The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-24
ENGINEER WALLACE
 REPLIES ID TAFT Charges Secretary With AbuS-
 ing Official Position VERACITY IS AT STAKE He Also Charges Governor Maeoon With Breach of confdence-Let-
 ter Is Addressed to Sena-
 tor Willard.
VERACITY IS AT STAKE

ashngton May 23.-Former Chief En- gineer John Wallace of the isthmian canal today addressed a letter to Senator Mill lard, chairman of the committee on in- teroceanic canals in reply to Secretary Tafts recent testimony before the com mittee In which he charges Secretary Taft with having abused his official position in order to make a second assault upon him and to place in public record statements Calculated and apparently intended to affect my reputation for veracity, such as he would not make to me as one man to another face to face"
 He also imputes to Governor Magoon a breach of confidence in advising him to take certain course of action and then anticipating 1t by secretly writing to Sec retary Taft While expressly stating that he bears no i'll will toward William Nel- son Cromwell MT Wallace speaks of the bias of Secretary Taft in favor of that gentleman and says that Secretary Taft was aware that MT. Cromwell, among other things, was trying to secure the payment by the United States of an i'm proper claim which, however, was after ward disallowed by the President. The letter in part Is as follows:
 Tn view of the fact that Secretary Taft has seen fit to submit to your commit- tee certain correspondence originally of a personal and confidential nature. which passed between Governor Magoon. Mr. Cromwell, Chairman Shonts and himself, all relating to the supposed reasons for my retirement as chief engineer of the isthmian canal commission, to which I have not heretofore had access, and which was used by him in a second assault upon my reputation, I have the honor to re- spectfuly request that the following statement be made part of the record of your honorable committee:
 Magoon's Letter.
 "I first desire 10 call attention to the fact that under date of June II, 1905, Gov ernor Magoon Gin the letter quoted by Secretary TafD advised Secretary Taft that he (Magoon) coulG not escape the conviction that Wallace is trying to pull off a carefully contrved counp d'etat.' Two days later. under date of June IS, Governor Magoon again advised Secretary Taft that he (Magoon) was inclined to think I judged Wallace too harshly in concluding that he was attempting to squeeze you." and he seems to be fully prepared to quit. but willing to remain upon terms that seem to him justlfable as compensation for the sacrifice he feels he would make in continuing in the pub lie seryice.'
 And nine days later, under date of June 22, in response to the cable of MT. Cromwell, although all cable codes were doubt available to Secretary Taft in Washington, Governor Magoon furnished still another version of his impressions. stating that " allace Is not attempting a squeeze. but honestly thinks he is entitled to supreme place and power, and added: He asked me to telegraph the secretary advising his retention on the commission as one of the four engineer members. l will comply believing retention advis- able.
 Manhattan Interview.
 1 MT Wallace then refers to the Man haitian hotel interview with Secretary ! Taft which was given out to the press with statement by Secretary Taft at the time that "It was not the result of a nasty outburst of anger but a deliber ate opinion." formed after receiving Gov ernor Magoon's letter and a telegram, 1 and expresses the opinion that Secretary | Taft prejudged his motive and that the | Secretarys actions and remarks were pre- ! arranged. The presence of MT. Cromwell at that interview. MT. Wallace says, pre- vented free presentation of his views because he had hoped to talk with the l Secretary alone and he adds that he be- | lieves a stenographer was concealed in | the room where the interview was held or the adjoining one there, in order to take notes of the conversation.
 MT Wallace next refers to a conversa- l tion on the isthmus with Governor Ma ! goon, in which he says that Governor Magoon himself Suggested to me that 1 I should request Secretary Taft to ap- ! point me chairman of the committee, add ing that Secretary Taft when he selected 1 me as a member of the Philippine com mission had refused to serve unless placed at the head of the committee, necessltat- ing the withdrawal of the name of an i other as chairman and that he, Magoon, believed under the circumstances. such proposition would appeal to him. I replied that would make no demands on Secretary Taft; that Mir Shonts was my personal friend and that I much pre- ferred as Governor Magoon admits go- ing to MT. Shonts and putting 1t to him straight I also requested Governor Ma goon to make no suggestions to Secretary
 Taft but l note 1TOH HIS CaDleSTdm to MT Cromwell that he was under the 1 impression that I desired him to recom- 1 mend my retention as engineer mem | Der of the commission and this despite the fact that Governor Magoon assured me 1 he would regard the subject confiden- 1 tial and give me an opportunity of first | presenting the matter to Secretary Taft in a personal interview. The breach of confidence on the part of Governor Ma goon in advising me to take a certain | line of action and then presuming that such action would be followed. secretly writing to Secretary Taft as to what he thought would probably do, speaks for itself
 An Untruth.
 Secretary Taft, in his testimony before your committee, characteri1es as an un- truth the statement made by me In my letter addressed to him under date of June 1905, and in my interview given out in New York. June 30, in reply 10 his unfounded attacks upon me in the public press, and again referred to in my testi- mony before your committee that at no other time during the year would he work on the isthmus be in better condition to permit of my absence This was my ludg- l ment on each and every occaston specified and still is my firm conviction. This is true also of the statement made by me that the only work which could be per- formed until after Congress at its next session shall take some deSided action, Is the gradual increase in the organization and the addition of units of machinery along well defined plan which Mir. Dauchy thoroughly understood. This