Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-05-16
PRESIDENT
is ACCUSED
Roosevelt Charged With Insin-
certify by Tillman- Code Of
Honor Should Bind All.

WASHINGTON, May is. - Senator
Tillman renewed his attacks on the
president in the senate when the SEES
sion opened. He said he had waited
for the presidents friends to produce
the letter addressed to Senator Allison,
but they had not done so. He read
Chambers statement corroborating
Tillman's former statement about
Chandler opening negotiations at the
presidents request.
In replying to the presidents pub
lished statement that Chandler came
as the representative of Tillman the
South Carolina senator raised his hand
and stated most solemnly (remarking
aside, This is Tillman talking now')
that he had never sought a conference
or expressed a desire for a conference
with he president on the rate bill at
any time.
with that statement l leave the
matter to the judgment of the thought
full and honorable men of the country"
he said.
Mr.. Allison then rose and presented
the presidents letter and the accompa-
nying statement from the attorney
general and asked that they be read by
the clerk and go into the record.
Mr.. Tillman then said:
There are only two points In the
presidents letter which l deem worthy
of notice. His attempted explanation
is ingenious, but not ingenious. He for
a second time calls in question the in
tegrity of purpose and utterance of
Mr.. Chandler by declaring: He was
asked to see ex-senator Chandler as
representing Mr.. Tillman, who was in
charge of the bill. He stated to me the
views of Mr.. Tillman with seeming au-
thority.'
mfr. Chandler has declared most
positively in a written statement that
the president sent for him for the pur-
pose of getting into communication
with Senator Bailey and myself. and
he has produced a letter of Mr.. Loeb to
prove 1t.
Il now declare most emphatically
that to no human being have l ever
given authority or ever expressed a
wish to have any conference with
Theodore Roosevelt in regard to the
bill now under consideration. On the
contrary, l have expressed the opinion
In more than one published interview
that he had nothing to do with it and
that 1t was the business of the senate,
and while | did at his request enter
into negotiations with the attorney
general it is well known to every SEN
ator on this f1oor what my attitude and
markable while the president sent for
Democrat after Democrat to confer
with him about this measure that he
should undertake under the circum-
stances to assert that | sent an agent
to him to begin negotiations. The state
ment is absurd on its face.
THE other point to which / shall re-
fer is the cavalier way in which MI.
Moody discusses the idea Of the presi-
dent not being bound. While contra
dieting in no instance. however slight,
my statement of what occurred, the at
torney general seems to think that the
code of honor among gentlemen is not
binding upon the executive and his
cabinet.
'The president asked him to see Mr..
Bailey and myself. We met by ap.
pointment made by Senator Chandler
and talked over the vital question. He
wrote and sent to Mr.. Bailey his I'M
derstanding of our views, and when
we met subsequently we reached abso-
lutte agreement both as to the form
and the substance of a proposed amend
ment to which he said the president
would assent and help get votes for.
"Of course the president was not
bound not to change, but he was
bound under such circumstances to
give notice, and this was not done.
Even the attorney general himself was
not notified.
''The charge l made and still make is
that the president is guilty of bad
faith and that the rate bill, which will
be when enacted into law a much bet
ter and stronger Measure than we had
hoped to get, has been e~masculated of
n of its most valuable and essential
features by the presidents action. l
am ready to leave the whole question
to the thoughtful and honorable men
of the country"
The assertion is now made that Hen
ry Beach Needham, a magazine writer,
personal friend of the president and al
ways welcome guest at the White
House, was the man who opened thy
rate bill negotiations with former Sen
ntor Chandler.
Senator Rayner, it is said, will ask
President Rooseyelt's permission to re-
veal to the senate what occurred at a
conference they had together on the
rate bill,
With the exception Of the antipass
amendment the senate has concluded
its consideration of the railroad rate
bill as in committee of the whole and
as soon as that provision shall be dis
posed of will, take it up in the senate.
The general expectation is that the bill
may be pissed before the close of tO-