Evening star., 1905-08-29
LETTER FROM CUMMINS
REPLY OF IOWA GOVERNOR TO
SECRETARY SHAW.

Gov A. B. Cummins indited a reply yes
terday to the letter written to him by
Secretary Shaw, who criticised Gov. Cum
minis for misquoting him in a speech be-
fore the Chicago reciprocity convention.
The governors letter follows:
Executive ONCE.
'DES MONIES, Iowa, August %, 1905.
'.Mr. Secretary: l have the honor to
acknowledge your letter of the 26th in
stant, in which you challenge a statement
that recently made in addresse deliv-
cred before the national reciprocity con-
ference at Chicago. The statement is as
follows:
The Secretary of the Treasury. in a
speech recently delivered in Des Moines.
is reported saying that the explana-
ton of the. refusal of the Senate to con-
slider the French treaty is that 1t gives
everything to France and nothing to the
United States. l must do him the justice
to believe that he never read the treaty,
for, otherwise. he has committed a grave
onense against the proprieties of debate
The quotation is accurate, l made
the statement. You say respecting it:
II knew that 1 did not say it or any
thing that could be so Interpreted, but I
was not so sure about the report. The
occasion was an informal luncheon. and
the speech was impromptu, though not
extemporaneouS.
Is Gratified by Denial.
"'You further say:
knowing, therefore, that you would
not violate the "proprieties of debate" by
quoting me without authority, as having
made a specific statement, 1 write to in
1uire where you saw the report of my
speech as given in your Chicago address.
1 have not seen it, and l wish to correct
the record as soon as possible
Il am sincerely gratified to know that
G a @ MT IN
1t was impossible for me to reconcile it
with the truth, and I am not less gratified
to be given the opportunity to advise you
of my authority for imputing the senti-
ment to YOU You may be against the
French treaty and 1 may be for it, but you
can no more afford to mislead the public
ford to misrepresent the statements you
make to justify the inaction Of the SEN
ate
You are quite right in determining
that both of us have had too long an
experience in the trial of cases to be-
lieve that any substantial victory can be
won either through any falsehood or
passive suppression of the truth. there
lore promptly give you my authority for
stating that you were reported as saying
in your speech at Des Moines that the
Senate failed to approve the French
treaty because it gave France everything
ana the United States nothing.
Editorial in a Friendly Paper.
'In the Des Moines Capital of Satur-
day, May q. 1905 the day after your
speech here, you will find a long editorial
entitled Secretary Shaw. 1t deals wholly
with your speech of the day before. I
quote that part of it upon which relied
in my address at Chicago:
In his own original way he drove
home certain facts that will be remem-
bered He exposed the proposed French
treaty In all its deformity, demonstrating
that We were offering France a tremen-
dous bargain and getting practically
nothing in return
IF this be not sufficient basis for the
statement that l made in Chicago, have
to learn the meaning of the commonest
words OF my mother tongue. Lafayette
Young, the editor of the Des Moines Cap
ital, was present at the luncheon and
heard your speech He is your political
your views He is himself a speaker of
wonderful power 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 conclusion of your argument.
When he wrote in his vivid and strk-
ing way that you exposed the proposed
French treaty in all it's deformity demon
strating that we were Offering France a
tremendous bargain and getting practi-
cally nothing in return, it was not pos
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, l will hand
copy of my reply to the newspapers
at the time l mail this letter.
with high regard 1 am yours very
truly, ALBERT B. CUMMINS."