The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-04
is IT A PLOT?
Has Hartman Undertaken to
Deliver Kansas.
Report That He Can Control
This and Other Delegations.
ROOSEVELT is READY.
President Will Accept the Gage
of Battle.
No Possibility of a RecOncilia-
tiOn Now.


Chicago, April A dispatch to the
Tribune from Washington says:
The big interests of the country have
inaIgurated a movement to discredit
President Roosevelt, prevent the
achievement of his railroad and other
reform policies, and to block the nom
ination by the Republican party of
Secretary Taft or any other Roosevelt
man. This movement is now under
way in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Califor-
mia.
This is the Information President
Roosevelt has received from a source
in which he places reliance. The men
! behind this movement are E. H. Harri-
man, ]. Pierpont Morgan, the Rookie
fellers and other Standard Oil interests.
the tobacco trust and certain other
capitalistic combinations which have
suffered from the presidents activity
The movement is much like what is
known as the rich mems conspiracy
of 1904, when at a meeting Hartman,
so the president has been informed,
solemnly expressed his conviction that
he could deliver the delegates to the
Republican convention from Iowa, Kan
sas. Nebraska, Idaho, Colorado ana
California, to an anti-Roosevelt man
Investigation demonstrated that this
claim was preposterous-
1t was apparent from what the pres1-
dent said to newspaper men yesterday
that he is not all concerned about the
movement which has been started
against him.
The president is quite content to ac-
cept the gage of battle offered by Har-
rtman and the other trust magnates
1t is out of the question now Tor MIN
and Hartman ever to resume friendly
relations. The publica ton of Harrf-
mans letter to Sidney Webster Stuy-
Verant Fish's brother-in-law, alleging
that the president had begged him to
collect contributions to save the ma
tional ticket and of the president, re
sponse through Representative Sher-
man of New York, ends any chance OF
cooperation in the future.
Has Hartman Surrendered.
L A dispatch to. the Record Herald
from washington says:
'It was learned last night that the
Hartman corporations, whose raH11-
er vast interests in the far west, are
offering to restore to the government
properties they have heretofore claim
ed as theirs by good and ample title
They prefer to do TINS rather thah pe
prosecuted.
Coal lands worth in the aggregate,
millions of dollars are to be restored
to the public domain as result OF re-
cent activities of the interstate COM |
merce commission. The commission !
several months ago set about 10 IN
vestigate the land frauds in wyoming, |
Colorado and Utah.
department of justice was given trans
scripts of testimony taken at Omaha, |
salt Lake. Denver and Pueblo by In !
terstate Commerce Commissioners /
Prouty and Clark and was directed py I
the president to prosecute in any cases
where there was ground for prose-
cution.
At the first suggestion OF prosecuI
ton, however. the Union Pacl4c GoaI
company has capitulated; 1t has
made a proposition to the govern
ment that it will return large area
of wyoming coal lands to which 1t /
a admits its title is worthless. Ine gov I
ernment law officers are considering
this proposition and while final action |
has not been taken it was learned yes
terday on the authority of men who |
have been conducting the invest1ga-
tion that it will probably be accepted
and the lands returned to the public |
It is understood on high govern
ment authority that the officers at the
of justice Will give the
Utah Fuel company and the Colorado
FueI and Iron company, chance TO
return the lands in the same manner
and that if they refuse prosecutions
will be commenced at once
Hartman Won't Talk.
New york. April 4.-E. II. Hartman
declined to talk with newspaper rep
tives yesterday about the state
ment that he had been working for
his own DoliticaI advan cement in seek
ing to have Senator Depew appointed
an9hassador to France. Mr.. Harriman's
attention was called to a dispatch from
Washington on that subject, but he
could not be induced to talk about it.
Mr. Hartman was asked If he had
ANYTHING to add to his former state
ment and he replied:
'Don't YOU think I've said enough ?"
"Doesn't it look as though you had
a big fight on your hands?" he was
asked.
else to do now except to attend to my
should your reply to the president
bring out another statement from him,
would you make an additional state
ment?"
s'That would depend on what the
rejoinder was. But please
don't press me to say any more about
it," he replied.
Mr.. Hartman said he knew nothing
about a report that the Interstate
Commerce commission would take
steps to compel him to answer the
questions he refused to answer in his
recent testimony before the commits
sion in this city. He also disclaimed
all knowledge of q petition being filed
with the commission by lumber inter
asts in the west for the establishment
Of a through freight route over the
Hill and Hartman lines. As to the
from lumber shippers that
hey could not get the railroads to han
lie all the lumber they wanted to send
10 market, Mr.. Hartman said there
1ad been a great deal of freight con-
yestion in all parts of the country.
Not i'm Senator Race.
f. H. Hartman today made the fol-
owing statement relative to the recent
of correspondence between
President Roosevelt and himself: