The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-04-03

Washington, April 2.-PreSident RoOSe-
Welt today emphatically denied the state
ment contained in letter published this
| morning, purporting to have been written
+, by f. IL. Hartman to Sidney Webster
, of New York, in the latter part of Decem-
Der, 1905. In Mr.. Harriman's letter the
statement is made that at the request of
President Roosevelt, he QIarriman) as
sisted in raising fund of s25O,oO0 to be
used in carrying New York for the re-
publican party in the election of 1904. This
statement the President characterized as
"a deliberate and wilful untruth--by right
ii should be characterized by an even
shorter and more ugly word. l never re-
quested Mr.. Hartman to raise dollar for
the presidential campaign of 1901
The Presidents denial was contained in
a brief statement and copies Of letters
written to Representative Sherman of
New York The letters are dated October
S and October 12, 1906, respectively
The President after furnishing the let
ters to the press, dictated the following
statement:
President Dictates Statement.
After writing these letters to Congress-
man Sherman the President was assured
that Mr.. Hartman had not made the
statements which Mr.. Sherman credited
! him with making. Inasmuch as the same
statements appear in the major part in
the letter of Mr.. Hartman, now pub
llshed, the President deems it proper that
the letters The sent to Congressman Sher-
man last October shall now themselves
be made public"
In the first letter reference is made to
| a. conversation between Hartman and
Sherman, which was repeated X the. Pres
~ teist r WileA liz fiman 4 sad TO nave
given as a reason for his PERSONAL dls-
| like of the President partly the latter
determination to have the railroads super
vised and partly the alleged fact that
after promising Mr. Hartman to appoint
Senator Depew ambassador to France, he,
the President, failed to do 1t; and" con-
tinues the President, Il understood you to
say that he alleged that ] made this
promise at time when he had come
down to see me in Washington, when l re-
quested him to raise $250,00O for the repub-
lican presidential campaign which was
then on 1t appears from the conversation
repeated to the President that Mr.. Sher-
man had gone to Mr.. Hartman to ask
him for a contribution for the campaign.
The President says that Hartman also
more than once he thinks) urged him
to promise to make Mr.. Depew ambassa-
dor because this would help Governor
Odell by pleasing certain big financial IN
terests The President said he informed
Mr.. Hartman that he did not believe 1t
would be possible to appoint Mr.. Depew
and Furthermore expressed his surprise
at his (Harriman's) saying that the men
representing the big financial interests OF
New York wished the appointment made
inasmuch as a number of them had writ
ten, asking that the place be given to
Mr.. Hyde. Mr.. Hartman, on learning
Mr. Hyde was a candidate, hastily said
that he did not wish to be understood as
antagonizing him, and would be quite will
ing to suppord him. The President says
that although he understood that he Qiar-
riman) still preferred Mr.. Depew. he left
strong impression that he would be al
most as well satisfied with Hyde. Some
correspondence is then given between the
President and Mr.. Hartman, from which
it appears that ON October 10 the Presi-
dent said to Mr. Hartman that in view of
the trouble over the state ticket in New
York he would like to have few words
with him. Later, on October IA, is letter
to Mr.. Hartman, in which the President
says that a suggestion has come to him in
a roundabout way that Mr.. Hartman did
not think it wise to come in the closing
weeks of the campaign. The President
told Mr.. Hartman if he thought there
was any danger of his visit causing
trouble to give 1t up. Here the President
in his letter to Mr.. Sherman, says:
Incompatible.
you will see that this letter is abso-
lutely incompatible with any theory that
I was asking Mr.. Hartman to come
down to see me In my own interest"
The President encloses another letter
from Mr.. Hartman in his communica-
ton to Mr.. Sherman, in which he says
shows that Hartman did not have in his
mind "any idea of my asking him to col
lect money"
tween Mr.. Hartman and the President,
touching among other things on the ques-
ton of railroad matters and what the
President might have to say to Congress
on the subject of the interstate com
merce commission. The President said he
was unable to agree with Mr.. Harriman's
views on the matter and left his message
to Congress unchanged, as regards the
interstate commerce law.
$50 much for what Mr.. Hartman said
about me personally says the President
in concluding his first letter to Mr.. Sher-
man. Far more important the President
regards the additional remarks which Mr..
Sherman said Mr.. Hartman maze 10 MIN
when he asked him If he thought it well
to see "Heartism and the like triumphant
over the republican party YOU" says
the President, Inform me that he told
you that he did not care in the least be-
cause those people were crooks and he
could buy them and other similar re-
marks This the President says was
doubtless partly in boastful cyncism and
partly in burst of bad temper, but it
showed in the Presidents opinion cynic-
ism and deep seated corruption which he
denounces in strong words
The second letter to Mr. Sherman sim
ply contains an addenta to the first.
Text of First Letter.
The text of the first letter is as follows:
October s. 1906.
MY Dear Sherman: Since you left
this morning I succeeded in getting hold
of the letters to which referred, and
<rnvrrSTrITs nv DArE =,