Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1908-01-19
It PROVED A
BOOMERANG
Interested Parties Secure
Doped' Publication in
Washington Paper
Striking Correspondence Be-
tween Senator MCCuIn.
Der and President

Some time ago the Washington
Post contained an article to the eff
feet that Senator McCumber of North
Dakota had knocked the Roosevelt
policies in an address before Grand
charged that the senator had held
the president responsible for the f.
nancial trouble. The story gained
some currency in North Dakota pa
pers. The following lettrs are self
explanatory:
Washington, Dec. 20, 1907. Hon
Theodore Roosevelt, White House.
My Dear Mr. President: I have new.
err yet had occasion to take back any
thing I have said in public or semi
public utterances, but l have had &C.
casion within the past two days to
kick most vigorously against what
was reported to have said, or rath-
er, known false inference from it.
Speaking at an old soldiers gather
ing the evening of Dec. IS. my sub
ject required me to show the vast
prog, ess of this country in wealth
and material development since the
close of the war, the accumulations
of vast fortunes, the abuse of wealth,
it's parade and vulgar display, the
dedication of our great Sunday pa
pers to the scions of dollar aristoc-
racy, and the effect of all this on the
public mind. / declared that the
evils flowing from these sources were
doing more than any other powers
in driving us headlong towards So
ciaIism, and that the socialism as
a remedy in the end would be thou
sand-fold worse than the disease;
that in steering the country between
these two lines of danger, the effem.
nancy of wealth and the dry rot of
socialism, we must ever look to the
great middle class of the American
people, the old soldiers, their child
rem and their childrens children.
you can imagine my surprise the
next morning to see report in the
rost that 1 had attacked your poll
cies. I know that few such articles
can arrest your attention, but lest
this one might, and be put in a
wrong position, 1 want to say most
emphatically that, while not using
your name, every word I uttered was
in exact harmony with my belief, and
that belief in absolute harmony with
your policies and battles against pre-.
datory wealth.
| II simply write this because I do
not want you to think for a minute
thai, when the ship meets a storm
which: we know( or ought to have
known was coming, when the day
of settlement of wild speculation and
watered stock should arrice, I am
one to retreat and try to throw the
| blame for the storm on one who by
every act and speech has done more
than any other man to warn the
country of that very danger.
| your policy was right before this
financial trouble, it is in no wise
whatsoever responsible for it, and it
is equally right today.
very sincerely yours,
| (Signed) "P. J. McCumber."
| 'The White House, Washington,
| Dec. %, 1907.-My Dear Senator: I
had not seen the article and should
have paid no heed to it if l had seen
it, but am glad it appeared so long
as 1T drew such kind and friendly
letter from you.
with regard, believe me,
| Sincerely Yours.
(Signed) Theodore Roosevelt"
Hon. P. J. McCumber,
United States Senate