The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-08-29
GOV. CUMMlNS'S REPLY
ANSWERS THE ATTACK MADE BY
 SECRETARY SHAW.
Iowa Chief Executive Continues Inter- esting Correspondence and Gives Authority for the Statement
 He Made

Des Moines, Ia, Aug Ex-Governor A. B. Cummins today made public a reply to the attack made upon him by Secretary of the Treasury Leslie N i. Shaw, who criticized him for misquot-
 ing the Secretary in his speech in the Chicago reciprocity convention. Gov ernor Cummins showed that he had the quotation in an editorial in The Des Moines Daily Capital. whose editor at tended the banquet of Des Moines bankers, where Mir. Shaw made the address, and who is warm supporter of the Secretary. The letter in full Is as follows:
 Executive once, Des Moines, la, Aug. 2S 19O5 Mir. Secretary--I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 26th in- stant. in which you challenge a state nent that I\recently made in an ad- dress before the National Reciprocity Conference at Chicago. The statement Is as follows: The Secretary of the Treasury in a speech recently delivered in Des Moines is reported as saying that the explanation of the refusal of the Senate to consider the French treaty is that it gives everything to France and nothing to the United States. I must do him the justice to believe that he never read the treaty for otherwise he has committed a grave offense against the proprieties of de- bate.'
 The quotation is accurate. I made the statement. You say respecting it:
 ,"I know that did not say it or any thing that could be so interpreted. The occasion was an informal luncheon and the speech was impromptu, though not extemporaneous."
 You further say, Knowing, tnere- fore, that you would not violate the proprieties of debate by quoting me without authority as having made specific statement. I write to inquire whether you saw the report of my speech as given in your Chicago ad- dress. have not seen it and wish to correct the record as soon as possi- ble"
 I am sincerely gratifed to know that you deny having made the statement, for 1t was impossible for me to recon ciie 1t with the truth; and I am not less gratifed to be given the opportun- ity to advise you of my authority for imputinR the sentiment to you. You may be against the French treaty and I may be for it; but you can no more afford to misiead the public concern ing it's provisions than I can afford to misrepresent the statements you make to justify the inaction of the Senate.
 You are quite right in saying that both of us have had too long an expe- rience in the trial of cases to believe that any substantial victory can be won either through aay falsehood or passive suppression of the truth. I therefore promptly give you my au- thority for stating that you were re- ported as saying in your speech at Des Moines that the Senate failed to ap- prove the French treaty because 1t gave France everything and the United States nothing.
 In the Des Moines Capital on satur- day, May 27, 1905. ethe day after your speech here) you will find a long edi- torial entitled Secretary Shaw" It day befors. quote that part of 1t upon which l relied in my address at Chicago: tsas
 Tn his own original way he drove home certain facts that will be refnem- bcred. He exposed the proposed French treaty in all it's deformity. demonstrat- ing that we were offering France a tremendous bargain and getting prac- tically nothing in return"
 If this be not sufficient basis for the statement that I made fin Chicago, have yet to learn the meaning of the commonest words of my mother tongue. La Fayette Young, the editor of The Des Moines Capital. was present at the luncheon and heard your speech, He Is your political friend and ally. He Is in sympathy with your views. He is himself a speaker of wonderful DOW CT and knows what words mean. He writes constantly concerning the tariff and reciprocity and could not have been mistaken with respect to the trend and of your argument. When he wrote in his vivid and striking way that you exposed the proposed French treaty in all it's deformity. demonsrat- Ing that we were offering France a bargain and getting practi- | cally nothing in return," 1t was not pos- l sible for me to doubt that you had said | what he had imputed to you. I know | that he could easily misunderstood me. but 1t is incredible that he should mis- | understand you.
 Following your example I will hand | l copy of my reply to the newspapers | at the time I mail this letter. With | high regards, 1 am,
 Yours very truly,
 D