The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1908-12-16
SOME HOT STUFF
Teddy Brands Two promlnet 3D.
itos as MsDdacious Liars.
PANAMA CANAL DEAL

Hands Around the Lie Right an
Left But He Does Not Throw An
Light on the Matter Under Dis
cpssioa.
White House,
Washington. Dec. !, 1908.
Ny Dear Mr.. Foulke: have re
ceived your letter Of the 2sth u!tim
and have read it in connection will
your previous letters enciosin:
quotations from the Indianapoll:
News, q paper edited by Mr.. Delavar
Smith. The News states in one o.
its issues that probably some OF the
documents dealing with the matter
have been destroyed. This is false
Not one has been destroyed. Il
states that the last documents were
sent over in June Of this year, the
object of this particular falsehood
being, apparently, to connect the
matter in some way with the nomi-
nation Of Nc. Taft. AS a matter OF
fact, the last papers that we have
received Of any kind were sent over
to Us in May Of 1904, and they have
been accessible to every human be-
ing who cared to look at them ever
since, and are accessib 9 now. '
You quote the News ss stating
that '.the people have no Official
knowledge concerning the Panama
Canal deal" The fact is that the
people have had the most minute
oAcial knowledge; that every i'm
portant step in the transaction and
every important document have been
made public in communications to
Congress and through the daily
press, and the whole matter has been
threshed over in all its details again
and again and again
The fact has been oMcialiy pub
lished again and again that ths
Government paid s4o,ooo,ooo,o00,
and that it paid this s4o,o0o,e0o d1-
rect to the French Government, get
ting the receipts Of the hQuidator
appointed by the French Government
to receive the same. The Uaited
States Government has not the
slightest knowledge IS to the partic-
ular individuals among whom th-
French Government distributed the
sum. This was the business OF the
French Government. The mere sub
position that any American received
from the French Government
rake OFF, is too absurd to be dis
cussed.
It is an abominable falsehood. and
it is sl.1der, not against the Amer
lean Government, but against the
French Government.
The Presidents brother-in-law was
involved in no scandal. NIT. Del.-
van Smith and the other people who
repeated this falsehood lied about
the Presidents brother-in-law; but
why the fact that Mr. Smith lied
should be held to involve Mr.. Robin
soa in Scandal is difficult TO
understand. The scandal affects nc
one but MI. Smith; and ais conduct
has been not merely scandalous, but
Infamous Mr.. Robinson had not the
slightest connection Of any kind, sort
or description at any time or under
any circumstances with the Panama
matter. Neither did Charles Taft.
So far, as I know there was no
syndicate; there certainly was no
syndicate in the United States that
to my knowledge had any dealings
with the Government directly or
indirectly; and, inasmuch as ther'
was no syndicate, Mr.. Taft naturall.
could not belong to it. The News
demands that afr. TaRt sppeal to
the evidence BY which 1t means
what it calls the records"
All Of thsse documents that pos.
sessed any Importance rs illus1rat-
ing any feature of the transactions
have already been made public
There remains great mass OF docu-
ments Of little or no Importance
which the Administration Is entire
y willing to have published. bu:
which because of their mass anc
pointlessness, NOBODY has cv"r cared
TO publish. Any reputable man car
have full access to these docu-
ments.
Nj. Delavan Smith is eonspicu
Gus offender against the laws Of
horesry and trut ,fuln"es, bat hf
does not stand alone He occupies
for instance, :he same evil emine1cf
with such men as Mr. Lafan. of tn
New York Sun, editoiia1s Of whose
paper you or others have from tiHlt
to time called to my attention. just
as you have called to my attention
these editorials Of the Indianapolis
News. OF the editorials thus sem
me there is hardly one which does
not contain some wilful perverslon
of the truth.
.Mr. Roosevelt quotes for an ex-
ample his re ent statemen. in repl!
to a New York Sun story. ea1itlca
Roosevelt and Prarie OIL" and tueC
continues:)
The fact is that these particular
newspapers habitua'ly and continu-
ally and as a matter of business
practice every form of mendaci:y
known to man from the suppression
of the truth and the suggestion o1
the false to the lie direct. Thoss
who write or procure others to writ:
th.s. articles a-e Engaged in tn,
practice of mendacity for hire, and
surely there can be no lower form O
sairing a livelihood. Whether the
are paid by outsiders to say what L
false, or whether profit comes from