Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-10

In a long letter to William Dudley
Foulke of Indiana. former civil service
commissioner. President Roosevelt de-
nounces as false and malicious charges
that he has used or is using federal
patronage to promote the candidacy of
Secretary Taft. The correspondence be-
tween Mr.. Foulke and the President is as
follows:
Letter to the President.
February ), 1905.
The President:
Sir: January l. laid before YOU an
article in the Indianapolis News "a paper
supporting the candidacy of Mr. Fair
banks). accusing you of using the federal
patronage to secure the nomination of Mr.
Taft. and naming the post Offices in par
- tcular. / spoke of the fact that certain
men had been nominated in Ohio and
You answered that that was true that
YOU would be very weak If you allowed
the power of appointment in taat state to
he used only as a means of attack upon
the administration.
"On my return home ] observed other
articles making similar charges in various
papers-for instance. the following in the
New York Evening Post Of January 16:
we are now getting daily lessons in
civil service reform from the White House
which ought to attract national atten-
ton. The appointment of Taft workers
I" post offices in Ohio and of the tota lily
Of this port is now followed by the Presi-
dents refusal TO reappoint good Hughes
man as collector Of customs at Platts-
burg
january Il an article charging you
with similar abuse Of the patronage ap-
pearcd in the Indianapolis Star. a paper
also supporting Mr.. Fairbanks and re-
puted to be owned principally by DIR. DAN
lei G. Reid. gentleman representing inn
portant Wall street interests. This article
! inclosed in a letter to You, in which l
said: No man can be a more unqualified
supporter OF Mr.. Taft than !. yet j realize
that any use Of the patronage TO aid him,
especially II coercion can be implied. Is
likely to injure YOU very seriously. The
Use of any public office for this purpose
Is fraught with great danger and subject
to unanswerable criticism TO this you
answered January 10: Will you produce
the name Of A single man whom l have
coerced or influenced: will you give me
the name Of any official who has been con-
trolled by threat Of dismissal or implied
threat of dismissal or from whom have
demanded support for Taft? In short. will
YOU give me one particle of Justification
for the fears you expressed? Name the
man whom l have removed because he
was not for Taft or threatened to remove
because he was not for Taft. You cannot
do So and AZ you cannot. why do you not
repeat this challenge to the newspapers in
question, assert that their words are abso-
lHtely false and challenge them to make
gOod?'
No Answer to Challenges
II accordingly wrote to the Star asking
it to name a single case Of the coercion
referred to in its previous issues 1t
published an answer to my letter. but fail
ed to name any instance of the kind. !
then wrote again. calling attention to this
failure and asking if l were not forced to
conclude from its own silence that its own
charges were absolutely without founda-
ton. This second letter. however, ii
would not publish. though 1t still contin-
ues to repeat its general charges OF abuse
o. the patronage
These charges also continue to be cir
culated by other newspapers in all parts
of the country. Thus, the Boston Herald
Of January -, says:
Federal office holders may he com.
manded to use their influence and their
authority In behalf of candidate. Such
command has been issued and the
Presiden; should know of it, Some.
body has instructed postmasters that
they must obtain from their subordinates
either their designations or their pledges
TO support Taft delegates to the conven.
ton. Even in Massachusettse efforts
of this kind have recently been made bu,
happily they have been stopped. partly