The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-10
THE PRESIDENT REPLIES
!. TO THE STORER ATTACK
Cites Correspondence and Fact. to Prove Former Amba.
sador Unreasonable and Disneenuous- MRS storer
Ss Played an Important Part in Affair.

emo pretension of this kind should
he admitted for one moment. If any
man, clerical, or lay, bishop, archbish-
op,, priest or civilian, was in any way
guilty Of reasonable practices with
Spain during our war, he should be
shot or hung, and it is an outrage on
Justice that he should be at large. But
[ cannot write in way that will seem
to defend man for not avoiding war
with Spain, for I cannot recognize for
a single moment the right of any Euro
pean so much as to think that there is
need of defense or excuse in such a
case.'
Storer Sought Promotion.
AS soon as he became president, Mr..
Roosevelt says, Mrs. Storer began writ
ing urging that Mr.. Storer be given a.
cabinet position. On being informed
that. no changes were to be made in
the cabinet, Mrs. Storer suggested the
embassies at London; and Paris as fit
places for her husband, and stating
that Mr.. Choate and Mr.. Foster were
not proper persons for ambassadors.
In view Of the intense Indignation
OF MI. and Mrs. Storer at his being
removed from office now, there is a.
certain element of the comic in their
attempt thus to get me to remove either
you or Mr.. Choate or Mr.. Porter for
the purpose Of giving Mr.. Storer either
caplnet position or the embassy in
england or France. I received many
letters OF the general tenor of those
mentioned, enumerating their hardships
and services and enemies.'' I -.
AS to Mr.. Storer' assertion that,
a!tho the president, in his letters, per-
slstently refused to ask the pope to
promote Archbishop Ireland to a car
dlnalate, he nevertheless gave him
(Mr. Storey verbal message, COM
mlss1onlng him to make the request,
MI; Roosevelt enters an emphatic de-
alal' saying that such assertion is I'M
- - McKinley's Position.
In answer to Mr.. Storer's further
assertion that Mr.. Mckinley took q
5a1tns e course, Mr.; Roosevelt gives a
Mr.. McKinley's private secretary. In
this letter Mr.. %Cortelyou says:
- This statement Of Mr.. Storer dis
torts what was evidently an expression
OF deep personal regard and respect
Tor an individual into what is in SUBJ
stance a request for his advancement
as a member of an ecclesiastical organ
ization. -
Liz idte president never made Such
request never. sfurthered the efforts
of anyone to bring about such an ap-
polntment, nor would he permit any
official of his administration to do SO.
lie was scrupulously particular in this
regard and made no compromise with
his convictions on the subiect.'
That "vatican" Letter.
The PRESIDENT statement continues,
MI. Storer proceeds to say that he
at once wrote me letter giving full
account Of his visit to the Vatican and
OF the message he personally gave the
pope. A careful search of the files in
my office fails to show any such letter
from him; and neither I nor NV secre-
tary, Mr.. Loeb, who receives and ex-
amlnes all my correspondence, have any
remembrance of our receiving such a
letter. and had it been received we
could not fail to remember it. -
- never received from him any
visit to the Vatican and his conversa-
tlen with the pope, as he now says he
sent me; and this is evident from, the
letters which he gives as W-itten by
me, to him on Dec 27\and D, :. 80. in
which, as you will see, I specifically
state that [ did not know whether or
not he had even called at the Vatican,
and that he might merely have seen
some, cardinal privately statement
ceived such a letter as that which She
says, he sent. In his answer tozthis2 let
ter he never traversed or in any way
alluded to a statement of mine, which
he could hardly have failed to do had
he already written me such "a letter as
he now describes. 80
,...ss Storer's Bad Memory. ....'cE
The president furthermore expresses
doubt that Mr.. Storer ever sent such
a. letter as he says, he did. In giving
dent quotes from Mr.. Storer' pamphlet.
regarding the president s letter, with
It's virtual assertion that my (Storer's)
visit to the Vatican was not only I'M
authorized, but was so contrary to what
could have been expected, that the
tpresident hardly then believed that it
had oecurred,' which letter, Mr.. Storer
says. led him to tender his resignation,
which, however, was not accepted. His
resignation, he says, was accompanied
by letter of which he can find no
copy. This letter, however, the presi-
dent reproduces, to show that Mr..
Storer's statement is false. The presi-
dent says the letter to which Mr.. Storer
alludes was in reply to one from him
self, in which he took Mr.. Storer to
task for writing a letter to Senator
Hanna criticising the dismissal of
Hurst, the criticism amounting to a
bitter attack on the administration.
The president letter shows that he
told Mr.. Storer that the criticism was
without foundation. Then follows in
the letter an allusion to the visit Of
Mr.. Storer to the Vatican. That Mr.
StOrer'S reSionat ion Voc 'fba& rasrlt ~
the Hurst incident and not the Vatican
matter, is shown by Mr.. Storer s reply,
which makes no allusion to the. vati-
can matter, but contains humble
apology for his letter about Hurst.
With this, Mr.. Roosevelt closes his
| statement to Secretary Root:
- The Conclusion.
SThere could be no fuller confession
of wrongdoing or more absolute throw
ing himself upon the mercy of his
superior. It was this letter which L
answered saying, as he has himself
quoted. that I would treat the incident
as closed, and would not accept his
resignation, and that was sure that
John Hay felt as I did. With peculiar
perfdy Mr.. Storer now seeks to turn
this act Of cordial, and I think / NAV
add, generous. friendship on my part,
into an attack upon me, by treating
my refusal to accept his resignation
as an Endorsement of his position in the
matter of the Vatican. to which there
was absolutely no allusion whatever
of any kind or sort in his letter Of
resignation. 8
s'This bare recital Of facts is in it,
Of Mr.. Storer's disingenuousness.