The San Francisco call., 1908-12-07
Free Access to Records

ANY reputable man can have full
access to these documents. II you or
Swift or Booth Harrington or George
Ade-in short, if any reputable lnan--
Will come on here he shall have free
access to the documents and can look
,over everything for himself Congress
can have them all printed II it wishes,
but no congressman has ever. so far
intimated any desire that this should
be done. 1 suppose because 10 print
such a mass of documents would be a
great expense, and moreover an entirely
useless expense, unless, which is not
the case, there was some object in
printing them.
Now, by dear Mr.. Foulke, have an
swered in detail your questions and
the statements of the News You are
quite welcome to print my answer, but
! must frankly add that I don't think
any good will come from doing so.
Delavan- Smith is a conspicuous Of
fender against the laws of honesty
and truthfulness, but he does not
stand alone. He occupies. for instance.
the same evil eminence which such
men as Mr.. Laffan of the New York
Sun. the editorials of whose papers
you or others have from time to time
called to. my attention, just as you
have called TO my attention these ed
ttorials Of the Indianapolis News.
Deliberate PerVersIon
Il never see an editorial in any one
of these or similar papers unless for
some reason it is sent to me by you or
by some one else, and of the editorials
thus sent me there is hardly one
which does not contain some willfuI and
deliberate perversion of the truth For
example, ] have just made public the
following statement concerning a tis-
sue OF utterly false statements which
appeared in Mr. Laffan's paper. the
Sun.
"As the New York Sun story en-
titled Roosevelt and Prairie Oil has
seemed to deceive a number of people.
the following statement was made
public about it:
AS soon as the story was brought
to President Roosevelt's attention he
not only called for the reports con-
corning the statements from the de-
partment of justice and the department
of the interior, but also communicated
with Secretary Hitchcock, so as TO be
sure the presidents recollection was
not at fault The story is false in
every particular from beginning to
end. Not only is there no such report
in the department Of justice, and never
has been, but no such report was ever
made. In granting the franchise of
the Prairie oil and gas company the
president simply approved the recon-
mendation OF Secretary Hitchcock. sub
mitted to him precisely as all other
recommended tions were submitted
Moreover. in every case referring TO
the granting of franchises or the adop-
tion OF regulations as regards oil and
gas franchises in Oklahoma and the
Indian Territory. the president an
proved the recommendation of Secre-
tary Hitchcock. with the exception of
one small and unimportant grant to a
Delaware Indian, to whom the Della
ware Indians, in recognition of eight
years OF service to the tribe, had voted
in council a fee of $4,000. which he
had declined to accept. and who was
given twice the usual amount Of land
The statement about the alleged prom
ise to a western senator is a ridiculous
falsehood, as is the story
Hired Writers Scored
The fact Is that these particular
habitually and continually
and. as a matter of business, practice
every form of mendacity known ~