Connecticut western news., 1907-04-25
REFUSES s ID RETRACl.
President Roosevelt Again Scores
 Mover and Haywood.
DEPENDS RIGHT TO CRITICISM
Replying to Censure of Labor Men, Executive Declares Accused. Miners
 Stand For Violence and Bloodshed.

Washington, April "A. - President of organized labor for a retraction of his statement that Mover, Haywood and Debs, labor leaders, are "undesir able citizens" made public letter in denounced them as representatives of men who "habitually appear as guilty of indictment to or apology for blood shed and violence" ,-.t- Honore Jaxon of Chicago. chairman of the Cook county Moyer-Haywood con- ference, follows:
 'I have received your letter of the 18th inst, in which you inclose the draft of the formal letter which is to follow. I have been notified that sev- eral delegations, bearing similar re- quests, are on the way hither. In the letter you on behalf of the Cook county Moyer-HaywOod conference protest against certain language I used in recent letter, which you assert to be designed to influence the course of jus tice in the case of the trial for murder of Messrs. Mover and Haywood. I en tirely agree with you that it is improp- CT to endeavor to influence the course of justice whether by threats or in any similar manner. For this reason have regretted most deeply the action of such organizations as your own in undertaking to accomplish this very result in the very case of which you speak. For instance, your letter is headed, Cook County Moyer-HaywOod Pettibone Conference,' with the head lines, Death Cannot, Will Not and Shall Not Claim Our Brothers This shows that you and your associates are not demanding fair trial or work ing for a fair trial, but are announcing iii advance that the verdict shall only be one way and that you will not toler- ate any other verdict Such action is fragrant in its impropriety, and join heartily in condemning it.
 Not Meant to Influence Trial.
 But 1t is simple absurdity to sup pose that because any is on trial for a given offense he is therefore to be freed from all criticisms upon his general conduct and manner of life. In my letter to which you object I re- ferred to a certain prominent finan- cier, MT. Hartman, on the one hand and to Messrs. Mover, Haywood and Debs on the other as being equally un- desirable citizens. It is as foolish to assert that this was designed to infu- ence the trial of Mover and Haywood as to assert that 1t was designed to in- fuence the suits that have been brought against Mr. Hartman. I nei- ther expressed nor indicated any opin- ion as to whether Messrs. Mover and Haywood were guilty of the murder of Governor Steunenberg. If they are guilty they certainly ought to be pun ished. If they are not guilty they cer- tainly ought not to be punished.
 'But no possible outcome either of the trial or the suits can affect my judgment as to the undesirability of the type of citizenship of those whom I mentioned. Messrs. Mover, Haywood and Debs stand as representatives of those men who have done as much to discredit the labor movement as the worst speculative financiers or most interruptions employers of labor and debauchers of legislatures have done to discredit honest capitalists and fair dealing business men.
 'They stand as the representatives of these men who by their public utter ances and manifestoes, by the utter ances of the papers they control or in- spire and by the words and deeds of those associated with or subordinated to them habitually appear as guilty of indictment to or apology for bloodshed or violence.
 Indifferent to Criticism.
 Tn that letter I condemned both types. Certain representatives of the great capitalists in turn condemned me for including Mr. Hartman in my condemnation of Messrs. Mover and Haywood. Certain of the representa- tives of labor in their turn condemned me because I included Messrs. Mover and Haywood as undesirable citizens together with MT. Hartman. am as profoundly indifferent to the condem- nation in one case as in the other challenge as a right the support of all good Americans, whether wage earn CTS or capitalists, whatever their occu- patton or creed or in whatever portion of the country they live, when I con demn both types of bad citizenship which 1 have held up to reproduction. It seems to me mark of utter insin- cerity to fail thus to condemn both.
 "You say you ask for square deal for Messrs. Mover and Haywood. So do I. When I say square deap I mean square deal to every one. It is equal ly a violation of the policy of the square deal for a capitalist to protest against denunciation of capitalist who is guilty of wrongdoing and for a labor leader to protest against the de- nunciation of labor leader who has been guilty of wrongdoing. I stand for equal justice to both, and so far as in my power lies I shall uphold justice whether the man accused of guilt has behind him the wealthiest corpora tions, the greatest aggregation of rich