Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1907-05-29
FIRE
GREAT FLAME
Present Dimensions lOnq-
Roosevelt Quarrel
1t is Ne Longer a Mat
ter of Animals but Of
Men.

Stamford, Conn, May 2S.-Dr. Will
liam ]. Long today made public a let
ter sent by him to President Roose-
welt. The letter said in part:
Dear Sir-The issue between you
and me is not one Of animals. but
men. II is not chiefly a matter of nat
ural history but of truth and personal
honor. In q recent magazine article
you deliberately attack me as well as
my book. You used the enormous in
fluence of your official position to
discredit me as a man, to injure my
reputation and incidentally to make
poor man even poorer by destroying
II possible. the sale and influence of
his work.
''In my book have given the result
of long years of watching animals in
the wilderness with no other object
than to study their habits. and so far
as man can, to understand the mys-
terry of their domestic life. In my
preface / stated. and now repeat the
statement. that every incident I re-
corded from observation is true as far
as an honest, educated man can see
and understand the truth. In your
recent attack this is what YOU chiefly
deny. / have spoken the truth and
YOU accuse me of deliberate falsehood
and misrepresentation.
"As president OF the United States
YOU have gone out of your way pub
licly to injure a private citizen who is
attending strictly to his own business:
as man you have accused Of false
hood another man whose ideals of
III
your own. This is the whole issue be-
tween US / meet it squarely and so
must you. II | have spoken falsely.
IL in the book or words Of mine, 1
have Intentionally deceived any child
or man regarding animal life. / prom
Use publicly to retract every such word
and never to write another animal
book. on the other hand If | show To
any disinterested person that you have
accused me falsely. YOU must publicly
withdraw your accusation and apollo
gize. As a man and as president no
other honorable course is open to you.
you base your charges chiefly on
the matter OF Il big white wolf killing
young caribou BY bite in the chest
as described by me in Northern
Trails You declare the thing TO be
mathematical impossibility and de
clare that by no possibility could 4
wolf perform the feat"
DIR. Long declares that he knows
from his own observation and from
the testimony of Indians that wolves
do sometimes kill in this way, and
then quotes a signed and witnessed
statement of S. X. Hapidan. an edu-
Gated Sioux Indian who states that
he saw a horse which a wolf killed
by tearing its chest. In addition TO
this. DR.. Long says he himself had
seen a deer which had been slain in
this manner by a wolf and further re-
cites that the Indian. Matty Mitchell
of Bonny Bav. declares a big white
wolf frequently kill caribou in this
manner
Continuing DIR. Long says: "These
are the facts underlying the incident
which you declare to be impossible and
false. If this testimony is not enough
l will fill it up to full scripture mea-
sure.
"You cannot at this stage. Mr..
Roosevelt. take refuge behind your
presidential office to maintain silence.
You have forfeited the right to that
silence by breaking it by coming out
in public TO attack me, a private citi-
zen. II your talk of the square dear
is not al sham if your frequent moral
preaching is not hypocrisy. l call upon
you as president and as a man, to
come out and admit the error and in
justice of your charge in the same
open. public way in which you made
if"