Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-02
PRESIDENT REPLIES
To {. HARTMAN
Continued from First Page.)

minal and other facilities and any move
that will tend to cripple them financially
would be detrimental to all interests over
the whole country
Il beg that you will pardon my not
signing this personally, as I have to
leave to catch my train for Arden, and
have asked my secretary to sign 1t for
me. Yours sincerely"
was unable to agree with Mr. Har-
rimans views on the matter, and left my
message unchanged as regards the inter-
state commerce law. (The rough draft
Of this portion of the message was COM
pleted in October before the election).
I had always discussed with absolute
freedom all my proposed moves in the
trust and labor matters with the representa-
t1ves of the big combinations or big rail-
roads, as well as with the leaders Of the
labor men, of the farmers Organizations,
the shippers organizations and the like
that is, 1 had as freely seen and COM
! municated with Mr.. Hartman, Mr.. Nor
gan, Mr.. Hill and other railroad men as
1 had seen and communicated with Mr..
Gompers Mr.. Keefe. Mr.. Morrissey, Mr.
Morrison and other labor leaders. Mr.
Hartman had, like most of the big rail-
road men. always written me very strong
as regards the supervision and control
over big combinations, and especially over
the big railroads In a letter of his Of
August 10, 1902, for instance, he
pressed the fear that a panic would fol-
low my proposed action.
Incompatible With Subsequent Allie
cation.
1t will be seen that the above cores
fe
Mr. Hartman now, as you inform me, al
leges as to my having asked him to
cure money or to subscribe money for the
presidential campaign. AS for the Depew
matter, he professed throughout to be act
ing in the interest of Gov. Odell and though
Gov. Odell had been anxious that Mr. De-
pew should be nominated as ambassador
to France at a time when he was support
Ing Gov. Black for senator he had changed
his mind shortly after the last letter to me-
above quoted, from Mr.. Hartman, and
on December 10 wrote me the letter 1 in
close, which reads, in part, follows:
MY Dear Mr.. President: A great many of
your friends here in New York would be
very much delighted and pleased if you
could find it possible to appoint Mr.. James
ii. Hyde as minister to France.
Large business interests have given to him
splendid executive abilities, and his asso-
citation with so many prominent business
men would be fitting recognition of the
effective work done by them in the last
campaign.
I'm addition to this he has behinu him. I
am sure, the approval of Senator Platt and
Senator Depew, and, SO far as | can speak
for the organization, l believe his appoint
ment would be, without question: more sat
isfactory than any that could be made from
New York at the present time
personally, l should appreciate your
favorable consideration of this suggestion
almost beyond anything else you could do
for me. If you so desire, shall be glad to
come down to Washington and talk with
you about it, but 1 believe there are others
who are close to you and who feel Just as
l do and I thought, therefore, that this
letter would be sufficient as showing the
attitude of the organizations and myself
personally upon this important appoint
ment''
AS you know, 1 obliged to refuse the
request of the New York financiers and of
the republican organizations of the state
ana city not deeming it proper to appoint
Mr. Hyde to the position he sought
So much for what Mr.. Hartman said
about me personally. Far more important
are the additional remarks he made to Won
as you inform me. when you asked him IL
he thought 1t was well to see Hearstism
and the like triumphant over the republic
can party. You inform me that he told
you that he did not in the least, be-
cause those people were crooks and he
could buy them; that whenever he wanted
legislation from a state legislature he could
buy It, that he could buy Congress-" and
that II necessary he could buy the jul
dietary This was doubtless said partly
in boastful cynicism and partly in a mere
burst of bad temper because tf his OBJ
lection to the interstate commerce law and
to my actions President. But it shows
a cynicism and deep-seated corruption
which make the man uttering such senti-
ments. and boasting. no matter how false
ly, Of this power to perform such crimes.
at least as undesirable citizen as Debs.
or Meyer. or Haywood. 1t is because we
have capitalists capable of uttering such
sentiments and capable of acting on them
that there is strength behind sinister ag1-
tators of the Hearst type. The wealthy
corruptionist and the demagog who excites,
in the press or on the stump, in office or
out of office, class against class and ap-
peals to the basest passions of the human
soul are fundamentally alike and are equal
ly enemies of the republic. 1 was Mortified
as was Root, when you told us today what
Hartman had said to you. AS l say, IL
you meet him you are entirely welcome to
show him this letter, although, of course,
it must not be made public unless required
by some reason of public policy, and then
only after my consent has first been OBJ
tanned. Sincerely yours.
Hon. J. s. Sherman
st. James building. 1913 Broadway. N. Y.