The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-03
E1ARRLMAN GOES ON ROOSEVELTS
 LIST OF LIARS.
REPLY OF HARTMAN
ANSWERS THE STATEMENT OF
 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.
Calls Attention to Letters WAich. Strenuous One only Quoted Tn Part, and Sheds Light
 On Transaction.

New York. April 2-E H. Harriman late tonight gave out the following statement in response to the statement made public by President Roosevelt at Washington today:
 For many years I have maintained an intimate confidential correspondence with my friend. MT. Sidney Webster. What wrote him and what he wrote me was, of course, intended for our eyes alone. In the course of a letter which he wrote me in December, 1905. he warned me against being drawn into politics and questioned whether I had any political or party instinct united to what he was pleased to call my business instinct.
 This drew from me the reply to Mr. Webster's inquiry which in a sub- stantially correct form had been stolen and published. This letter was writ ten on January ?, 1908. at a time when no one could doubt the cordiality of my relations with the President.
 About ten days ago I was told that to sell to some newspaper a reproduc- tion from his notes of one of my pri- vate letters. I could hardly believe that any matter so obtained would be accepted or published, yet made every effort to prevent it. When I learned late yesterday afternoon that New York paper had a transcript of these notes. notified the publisher at once of the facts and urged upon his inten- ton the gross outrage that the publi- cation of it. under such circumstances, would involve. While deploring, of course. that the sacredness of a private correspondence should thus be vio- lated. I cannot withdraw aything in the letter.
 
 ment. I am most anxious to treat him and his other utterances with consid- eration due to the high office which he holds Nevertheless I fell bound to call attention to certain things in regard to which he does me an injustice"
 Then follows correspondence with the President in which MT. Hartman was urged to visit MT. Roosevelt to discuss political matters. Mir. Harri- man makes public these letters draw ing attention to the fact that some of them were not included in the corre- spondence given out by the President today.
 Continuing MT. Hartman says:
 "A funeral in my family prevented repeated invitations but finally, about October 20 was able to go to Wash ington and see him.
 There is some difference of recoIlec- lection as to what transpired at that interview.
 "Fortunateiy the President himself in his strictly personal letter to me of November 30. throws some light upon what did take place. He says:
 "If you remember when you were down here, both you and I were so interested in certain of the New York political developments that I hardly if at all touched upon governmental matters
 Again in the same letter. he says As a matter of fact as you will re- member when you did come down to see me- you and were both so en- gagged in the New York political situa- ton that we talked of little else
 The invitation of October 10 bade me to the White House to have affew words with the President in view of the trouble over the State ticket in New York
 T had replied on October 12: I am giving a very large part of my time to correcting the trouble here. and intend to do so if any effort on my part can accomplish 1t. will take occasion the first of next week to run down to see you. and think by that time condi- tions will be very much improved.'
 Whether I was seeking his aid to secure the adherence of the State of New York to the State ticket or he was seeking mine, Is proved or dis proved by this correspondence, and cheerfully submit to the public whether the inference clearly suggest ed by the President is the proper one. I did not so understand 1t from the invitations, nor the interview.
 "The President dwells at length on the assertion that he did not ask me to contribute for the presidential campaign nor for his personal bene- fit I do not deny this statement, nor is it all inconsistent with the asser tions I made in the Webster letter re- specting the interview. Therein I dis tinctly said: The President sent me a request to go to Washington to con- fer upon the political conditions in New York State. I complied, and he told me he understood that the campaign could not be successfully carried out without sufficient money, and asked if I would help them in raising the nec- essary funds as the National Commit tee, under Chairman Cortelyou, had ut- terly failed of obtaining them and there was a large amount due from them to the New York State Commit tee.'
 "If that means anything whatever it must be that he was urging me to help the New York State Committee, and not he naional or presidential campaign ex- cept so far as the success of the State ticket in New York would contribute to the national ticket.
 What the condition of the finances of the New York State Committee and of the National Republican Commit tee at that time was is we'll known to everybody; that the National Commit tee did owe the State Committee and that the State Committee was in finan- cial straits is notorious I was not a political manager.
 T was asked to go to Washington by the President in the interests of the State ticket. could help to raise money That I did help in this regard I did raise funds immediately upon my return fro mthe interview with the President. was undeniable. and to this fund I contributed $5O.OoO. My in terciew with the President covered a wide range of subjects connected with the New York State campaign, and I did not pretend to go over the whole matter in the Webster letter.
 "The Presidents letter of October 14. and his comment thereon are interest ing. In that letter he suggested that I might think there was some danger in my visiting him during the closing weeks of the campain. and suggested that If he thought so. the visit be post poned until the election when he would ask me to discuss certain government matters not connected with the cam paign." Here were two distinct invi. tat1ons to discuss two different a1b.