Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-10

new YORK CLIQUE
CAUSED TROUBLE
Continued from First Page.)
You were requested to read this letter and
hand 1t to her. 1t Is difficult to stigmatize
merely as folly the proposition that under
these conditions the Presidents letter re-
quired no answer.
II have the honor to be, sir, your ODE
dent servant. ROBERT BACON,
Acting Secretary.
The Presidents Statement.
1T is never pleasant to have to discuss
personal affairs or to quote or explain from
personal correspondence, which Is one rea-
son why it is helu to be a peculiarly I'M
gentlemanly thing to publish private cor
respondence. But as Mr.. Storer in his ex-
traordinary pamphlet prints various letters
written by himself, by me and by Mrs.
Storer. shall set forth briefly the facts Of
the case, giving certain letters, which are
Necessary in order to understand clearly
those which he prints.
II first met the Storers while was civil
service commissioner and he had come to
Washington as congressman. They were
then kind and friendly in their relations
with me and my family. l retained lively
recollection of this kind and friendly at
titude. and because of the affection 1t in
spired submitted to conduct from Mr.. and
Mrs. Storer to which I would have sub
mitted from other ambassador and his
wife, and l did not resent their actions
until it became evident that they were
likely to damage American interests. Mrs.
frct rf1 70 hat.
change Of creed had proved deadly blow
to her husbands career, and that they were
suffering for conscience sake. accepted
this statement as true, and 1t gave me GER
tain chivalric feeling that l ought to do
what 1 could to help them, and be as
patient as possible with them.
Under President Mckinley Mr.. Storer
was made minister first to Belgium and
then to Spain. About the time of my acces-
sion to the vice presidency wrote at Presi-
dent McKinley's request to Mr.. or Mrs.
storer that the President desired me to
say that Mr.. Storer was ultimately to be
made an ambassador. Mr.. and Mrs. Storer
were greatly interested in securing the pro-
motion OF Archbishop Ireland to be a cardi-
admiration for Archbishop Ireland re-
spect and admiration which 1 have often
publicly expressed. The letters from me to
Mr.. and Mrs. Storer quoted in Storer's
pamphlet give with precision my views
both upon Archbishop Ireland and upon
the possibility or propriety of my taking in
his behalf the steps which the Storers
asked, and 1 can add nothing to what
these letters themselves show. When they
first wrote to me on the subject l was gov
ernor of New York. Not being President
myself, and not having thought out with
clearness the exact situation, l asked Presi-
dent Mckinley whether he could properly
do anything to help Archbishop Ireland.
He responded that 1t was not a matter with
although he expressed himself as having
the same high opinion Of the archbishop
that 1 had. l had further conversation
with the President on the subject, either
just before or just after my election as
vice president, in which he stated what he
felt was the proper position; position with
which l absolutely agreed. Following this
conversation, in my letter to Mrs. Storer of
November %, 1900, quoted by Mr.. storer
In his pamphlet, l stated with absolute
clearness my position and why 1t was out OF
the question for the President to try to get
any archbishop made cardinal. and all the
letters quoted by Mr.. Storer as having been
subsequently written by me to him or to his
wife take precisely the same position: l ex-
admiration for Archbishop Ireland (Which is
like my friendship and admiration for Bishop
Lawrence Of the Episcopal Church and
Bishop Cranston Of the Methodist Church,
like my friendship and admiration for many
clergymen of many denominations, Bapt1sts,
Lutherans, Congregationalists. Presby-
terians and others) would make me pleased
to see any good fortune attend him or any
churchman like him, of any creed. but
that 1 could not interfere for his promo
ton, or, indeed, in any way IN the ecciesl-
astical affairs Of any. church. This was
also the position took in all private con-
versations, and the assertion that in any
private conversation l took an opposite
position from that which 1 was thus re-
an untruth. but an absurd untruth, for
would of course, not say privately to any
one the opposite of what l was repeatedly
writing to that same person.
Characterized as Dishonorable.
"Mr. Storer asserts that he and Mrs.
Storer and various other people after con-
versations with me put down memoranda
as to what they remembered I had said.
If such action was taken 1t was, Of course.
simply dishonorable. No one of them ever
showed me or would have ventured to
show me any such memoranda, and 1t Is
nonsense to expect to bind me by men,
orandum the existence of which was con-
cealed from me. The Storers were my
guests at the time when. as they assert,
conversation with me. AS matter OF
fact, the statements they allege me to
have made were not made, save in so far
as what they allege me to have said agrees
them. In this connection, I call your at
tention to the following statement issued
from the White House on November 8.
1905, eleven days before the Storer PAM
phlet was received by. me, or that 1 had
any knowledge whatever Of It:
For many years 1t has been Inc invaria-
BILE practice never to attempt to quote a
private conversation with the President.
It has been found that. as a matter of
fact, the man who quotes such a CONVEX
sation usually misquotes it, whether con-
sciously or unconsciously; and such an al
legged conversation is, under no circum-
stances, to be held as calling for either ex-
PLANTATION or denial by the President. The
President is responsible only for what he
himself says in public; for what he writes.
or for what he explicitly authorizes the
proper government officials to state in his
behalf
MRS Storer wrote me with great freedom,
and sometimes it was difficult to know
quite how to answer her. Both she and