Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-29
QUOTE MARKS BARRED
G. O. Shields Sharply Rebuked
by the President.
STATEMENT REPUDlATED
Mr.. Roosevelt Objected to Reproduc,
ton of His Remarks.
DECLARED 1T WAS INACCURATE
Facts Brought Out During a Hearing
on the Lacey Bill on the Use of
Automatic Shot Guns.

President Roosevelt fl i,gured as the storm
center in the House committee on territories
today, during a hearing on the Lacey bill
prohibiting the use of all kinds of automatic
shotguns in the territories of the United
States, In the interest of the protection of
game. Both sides to the controversy who
We're heard endeavored to put the Presi-
dent on their side. The result was finally
an effort to eXpunge the whole reference to
the President from the hearing, but this
the committee refused.
This record viii therefore contain, first, a
prepared article by President G. O. Shields
or the League of American Sportsmen
which puts the President squarey on record
IN favor of the campaign against repeating
guns Then when the opposition represent
ing the manufacturers of small arms, !nti-
mated that the President had rspudiated
this statement, Mr. Shields admitted the
President had refused to be placed in quota
tion marks. but admitted holding the views
attributed to him
The Presidents Warning.
To substantlate this he read the follow
ing letter, signed by the President, under
date of January -. 1906:
Personal
My Dear Shields: I am sorry to saw that
must ask you under no circumstances to
put me in quotation marks: for though you
give the sense of what | said, you in no
case give the exact language used so do
not try TO quote me In the first person or to
use quotation marks. You can state that
my views are substantially as you have
quoted them, but don't actually quote them.
Sincerely yours,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
When this letter was read Attorney
BoVee' representing the manufacturers of
the guns in question, declared that this
letter did not tell the whole story and that
Mr.. Shields had quoted the President not
withstsnding the warming
MT Shields inter1ected that he had not
but that the statement sent TO the papers
~ INN had been edited by several papers
ana the president put in quotes"
Sharply Rebuked.
We'll, listen to this letter" calculated
Mr. Bovee, as he proceeded to read an
other and later letter from the President
TO Mr.. Shields, as follows:
WHITE HOUSE, February 10, 1906
''Sir.-It appears that you have purported
to give an extended interview with me in
quotation marks. putting my expressions in
the FIRST pcrsoH so as to make me RESPONSE
BILE for both thought and language. This
is ineXCusable on your part. At the time
you called upon ne and / talked over in
formally with you the question of the pres
erVatiOn of game and of wild life generally
In It's various aspects, l told you explicitly
that while you could state that I was in
hearty accord with your efforts, you were
rot II Try 20 quote .ly language, and sub
EeQueuty I wrote to you repeating this.
As r.-J'te Of fact. in what appears to
lie these quotations YOU IN no case gave
the exact language that l used. But pre-
tending thus 10 give il, and by what you
omit well as what you insert which /
had not said, you convey on certain points
an entirely false impression, and you leave
ne no alternative but to explicitly repudi-
ate your statement. which | hereby do
Had YOU been content to say that you gave
the general sense OF what | said you would
have done what you were authorized to do.
But when you attempt to give my eX-
act words you not only do what explicitly
told YOU you should not do, but you used
language which l explicitly told YOU was
IN no case accurate. Not one single SEN
tence YOU quote Is as l said it. Some of
the sentences are sheer Inventions others
are inventions in part and some Of the
things I said are omitted.
1t IS unnecessary to characterize such
conduct on your part
Yours. etc,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
After the reading Of this letter Repre-
sentative Cole Of Ohio. d member OF the
committee. remarked To MIR. Shields: DO
you think the President would trust him
self In the woods without a repeating rifle!
Mr. Shields answered that he thought
he would. The President he said, was
thorough sportsman
An argument why the restriction con-
tefnp.ated In the bill should not be made
was made by Mr.. Bovee hut the commit
tee laid the bill on the table, thus making
future action improbable