tween myself and the late Secretary
Hay. in respect to the action taken by
me regarding Mr.. Bowen in connection
with the charges against you Is not
merely without foundation in fact,
but is the direct reverse of the truth.
You were appointed assistant sec
retary of state on Mr. Hays sugges-
tion and request He never spoke to
me about you save with respect and
cordial appreciation of the services
you were rendering and he expressed
TO me very great regret that you were
going to leave the service and stated
hat he had hoped you would stay as
long as he did and that he would find
it difficult to get any one in your place
that he would Ike so much.
MIR. Hay expressed himself very
frequently on the occasion of his last
visit to Washington, including the last
occasion | ever saw him alive with re-
gard to the action taken by me con
cerning the charges made by Mr.
Bowen against you.
Not only did he express himself
about Mr.. Bowen to me in the Ian
guage you quote him as having used
at about the same time TO you in
speaking OF Nj. Bowen, but he also
condemned Mr.. Bowen in much
stronger terms than those which you
quote him as having used and dwelt
particularly on the fact of what he
called treachery and disloyalty of Mr..
Bowen to the government and to him
tMr. Hay), repeating again and again
that most of the charges Mr. Bowen
made were really not charges against
you at all, but against himself (Mr.
Hay), and that Bowen of course knew
this.
Moreover, Mr.. Hay used about Mr..
Bowen stronger language of condemna-
ton than ever heard him use about
any other man who had served under
him. But this was not ALL Mr. Hay
did what he very rarely did. He ex-
pressed his strong dissent from the
action | had taken in endorsing Mr..
Taft's report as regards the mild cen
sure of you which 1t contains, stating
that he disagreed with both Mr., Taft
and myself on this point and felt that
you were in no way whatever censur-
able, and that the only action that had
been called for was the dismissal of
Mr.. Bowen and the announcement OF
your entire vindication."