Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-12-19
THE VARYING STORY OF
A WHITE HOUSE "DENIAL"


Garry Their
The Commoner prints the appended
history of well known incident:
Before Election.
Akron, Ohio, Oct 12.-At the Akron
meeting tonight Mr.. Taft reiterated
the points he had previously made on
the labor question and brought to his
support the recently published letters
of Daniel j. Keefe, member of the ex-
ecutive council of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor and head of the In
ternational Longshoremen organiza-
ton.
The candidate said the testimony of
Mr.. Keefe was the more weighty be-
cause Mr.. Keefe had ascertained his
(Taft's) position on labor in constant
references during the Panama trou-
bles.
Mr. Keefe closed his endorsement
of Mr.. Taft, which the latter read, as
follows:
Il shall support and vote for Mr.
Taft, wins was admitted to member
ship in ino International Brotherhood
of Steam Shovel and Dredgemen on
account of his strong advocacy of the
enforcement of the eight-hour law on
| all government work coming under the
| jurisdiction of the war department.
might say that Mr.. Taft has done more
to enforce laws in favor of organized
labor than all his predecessors
Showing Daniel }. I<eefe's Motive.
New York, Oct 13.-The democratic
national committee, through John G
Jordan, assistant and acting chief Of
night made public the following state
ment:
| 1T was stated at the national demo
cratic headquarters tonight that Pres
ident Roosevelt, by promise of Office
has succeeded in having one of the
big men of the American Federation
OF Labor desert President Gompers III
| his advocacy of the election of Mr.
Bryan for the presidency. The leader
in question is Daniel ]. Keefe of De
troit, president of the Longshoremen'S
union and one of the vice. presidents
of the American Federation of Labor
The committee alleges that Keefe an(
| the president were closeted for sew
eral hours in Washington Saturday
Oct. 3, and that Keefe is to be made
commissioner of immigration, in con
sideration of Keefe's repudiating Mr.
Gompers and the executive council o.
the federation.
''Keefe on Saturday last issued (;
statement in which he said: 4 am go
ing to vote for William H. Taft
1T is pointed out that on Sept rs
last, the executive council of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor issued cir
cular calling on labor organizations t.
work for the defeat of Mr. Taft ant
the republican congressman seeking
PREDICTION, and Mr.. Keefe authorized
his signature to be attached to it, The
source of the democratic committee
information was not divulged tonight
but the information was offered tina
if Mr.. Keefe and President Roosevelt
deny the charge another big labo
leader now in New York will com,
forward with the charge that the offe
was made and Keefe accepted it ant
has commenced to make good his par
of the DEAL
Sets Mr.. Roosevelt to Thinking.
Washington, Oct. Is. = Secretar,
Loeb, upon being shown the statemen
issued from the democratic headquar
tiers in New York, said nothing in TIN
nature of a reply would be given on
at the White house tonight, but tina
the charge would probably receive at
tention tomorrow. Daniel J. Keef
was one of the presidents callers Oct
Is. Patrick Morissey of Cleveland
Ohio, head of the Brotherhood of Rail
way Trainmen, also visited the pres
ident during the same day.
Daniel J. Keefe Denies 1t.
Detroit, Mich, Oct 13.-Presiden
Daniel J. Keefe, president of the Inter
: national Longshoremen, Marine AM
Transport Workers association, whel
: Informed tonight of the statemen
made at national democratic headqual
, tiers in New York that he had bee
promised the position of commissions
, general of immigration in return TO
, his advocacy of w. H. Taft, entered
vigorous denial. After having tn