The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-24
Warm Letter from Chief
 Engineer.
GOV. MAGOON IS ALSO ACCUSED
Breach of Confidence Imputed to
 the Latter.
Secretary of War Is Charged With Having Prepared His Manhattan Hotel Speech and Brought
 Cromwell Along to
 Hear Its Delivery.

Washington. May 23.-Former Chief Engineer John Wallace of the isth- milan canal today addressed a letter to Senator Willard. chairman of the com mittee on interoceanic canals, in re- ply to Secretary Taft's recent testi- mony before the committee. in which he charges Secretary Taft with having abused his official position in order to make second assault upon him , and to place in a public record state rnents calculated and apparently in tended to affect my reputation for veracity. such as he would not make to me as one man to another. face 70 face"
 He also imputes to Governor Ma goon a breach of confidence in having advised him to take d certain course of action and then secretly antagon- izing 1t by secretly writing to Secre- tary Taft. While expressly stating that he bears no i'll. will toward Will liam Nelson Cromwell MT. Wallace speaks of the bias of Secretary Taft in favor of that man. 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 improper claim which, however, was afterwards dis allowed 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 committee certain correspondence originally of a personal and confiden- tiai nature which passed between Governor Magoon, Mir. Cromwell, Chairman shonts and myself. all re- latfng to the supposed reasons for my retirement as chief engineer of the isthmian canal commission, 10 to which have not heretofore had access and which was used by him in second assault upon my reputation. I have the honor to respectfully re- quest that the followina statement be made . part of the record of your honorable committed"
 Manhaftan Hotel Interview. y-.-
 Mir. Wallace refers to the Manha;- tan Hotel interview with Secretary Taft which was given out, to the press with a statement by Secretary Taft at the time that "it was not the re- suit of a hasty outburst of anger. but a deliberate opinion, formed after re- (. ceiving Governor Magoon's letter and telegram" and expresses the opin- ion that Secretary Taft prejudlced his motive and that the secretary's actions and remarks were pre-arranged. The presence of MT. Cromwell at that ln- terview. Mir Wallace says, prevented free presentation of his views. be- cause he had hoped to talk with the secretary alone. and he adds that he believes that a stenographer was con cealed In the room where the interview was held or the adjoining one there to, in order to take notes of the con- versation.
 MT. Wallace next refers to a conver- sation on the Isthmus with Governor Magoon In which he says that Governor Magoon himself suggested to me that 1 should request Secretary Taft to ap- point me chairman of the commission, adding that Secretary Taft. when se- lected as a member of the Philippine Commission, had refused to serve un- less placed at the head of the com mission, necessitating the withdrawal of the name of another as chairman and that he (Magoon), believed under the circumstances, such a proposition would appeal to him. replied that would make no demands upon Secretary Taft that MT. Shonts was my personal friend, and that I much preferred, as Governor Magoon admits, going to MT. Shonts and putting 1t to him straight T also requested Governor Magoon to make no suggestions to Secretary Taft but note from his cablegram to MT. Cromwell that he was under the impression that I desired him to recommend my retention as an engi- neer member of the commission and this, despite the fact that Governor Magoon assured me he would regard the subject as confidential 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 Magoon in ad- vising me to make a certain line of ac- tion and then presuming that such advice would be followed, secretly writing to Secretary Taft as to what he thought I would probably do. speaks for itself
 Still sf Same Opinion.
 Secretary Taft in his testimony be- fore your committee characterizes as an untruth the statement made by me in my letter addressed to him under date of June 8, 1905. and in my in- terview given out in New York June 30. in reply to his unfounded attacks upon me in the public press and again Feferred to in my testimony before your committee. that at no other time during the year would the work on the Isthmus be in better condition to per init of my absence. This was my judg- ment on each and every occasion speci- fled and still Is my firm conviction.
 This Is true also of the statement made by me that the only work which could be performed until after Con gress at its next session shall take some decided action Is the gradual in crease in the organization and the ad- dition of units of machinery along we'll defined plan which MT. Daucny thoroughly understood. This statement the secretary also ventures to char acterize as an untruth. although 1t is confirmed by his own testimony when he stated I am advised from the Isthmus that Mir. stevens's work has so far progressed that he will soon be in a position where he must delay all work or substantially all. until
 
 of canal.
 Tt seems to me monstrous that Sec rstary Taft should abuse his official position to place In a public record statements calculated and apparently intended to affect my reputation for e. racity. such as he would not make to me as one man to another. face to face"
 Mir. Wallace calls attention tn the official report of Governor Ma@oon. now first presented by Secretary Taft on conditions existing on the 1sthmus