The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-04-04
HARTMAN WAS AFTER
 MONEY ID AID ODELL
PRESIDENT DISCUSSES CONTRO- VERSY WITH 4 NUMBER OF
 HIS CALLERS.

Promised to Do What He Could as He
 Had in Other Instances When Ap-
 pealed to for Help fin State Cam
 paigns-Answers Parker's State-
 ment-DOzen Contributions Offered
 by Corporations Declined but Others
 Accepted-LegisIatiOn Pointed to to
 DisprOve ImputntiOn of Immunity
 Hartman Wanted to be Senator.
 Washington, April 3. = President Roosevelt discussed with number of his callers to-day various features of the controversy between Mr. Harri- man and himself growing out of the publication of the letters between them. He desired not to be quoted in the mat ter, however. To his friends to-day ? the president made it plain that his version of MT. Harriman's visit preced- ing the election of 1904 was that MT. Hartman wantetd assistance from the national republican committee to help Chairman Odell in the New York state campaign towards whose expenses he (EIarr1nlaiD had raised $1OOOOO. The president organised to communicate with Messrs. cortelyou and Bliss to see what could be done. lie did in this case he declared just what he had done in other instances whefe he had been ap- pealed to help in state campaigns.
 To some of the visitors the president referred to the statement made public last night by Judge Alton B. Parker in Albany in which he said that it has never been denied that $150O00 was turned over by the Equitable, Mutual and New York Life Insurance compan- les to Mir Cortelyou's committee and that congress has refused to make an investigation into the corporation con tributions of 1904 or to pass law pro- hibiting such contributions in the fu- ture. On this subject the president re- ferred to a statement which he made on November 4, 1904, in which he said in part:
 '"That contributions have been made to the republican committee as contri- buttons have been made to the dem- ocratic committee is not the question at issue Mir Parker's assertion is in eff feet that such contributions have been made for improper motives, either In consequence of threats, or in conse- quence of improper promises, direct or indirect, on the part of the recipients.
 
 "But there is not one particle of truth in the statement" etc.
 Neither Mir Parker, nor his support CTS, the president declared, have been able to traverse or question the state ments made in that answer The pres- ident said that to his own knowledge about dozen contributions offered by corporations had been declined by Chairman Cortelyou, but that others had been accepted A contribution by the American Tobacco company he said had been returned. A prominent man had made a contribution of $20 900 to the republican campaign fund Subsequent Ky this man had made known his de- sire for an appointment in the diplo- matic service in the event that the president was selected. JAS soon as his motives were understood the national committee returned his contribution. The president asserted to his callers that none of the corporations that con tributetd to the campaign fund in 1904 had come to him for favors either di- rectly or indirectly. In this connection the president referred to the legislation enacted regarding corporations during the last two years as disproving any imputations that immunity would be shown them for their contributions.
 It was authoritatively declared at the White house to-day that the real reason for E. H. Harriman's interest in the election of the state ticket in 1904 was that he desired to advance his own am bitions.
 It is asserted that MT. Hartman wanted the position of senator now filled by MT. Depew, and that this was the reason why he was anxious to have him appointed ambassador to Paris
 The inferences from MT. Hartman s attitude, according to the statement, was that If MT. Depew could be induc- ed to go to Paris that Governor Odell was prepared to appoint him to the va- cancy.