Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-12-23

| Robinson had not had the slightest
connection, directly or indirectly, of
any kind or sort with any phase of
the Panama transaction from begin
ming to end The men who attacked
Mr.. Root in the matter had not taken
i the trouble to read the public docu-
ments which would have informed
| them that Mr.. Root had nothing to 40
with the purchase which was entirely
| arranged through the department of
justice under the then Attorney Gen
eral, Mr.. Knox.
/ String of Infamous Libes.
/ Now, these stories, as a matter Of
fact, need no investigation whatever.
No shadow of proof has been, or can
! be, produced in behalf of any of them.
They consist simply of string or in
| famous libels. In. form, they are in
part libels upon individuals, upon Mr..
( Taft, and Mr.. Robinson for instance.
But they are in fact wholly, and in
form partly, libel upon the United
| States government. l do not believe
we should concern ourselves with ,-.e
! particular individuals who wrote the
I lying and libelous editorials, articles
from correspondents, or articles in the
news columns.
| The real offender is Mr.. Joseph
Pulitzer. editor and proprietor of Thu
'World." While the criminal offense
of which Mr.. Pulitzer has been guilty
, is in form libel upon individuals,
! the great injury done is in blackmail-
| ing the good name of the American
people II should not be left to a
private citizen to sue Mr.. Pulizter for
| libel. He should be prosecuted for
| libel by the government authorities
In point of encourag cement of iniquity,
in point of infamy, of wrong doing,
there is nothing to chose between a
public servant who betrays his trust,
| public servant who is guilty of
blackmail, or theft, or financial dis
honesty of any kind, and man guilty
! as Mr.. Joseph Pulitzer has been guilty
in this instance. It is, therefore, a
high national duty to bring to justice
this vilifier Of the American people;
this man who wantonly and wickedly
and without one shadow of justifica-
ton seeks to blacken the character of
reputable private citizens and to con-
, vict the government of his own cOun-
try in the eyes of the civilized world
of wrong doing of the basest and foul
est kind, when he has not one shadow
| of justification of any sort or descrip-
; ton for the charge he has made. The
attorney general has under considera-
ton the form in which the proceedings
! against Mr.. Pulitzer shall be brought.
information on the Subject.
Meanwhile l submit to you all the
accompanying papers, so that you may
have before you complete information
on the subject. l call your attention
to my communications in my messages
to the congress of Jan. 20, 1902, March
IL, 1903, Dec. z, 1903, Jan. 4, 1904, and
Dec. IL, 1906, in which | set forth at
length the history of various phases
of the whole transaction. recall
your attention to the report and
opinion of the attorney general rem
dered to me, dated Oct. %, 1902, with
the accompanying documents and ex-
hibits. l call your attention to the
correspondence of the officers and
agents of the Panama Canal company.
with the president and other officers OF
the United States, printed in Senate
Document No. 81, Dec. 10, 1902; also
to the copy of the official proceedings
of the New Panama Canal company at
Paris on the 30th of December, 1903,
together with a report of the council
of administration of that company,
printed in Senate Document No. 1873,
Jan. %, 1904; and to the copy of the
general conveyance by the New Pana-
ma Canal company to the United
States, also copies of certain kilograms
from the president of the company
making an offer of sale, and Attorney
General Knox's cablegram in response
printed in Senate Document No. 2S5,
March 90, 1906. 1 call your attention
furthermore to the exhaustive testi-
mOny recorded in public document
(Senate Document No. 4O1, Fifty-ninth
Congress, second SESSION., which con-
tains the searching investigation into
the whole transaction made by con-
gress for its information and fully
considered by the congress before It
took action.
What Congress Provided.
In the Act, approved June %, 1902,
''To provide for the construction OF
canal connecting the waters of the At
lantic and Pacific Oceans" the con-
gress provided as follows:
"That the president Of the United
States is hereby authorized to acquire,
for and on behalf of the United States,
at a cost not exceeding forty millions
of dollars, the rights, privileges, fran
chises, concessions, grants of land,
right Of way, unfinished work, plants,
and other property, real, personal, and
mixed, of every name and nature, own
ed by the New Panama Canal COM
pany, of France, on the Isthmus of
Panama, and all its maps, plans, draw
n