The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1908-12-18
STRONG WORDS
| BY President
Denies Panama Canal Tales
/ in a Message.
PULITZER IS HIT HARD

People," Says MIR. Roosevelt
Charges of the New York World
Called String OF Infamous LibeIs.
and False in Every Particular-Pan.
anna Deal Square.
President Roosevelt, in a message to
congress Wednesday, replied to
charges of the New York World and
other papers that there was corruption
in connection with the purchase of the
Panama canal from the Fre1ch com.
pany.
He was severe in his denunciatior
of Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher of the
New York World. He said in part:
These stories were first brought to
my attention as published in paper
in indianapolis, called The News,
edited by Mr.. Delavan Smith. The
stories were scurrilous and libelous in
character and false in every essential
particular. Mr.. Smith shelters him.
self behind the excuse that he merely
accepted the statements which had ap-
peared in a paper published in New
York, The World owned by Mr..
Joseph Pulitzer
ct is idle to say that the known
character of Mr.. Pulitzer and his
newspaper are such that the state
ments in that paper will be believed
by nobody; unfortunately, thousands
of persons are ill-informed in this re-
spect and believe the statements they
see in print, even though they appear
in a newspaper published by Mr.. Pulit-
ger. A member of the congress has
actually introduced a resolution in
reference to these charges. l there
fore lay all the facts before YOU
False in Every Particular.
The president then tells of the
charges made by The World and con-
tinues:
"The statements sometimes appear
ed in the editorials, sometimes in the
news columns, sometimes in the shape
of contributions from individuals,
either unknown or known to be of bad
character. They are false in every
particular from beginning to end. The
wickedness of the ISLANDERS is only sur
passed by their faulty. So utterly
baseless are the stories that apparent
ly they represent in part merely ma
terial collected for campaign purposes,
and in part stories originally concoct-
ed with view of possible blackmail
The inventor of the story about Mr..
Charles p Taft, for instance, evident
ly supposed that at some period of the
Panama purchase, Mr.. w. III. Taft was
secretary Of war. whereas in reality
MIR. w. H. Taft never became secre-
tary of war until long after the whole
transaction in question had been
closed.
''The inventor of the story about Mr..
douglas Robinson had not taken the
trouble to find out the fact that Mr..
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
tMr. Root in the matter had not taken
the trouble to read the public sdocu
ments which would have informed
them that Mr.. Root had nothing to do
with the purchase which was entirely
arranged through the department of
Justice under the then Attorney Gen
eral, Mr.. Knox
String o: Infamous LfbeIs.
Nov, these stories, as a matter of
fact, need no investigation whatever.
Mo shadow of proof has been, or can
ibe, produced in behalf of any of them.
They consist simply of a string OF 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, a libel upon the United
States government. / do not believe
we should concern ourselves with lie
particular individuals who wrote the
lying and libelous editorials, articles
from correspondents. or articles in the
news columns.
"The real offender is Mr.. Joseph
Pulitzer. editor and proprietor of The
World While the criminal offense
of which Mr.. Pulitzer has been guilty
bis in a form libel upon individuals.
lluO SICdC 1uJuIy QOuC ID III OldOhAudli-
ing the good name of the American
people. 1t should not be left TO a
private citizen to sue Mr.. Pulitzer for
libel. He should be prosecuted for
libel by the government authorities.
In point of encouragement of iniquity,
in point of infamy, of wrong doing,
there is nothing to chose between a
public servant who betrays his trust,
"a 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. 1t is, therefore, a
high national duty to bring to justice
this vilifier of the American people;
this man who wantonly and wickediy
land without one shadow Of justifica-
tion seeks to blacken the character of