Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-28
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT REPLIES TO BRYAN;
RAPS HASKELL AND DEFENDS HIMSELF.

World in February last printed list o:
contributions to your campaign FUNDS OIL
| 1896, containing the names OF individuals
and corporations owning silver mines
who made contributions to the aggregat:
amount of S26S, 900, one Of the contribu-
tons being $4,000 and another of Slo.-
| 900. etc, etc.
Now. all the great financial magnates
| who then contributed to your campaig1
! fund would have preferred business pros
perity to business adversely. other things
| being equal; but they would rather nave
had the immense profit that wouiu have
the fifty-cent dollar than the smaller
profit which would have accrued to them
| merely from the general industrial pros
| perity of the country.
| Because Of their personal interests.
and against the interest of the community
at large, these trust magnates then sup
| ported you. My belief is. and the state
| ment OF Judge Priest quoted above and
| the attitude Of many men of large finan-
| cial interest warrant me in expressing
the belief, that these trust magma, es
whose fear of being prosecuted under the
| law by Mr. Taft is greater than their
fear of general business adversely under
you. will support you. and not Mr.. Taft.
Il now come to what you have to say
as to contributions. and here you furnish
| your own answer. You state that 1t ap-
| pears from the published statement of
| the contributions to Mr. Hughes cam
that various men of wealth. some of them
| connected with big corporations. whom
you name, to the number Of nine, contrib
| uted from so, 900 to $500 apiece. You ask.
| Would the fact that these gentlemen
contributed to his campaign fund
strengthen or weaken his testimony
against the reasonableness of our anti
trust remedy and later you continue by
| asking. Are you willing to say that any
public interest was served In 1904 by con-
cealing until after election the contribu-
tons made to the republican campaign
committee by Mr.. Hartman, and those
collected by him for others? Are you will
ing to say that the publication before
would have had no effect on the cleo
| tion?' You then propose to publish the
| names of contributors before election, and
ask us to do the same.
Trivial by Comparison.
''The amounts you mention as contrib
uted to Mr.. Hughes are utterly trivial
compared to the amounts I have already
mentioned as contributed to your cam
paign in 1896; but in my judgment the
amount contributed has nothing whatever
to do with the point at Issue. The ques-
ton was. for instance. whether Mr.. Clark
of Montana, when he contributed heavily
to your campaign fund. had proper mo
tive, and whether your actions would or
would not have been Influenced properly
or improperly by that contribution; and
the same question applies to Mr. Hughes
and to me. In the case of Mr.. Hughes
and myself the answer is fortunately
easy.
You have nothing to do but examine
our records in the offices to which we
were both elected. You either knew or
ought to have known before writing that
| tn
governor. done one thing Of any kind.
sort or description for any one of the
contributors you mention or for any
other contributor to his fund which ought
not to have been done and would not
have been done If no contribution had
been made. Yet you clearly imply that
he is and has been improperly influenced
by the fact of these contributions having
been made. Do you consider such an I'M
plication either straightforward or sin
cere?
I'm a letter to the chairman Of my
campaign committee on October %. 1904
1 specifically approved Of the conditions
under which the national committee were
accepting contributions. saying that their
acceptance was to be with the explicit
understanding that they were given and
received with no thought Of any more
obligation on the part Of the national
ton than is implied in the statement that
every man shall receive a square deal. no
more and no less, and that this 1 shall
guarantee him in any event to the best
of my ability II they subscribe
for the purpose Of securing such national
welfare. and with no Thought of personal
favors to them. why. they act as is
entirely proper.
Returned! No Hard Feelings.
Il continued: In returning the money
to them (any contributors) wish it made
clear that there is not the slightest per-
sonal feeling against them. and that they
can count upon being treated exactly as
we'll by the administration, exactly as
fairly as If we had accepted the contribu-
tions. They shall not suffer in any way
because we refused them. just as they
would have gained In any way II we ac-
copied them No member of the national
committee has ever directly or indirectly
suggested to me that l should either do
or leave undone anything whatever be-
cause any one contributed or had failed
to contribute
These are the facts Now for your
proposal. You have yourself furnished its
condemnation. You have quoted the
| subscriptions furnished to Gov. Hughes
as giving reason to distrust Gov. Hughes
attitude toward corporations. and l am
obliged to say that this cannot be sin
cere on your part, for you know well
what the governors attitude has been
throughout his term. You quote the SUBJ
ScrlptlOn OF MT. hartman 10 my CAM
paign, although you know we'll that 1t did
not interfere with any action taken by
me as against Mr.. Hartman. and ask If
1t would not have affected the campaign
IL known. Thereby you have furnished
an excellent reason for refusing to meet
your proposal. for you make 1t evident
that to adopt your proposal would give
to every man who cared merely for par
tisan success the chance, by precisely the
argument you have now made. to create
to more purpose the false impression that
you are now seeking to create.
Mr.. Tafts reput alton, Mr.. Taft's acts
on the bench and in the executive service
show that he could not be swayed in any
shape or way by any consideration save
the public interest. and that the fact of
any mans contributing or failing to con-
tribute would not in any way influence his
action, any more than 1t has Influenced
my action or the action Of Gov. Hughes.
Sure, Make Them Public.
II emphatically approve Of the publica-
ton Of campaign expenses after the cleo
ton. whether provided for by law or not.
You have shown by this letter of yours
that II the contributions to Mr.. Hughes
campaign fund had been made public be-
fore election you and those who act with
you would have striven to give the false
impression that Mr.. Hughes was unfit to
ernor; and you have shown by this letter
of yours that II Mr.. Harriman's contribu-
| ton to the campaign fund Of 1904 land In
cidentally 1 may mention that 1 am in
formed that this particular contribution
was not used for the national camnaipp