Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-06-01
DEMANDS APOLOGY
Connecticut Minister Makes
Sharp RGtOrt 10 President.

He Makes Public a Letter in Which
He Accuses Mr.. Roosevelt Of Max
ing an Unwarranted Attack on Him
as Well as His Book-ReV. DR.. Long
Is Well Known Author and Natural
ist.
Stamford, Conn.--Dr. William j.
Long has just made public a letter
sent by him to President Roosevelt
The letter says in part:
"The issue between you and me is
no longer one of animals, but of men
It Is not chiefly u matter Of natural
history but Of truth and personal hon
or. In a recent magazine article you
deliberately attack me as well as my
book. You have used the enormous
influence of your ofiicial position TO
discredit me as a man, to injure my
reputation and incidentally to make
q poor man even poorer by destroying
II possible the sale and influence of
his work. In my book | have given the
result of long years of watching ami
mails in the wilderness with no other
object than to study their habits and,
so far as man can, to understand the
mystery of their dumb life.
I'm every preface | have stated and
| now repeat the statement that every
incident have recorded from my own
observation is true as far as an hon
est, educated man can see and under
stand the truth. In your recent at
tack this Is what you chiefly deny. /
have spoken the truth and you accuse
me Of deliberate falsehood and mis-.
representation. AS President OF the
United States you have gone out or
your way publicly to injure a private
citizen who was attending strictly to
his own business; as man you have
accused of falsehood another man
whose ideals of truth and honor are
quite as high as your own. This is
the whole issue between us. | meet
1t squarely, and so must you.
III | have spoken falsely, if in any
book or work of mine have lnten-
tionally deceived any child or man
regarding animal life, l promise pub
licly to retract every such word and
never to write another animal book.
On the other hand, if show to any
disinterested person that you nave
accused me falsely, you must publicly
withdraw your accusation and apolo
gize. AS man and as President no
other honorable course Is open to you.
You base your recent charges chiefly
on the matter of a big white wolf
killing a young caribou by bite in
the chest, described be me in North
eTn Trails
"You declare the thing to be a
mathematical impossibility, and de-
clare by no possibility could a wolf
perform the feat
DR.. Long declares he knows from
his own observation and from the tes.
timony of Indians that wolves do
sometimes kill in this way, and then
quotes the signed and witnessed
statement Of s. ]. Hapidan an edu-
Gated Sioux Indian, who states he saw
horse which wolf had killed by
tearing Its chest. In addition to this,
DR.. Long says he himself had seen a
deer which had been slain in this
manner by a wolf, and further recites
that his Indian, Natty Mitchell of
BOnne bay, Newfoundland, declares
that the big white wolf frequently
kills caribou in this manner.
Continuing, DR.. Long says: "These
are the facts underlying the incident
which you declare to be impossible
and false. If this testimony is not
enough l will fill it up to full Scrip
ture measure.
"You cannot at this stage, Mr.
Roosevelt, take refuge behind the
presidential office and be silent. You
have forfeited your right to that 81.
lence by breaking it by coming out in
public to attack private citizen. II
your talk OF square deal is not all
sham, If your frequent moral preaching
is not hypocrisy, I call upon you as
President and as a man to come out
and admit the error and injustice OF
your charge in the same open and pub
lie way in which you made it,"