The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1907-04-19
NOT A PARTY
TO CONSPIRACY
Grrnd Forks Papers "Cal1ed Down.
Forcib1y By United States
Senator Hansbrough


The Grand Forks Herald, like all
other Associated Press newspapers,
last week published an account of a
dinner of friends of the president at
the White House at which plot was
disclosed, alleged to have been
hatched on Wall street, by a bunch of
millionaires to encompass the defeat
of President Roosevelt's policies. The
Herald's headline artist trimmed up
this piece of news in most sensa-
tional manner calculated to convey to
the reader that Senator Hansbrough
was Gin conspiracy against President
Roosevelt" The headlines were mis-
leading and not justified by the text
of the Associated Press dispatch, and
as other state papers have taken the
Herald's headlines rather than the
text of the. telegram as their cue, the
senator has been misquoted as an
enemy of the president when in fact
he is one of his closest and warmest
personal friends.
Senator Hansbrough's attention hav-
ing been called to the incident and
also to "fake" telegram in the
democratic Evening Press of Grand
Forks, he wrote these papers as fol-
lows-which closes the incident:
Letter to the Herald.
Washington, D. c., April II, 1907.
Editor Grand Forks Herald: My in
tention has been called to your issue
of the 7th containing some sensational
and decidedly misleading headlines
setting forth that l recently attended
dinner at which "plot was hatched
to encompass the downfall of Presi-
dent Roosevelt and his policies.'
have no kind of doubt that unpre-
JUDGED readers of your paper dis
covered for themselves the palpable
injustice contained in your headlines,
because these headlines were not in
any particular whatever justified by
the story contained in the Associated
Press dispatches over which, with
malice aforethought, you wrote them.
Again, no one familiar with the policy
of your paper would expect you to
forego the slightest opportunity to
misrepresent me- The habit to do so
has become chronic in the Herald
office.
It is strange indeed that the dis
patch referred to, which was printed
in hundreds of papers throughout the
country on that date, was miscon-
strued and perverted by the Herald
only; that every other Associated
Press paper throughout the United
States or elsewhere, publishing as
they did the same dispatch from
Washington, regarded the dinner as
having been given by friend of the
president only friends of the president
being present. All Associated Press
dispatches dealing with the subject
have referred to plot hatched in
Wall street and not at dinner In
this city, and that this plot was dis
covered in the talk that took place at
a dinner attended by friends of the
president, including myself.
You should explain how it hap
pened that the presidents private
secretary, William Loeb, jr., attended
a dinner given, as you falsely tried to
make it appear. by interests hostile to
the president, and. how Senator
Bourne and Delegate Andrews, two Of
the closest friends of the president,
should have been there.
As for myself l challenge you to
write President Roosevelt himself or
Mr. Loeb, his secretary, as to my
standing at the White House. Ask
either of them or both of them wheth-
er or not have been and am not
now a trusted confident Of the presi-
dent and a consistent supporter of
him and the policies for which he
answer is against me. II either OF
them sustains you in your remarkable
assumption that am or at any time
have been hostile to the president, l
will forthwith resign from the senate,
which act on my part would greatly
relieve the aching heart of the Herald
management.
Letter to the Press.
Washington, D. c., April IL, 1907.
To the Editor Of the Grand Forks
Press: have read the sensation IN
your issue Of the 9Th wherein I am
charged with being present at din
ner to which you refer as "a rich
mans dinner" attended by persons op'
posed to President Roosevelt and MS
policies. II it serves the purpose OF
the political organization which your
paper processes to represent to manu-