Bisbee daily review., 1907-04-07
A NEW QUESTION OF vERAcITY.

ident Roosevelt
 Within a little less than year questions of veracity have arisen be- tween the president on one side and at least four eminent, reputable and hith- erto reliable men and one woman on the other-Senators Tillman and Bail ey, former Senator w. E. Chandler, ! former Ambassador BeIlamy Storer and NIrs. Storer. This week the presi- dent increased the list by, as we of the cattle country say, putting his running iron on E. H. Hartman, who now bears MT. Roosevelts private and regularly recorded brand of Ananias MT. Hartman gave out a letter in which he stated that the president three years ago begged him to raise campaign fund of S2o0,O00 to insure the carrying of New York for the re- publican party; that as further in ducement to Mir Hartman to under take this task, the president promised the appointment of Senator Depew to be ambassador to France.
 Whether or not this is true, it will be~ generally agreed that the presi- dents mistake in setting the alleged negotiations for a campaign fund on foot, was not so great as the mistake he has made in denying point blank the statement of MT. Hartman. There was nothing essentially wrong in talk ing an unpresidential interest in the result of the election in New York. Probably no other president had ever gone after the sineBs of war in that fashion, but then, President Roosevelt has so frequently broken over the con ventionalities which had hitherto hedged about the office of the chief magistrate that We have long since ceased to be overwhelmed with sur. prise at any new infraction of prece- dent.
 There is no allegation by Mr. liar riman that the money desired by Mr. Roosevelt was drawn from improper sources; nor was there any impro- priety in the presidents conditional promise to appoint Senator Depew to an ambassadorship The appointment was not made, as the letter states, be- cause the occasion for the appointment did not arise. There is no implica- ton of broken faith.
 Nothing that the president did or promised to do, though it might have been censurable, was culpable or sur prising. Nor was 1t wanting in healthy robust and strenuous dignity, but we believe that the presidents bitter de- nial of the statements of MT. Harri- man will not be universally regarded as dignified or effective. Most peo- pie will probably fear that the presi- dent has fallen into the habit of call ing people liars without sufficient pro- vocation.
 The president has been surrounded by unfortunate circumstances in all these various controversies in which he has participated. The allegation made by the party of the second part has invariably been given istrength either by circumstances or probability. For instance. what Mes SITS Tillman, Bailey and Chandler stat led in their run in" with the presi- dent had been a popular understand- ing of the presidents attitude toward them from the beginning of the first session of the ifty-ninth congress.
 Newspapers and msgazines friendly to the administration. understood to be in sense the mouthpieces of it, months before Chandler said he had been delegated by the president to negotiate with the democrats, had threatened that the president would rely upon the democrats of the sen ate to secure the passage of the rate bill.
 Tn the Storer dispute, Archbishop Ireland, in letter written before the presidents denial of the statements by storer and his wife as to the presi- dents activity in securing an Ameri- eau cardinslate. described cOnversa-