The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-29
DR. LONG SCORES PRES. ROOSEVELT Issue Between Them Now One of Men Not of
 Animals. A QUESTION OF HONOR Author Presents Affidavit to Prove Statement in
 Book.
A QUESTION OF HONOR

Stamford, May 2S.-Dr. william ,. Long this afternoon made public the following letter sent to President Roosevelt:
 To His Excellency Theodore Roosevelt.
 President of the United States:
 Dear sir: The issue between you and mo is no longer one of animals, but Of men. It is not chiefly a matter of nat ural history but of truth and personal honor. Tn a recent magazine astinle you deliberately attack me as wsii As my book You have used the enort nous influence of your official poatioh to discredit me as a man. and inaure my reputation and intellectually to make poor man even poorer by destroying, if possible, the sale and influence Of has work. In nay book have given tho result of long years of watching apt- mals in the wilderness with no other ohjeot than to study their habits end so far as man can to understand the mystery of their dumb life. In every preface I have stated and now repeat the statement, that every incident have recorded from my own observation l is true as far as an honest, educated man can see and understand the truth. Tn your recent attack this is what you chiefly deny. I have spoken the truth, and you accuse me of deliberate false hood and misrepresentation. As presi- dent of the United States you have gone out of your way publicly to injure private citizen who was attending strictly to his own business, and g man whose ideals of truth and honor are quite as high as your own. This is the whole issue between us. I meet it squarely, and so must you. As you have made public accusation the burden of proof rests on you. but will waive my unquestioned right of demanding ! that you, yourself, furnish the eye wit nesses and the affidavits. If I have spoken falsely. if in any book or work of mine I have Intentionally deceived any child or man regarding animal lifa promise publicly to retract every such word and never to write another animal book. On the other hand, if I show to any disinterested person that you have accused me falsely you must publicly ! withdraw your accusation and apolo- gize. As a man and as president no other honorable course is open to you. You base your recent charges chiefly on the matter of big white wolf kill ing a young caribou by bite in the chest described by me in Northern I Trails" In writing that description I had to remember two things: First. that I must make the incident abso- lutely true to animal life; second, that many children would read my book, and as I hate killing and bloodahed I must make the death scene as free as possible from bloody and repuasive details. This is not your method, but mine. I know from my own obsarva. tion and from tho testimony of many Indians that wolves sometimes kill in this way. and I accordingly used it as the least repulsive method consistent with strict truth. Ignoring the whole spirit and scene of the book you seize upon this detail to convict me of false hood. You declare the thing to Do a mathematical impossibilsty, and de- clare not possibly could wolf perform the feat-and you add: If Dr. Long wants us to believe his stories he must produce eye witnesses and affidavitH. ? There are other incidents which you de- nied and which | can prove tp be true but your whole charge stands or falls with the central truth or faisity of ! this incident Now here are the eye witnesses and the affidavfts. I quote from the signed and witnessed state ment of an educated Sioux Indian, who is now fitting himself to be teacher among his own people. He is one of your own admirers and he never heard of me until three days ago. He speaks solely in the interest of truth and jus tice, but so far as personal taste is concerned he would rather uphold you than me give his Indian name as he dislikes to be drawn into a controversy