Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-24
ROOSEvELT'S
REPLY WORDY
AND YELLED
PRESIDENTS LETTER TO w. J.
BRYAN BOOSTS TAFT
EXECUTIVE IGNORES REQUESTS
OF NERRAsKAN
Lcnu and Ambiguous Article from the
White House Fails to Cover
Specific Demands In the
Haskell Case
.cont,nuea from Paee one,

Continued from Page oneD
vantage of the opportunity to boost
Taft for the presidency
Concluding, Mr.. Roosevelt declares
that no law-defying corporation has
ANYTHING to fear from Mr.. Bryan, "save
what 1t would suffer from the general
paralysis of business" which he AYERS
would follow Democratic success.
The president spent almost the entire
day-if not longer-in getting up his
''answer."
Here IL Is
President Roosevelt in his reply to
w. J. Bryan says:
"THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHING
TON, Sept. 20, 1908.
Dear Sir: In your telegram you
speak of so much of the charge against
Governor Haskell as dealt with his re-
lations, while in Ohio. with the Stand
ard Oil company. You omit the charge
as to his relations with the Standard
Oil company interests, as shown by
his action while governor of Okla
homa this very summer. this action
being in part taken while he was at
Denver, where, as you state, he was
by your wish made chairman OF the
committee which drafted the platform
upon which you are standing. In my
statement purposely made no specl-
f1c allusion to the Ohio matter and
shall at this time make none. In spite
of its significance and in spite of the
further fact that Governor Haskelfs
close relations with the Standard OIL
interests while he was in Ohio was
matter of common notoriety. In Okla
homa it is a matter of court record.
"By this court record it appears the
attorney general of the state, elected
by the people, obtained an Injunction
to prevent the Prairie Oil and Gas
company from building pipe line, and
that Governor Haskell found this out
while he was at Denver, as appears
by the representations for the dissolu-
tions of the injunction made In his
name. on behalf of the state, before
court of superior jurisdiction to that
which issued the injunction.
And Haskell Was Right
"In this the governor states that the
acting governor, in his absence, had
asked that the hearing be postponed
until he, the governor, might return
and have an opportunity to inVeslgate
the controversy.
tion that he is the sole authority to
determine such matters and that the
attorney general and the judge or the
lower. court had no right in the case
and that the action of the judge or
lower court represented AN encroach"
ment by the judiciary.
The attorney general opposed tne
dissolution of the injunction. statlns
that the Prairie Oil and Gas company
was a foreign corporation, which hao
not accented the provisions of the con-
stitution applicable to such corpora
tions. and that without authority OF
law it was employing great force OF
men and teams to dig up, across anu
into various highways of the state TOT
the purpose of laying its pipe lines.
"The governor prevailed, the lnJunc-
ton was suspended and the pipe llne
was permitted to continue its WORK. TO
use the words of the attorney general
without any color of law
What Is Real Situation?
.J call YOUR attention to the fact that
+he question is not whether or not the
Judge erred, or whether the inJunctlon
was proper. The point is that the gov
ernor was alert TO take out OF the
hands of the attorney general Wnat
the attorney general felt was his sworn
duty and prevent an alleged instance
of the breaking of the laws by thls
particular great corporation.
las far as 1 have seen, Governor
Haskell has not even attempted any
thing which can be called defense or
this action of his. Thus 1t appears
that his action was as inexcusable as
it was wanton, except on the theory
that in defiance of the attorney general
!, aY-dc hA In.
tended for some reason of his own to
protect the interests of a great cor
poration against the law. 1t has been
suggested on his behalf that after all
he did not favor the Standard OIL COM
pany but merely the Prairie Oil COM
pany. This claim is disposed of by the
testimony of the Standard OH company
itself, taken in the latter part of 1907
in the suit now pending before the
United States court at st. Louis,
against the Standard Oil company.
'Tn this testimony the Standard Oil
company, upon being requested by the
government to put in list of all COM
panies in which 1t held stock or which
in it's subsidiary companies held stock,
reported among the others the Prairie
Oil and Gas company, total capital
$10,00OO00, of which the National iran
sit company's proportion was $780,
800, and furthermore it appears that
the National Transit company had
capital stock of $25, 200, of which the
Standard Oil company owned $25, ,451, $50.
Another "Reason"
"In other words the Prairie Oil and
Gas company was owned, all except
$500 by the National Transit company,
I'D the National Transit company was
owned, all except about $3.50, by the
Standard Oil company.
"Now, contrast your action In this
case of Governor Haskell with Mr..
Taft's action as regards Senator Fora
ker, as set forth in his letter of July
20, 1907, which l quoted in my state
ment. 1t is a matter of common no
toriety about Senator Foraker, as 1t has
long been matter of common notoriety
about Governor Haskell, that he was
the defender and supporter of certain
great corporate interests and therefore
hostile to the policies for which the ad.
has stood.
"There was no such convincing proof
against Senator Foraker at that time,
however, as there was against Gov
ernor Haskell, when, as you say, he
was with your approval made treasurer
Of the campaign committee.
"But Mr. Taft refused to be a party
10 the denomination of Senator Foraker
sven though it was represented that
,nly thus could he advance his nomina-
ion in this. showing by actual deeds
hat his words were true when he
,aid: i do not care for the presidency
7 IL has to come by compromise with
my one on a matter of principle
Eutdenea CIearer7