New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-03-30
PRESIDENT And GAME.
Both Sides Claim HIS Support in
Fight Orer Shotguns

washington, March 29-President RooseveIt's
attitude on the Lacey bill, prohibiting the use Of
al KINDS OF automatic shO-guns in the territories
o. the United States in the interest Of the protec
tion Of game. was discussed in a hearing on that
Dill before the House Committee on Territories to-
day. Both sides to the controversy underworld TO
show that the President was on their side The re-
suit was finally an effort TO exDunge ali reference
70 the President from the record but this the
committee refused TO DO
This record viii therefore contain. first. a pre-
pared article by President G. O. Shields Of the
League Of American Sportsmen. which puts the
president on record IN favor Of the campaign
against repeating guns. Then. when the opposi-
ton, representing the manufacturers OF small arms
intimated that the President had repudiated this
statement Mr.. Shields declared that the President
had refused to be placed IN quotation marks but
acknowledged holding the views attributed to him.
To substantiats this he read the following letter.
signed by the President under date Of January %
1906
CPersonal)
!. Ny Dear saieldsl am sorry to say that must
tauon marks; for. though you gl,e the sense of
guaSe used so do not try TO quote in the first
person or 10 use quotation marks. You can state
/ them. but don't actually quote them
When this letter was read Mr. Bovee. represent
ing the manufacturers Of the guns I'm question de-
! clared that it did not tell the whole story He
/ said that M Shields had quoted the President
! jected that he had not but that the statement
/ sent TO the papers by him had been edited" by
/ several papers and the President put in quotes.
We'll, listen 10 this letter. CALCULATED Mr
! Bovee He read later letter from the President
/ TO MI Shields, as follows:
/ Sir: It appears that you have purported TO Civ
! extended interview with In quotation marks
! putting my expressions In the first person so a.
! 10 make responsible for both thought and Ian
I guaEe. This IS ineXcusable your part. At tn
/ time you called upon and I talked infOr
mally with you the question Of the preservation o.
! game and OF wild life generally in its various as
poets I told you explicitly that while you COul(
/ state that while 7 in hearty general accord
with your efforts, We're not 10 Try 10 quote my
/ language, and subsequently, ! wrote TO you repeat
! ing this. As matter OF fact, IN what appears Il
] be these quotations, you IN no case gave the eE
/ give It and BY what you omit as well as wha
you insert which I had not said you convey Ger
tain points an entirely false impression, and Vol
leave alternative but to explicitly repudiat
content TO say that you gave the general sense o
/ what 7 said you would have done what you WeT
authorized to do. But when you attempt TO Civ
] my exact words you not only do what explicitly
told you you should not GO, but you used langUag
A which ] explicitly told you was In no case acCu
rate. Not one single sentence you quote IS
TONS others are inventions IN part and some OF th
things ] said omitted.
It is unnecessary TO characterize such conduct OF
your part
After the reading Of this letter. Representative
Cole. Of Ohio. member OF the committee, remarked
TO MI Shields: do you think the President wouI,
. trust himself IN the woods without repeating
Tife%'
! Mr.. Shields answered that he thought he would
! The President. he said. a thorough sportsman
The committee laid the bill, thus making futur
action improbable.