The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1906-03-29

The Record will therefore contain rst
prepared article by President sG "
Shields OF the League OF American Sports
men. which puts the president squarely on
record In favor OF the campaign against
repeating guns. Then. when the opposl-
ton representing the manutacturers ot
small arms intimated that the president
had repudiated this statement. Mr.. Shields
admitted the president had refused 10 be
placed In quotation marks, but admitted
holding the views attributed to him.
To substantate this he read the follow
ing letter, signed by the president under
date of Jan. 22 1896
my dear Shields I am sorry 10 say
that I must ask you under no clrcum-
stances TO put me I'm quotation marks, Tor
though you give the sense OF what said.
YOU In no case give the exact language
used. so do not try 10 quote me In the
first person, or 10 use quotation marks.
You can state that my views are substan-
TALLY as you have quoted them but don
actually quote them. Sincerely yours.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
When this letter was read Attorney
OF the guns in question. declared that this
letter did not tell the whole story, that
Mr.. Shields had quoted the president. not
withstandng the warning Mr. Shields in
terjected that he had, but that the state
ment sent he papers by him had been
"edied" by several papers and the presi-
dent put In quotes"
well. listen TO this letter" calculated
Mr. Bovee. as he proceeded TO read an
other and later letter from the presi-
dent to Mr.. Shields, as follows:
white House, Feb. 10, 1905.
"Sir-It appears that you have purport-
cd 10 give an extended interview with
me I'm questions marks. putting my ex-
pressions in tho first person. so as to
make me responsible for both thought and
language. This is inexcusable on your
part. At the time you called upon me and
talked over informally with YOU the
question OF the preservation OF game and
OF wild life generally in its various as
poets I told you explicitly that while
you could state that while I was In
hearty general accord with your efforts,
you were not TO try 20 quote my language
and subsequently / wrote 10 you regard
ing this.
LAS matter OF act in what appears
to be these quotations, YOU In no case
gave the exact language that l used.
But pretending thus to give II, and by
what you omit as well as what you in
sert which had not said. YOU convey on
certain points an entirely false impress
sion, and you leave me no alternative but
TO explicitly repudiate your statement
which | hereby do.
Had you been content 10 say that you
gave the general sense OF what | said you
would have done what you were author
lied 10 do But when you attempt to
give my exact words YOU not only do what
I explicitly told YOU you should do. but
you used language which explicitly told
YOU was I'm no case accurate. No one
single sentence you quote is as | said IT,
Some Of the sentences are sheer inven-
tions. others are inventions In part and
some OF the things | said are omitted.
1T Is unnecessary 10 characterize such
conduct on your part.
Yours etc,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT d"
After the reading OF this letter. Repre-
sentative Cole OF Ohio, a member Of the
committee remarked 10 Mr.. Shields: do
you think the president would trust him
self in the woods without repeating
rihe?"
Mr.. Shields answered that he thought
he would
The president. he said, was n thorough
sportsman
An argument on why the restriction con-
templated In the bill should not be made
wac made by Mr. Bovee. but the commit
tee took no action on the bill