Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-07
CAUSTIC LETTER
FROM PRESIDENT
SCORES EDITORS
ROOSEVELT REPLIES TO TWO
NOTED JOURNALISTS
NEW YORK SUN AND INDlANAP-
Oils NEWS INVOLVED
Charges Concerning Panama Canal
Deal, Taft and Robinson, Lead
Executive to Denounee Ac-
cusers Bitterly
fRv Associated Press.l

Associated FreSa-I
HoT SPRINGS, Va, Dec. 6.-The
following correspondence passing
IL between President Roosevelt and
William Dudley Foulke has been made
public by the latter:
HOT SPRINGS, Va, Nov 20, 190S.--
The President: Sir-The Indianapolis
News not only during the campaign,
but even after its close, has been re-
peatedly and continually making seri-
GUS charges against your administra-
ton, as well as against Mr.. Taft, III
connection with the Panama purchase
as for example the following:
The Panama Matter
1.-The campaign is over and the peo-
pie will have to vote tomorrow without
any knowledge concerning the Panama
canal deal. 1t has been charged that
the United States bought from Ameri-
can citizens for $4O,000,O00 property that
cost those citizens only $12,000,000.
Mr.. Taft was secretary of war at
the time the negotiation was closed.
There is no doubt that the government
paid S40,O00,000 for the property. But
who got the money? We are not to
know.
The administration and Mr.. Taft
do not think it right that the people
should know. The presidents brother
in-law is involved in the scandal, but
he has nothing to say, The candidates
brother has been charged with being a
member of the syndicate. He has, f.
is true, denied it, but he refuses to
appeal to the evidence, all of which is
in the possession of the administration
and wholly inaccessible to outsiders.
For weeks this scandal has been
before the people. The records are in
Washington, and they are public rec
ords. But the people are not to see
them-till after election-if them
Charges Continued
even after the election this has
been continued, it being said that Mr.
Taft's weakness in Indiana (where
he ran many thousands ahead of any
other Republican candidate) was due
in great measure to this alleged scan
dal
What are the facts in regard to it?
Where are these inaccessible records?'
When did they come into the possess
sion of the government and what do
they contain?
eff the statements of the News are
true, our people ought to know. If
not true, they ought to have some JUST
means of estimating what credit should
be given in other matters to a journal
which thus disseminates falsehoods.
Yours,
"WILLIAM DUDLEY FOULKE."
white House, Washington. Dec. 1,
190S.-My Dear Mr.. Foulke:
"I have received your letter of the
29th ult., and have read it in connection
with your previous letters inclosing
quotations from the Indianapolis News,
a paper edited by Delavan Smith.
"As Mr.. Smith certainly knew that
all the statements he made were false.
both as to the Panama matter and as
to the other matters of which you in
close me clippings; and inasmuch,
therefore, as the exposure Of the falSity
will not affect his future statements,
/ am not very clear as to what good
will result from such exposure; but,
inasmuch as you evidently earnestly
desire some answer to be made, and
inasmuch as you say some reputable
people appear to believe the falsehoods
of the News and of Mr.. Smith, and in
asmuch as you seem to think his false
hoods as regards the Panama mat
ters are the most prominent, I will
answer them.
Documents Intact
''The News states in one of its issues
that probably some of the documents
dealing with the matter have been de-
stroyed. This is false. Not one has
been destroyed.
1T states that the last documents
were sent over in June of this year,
the object of this particular falsehood
being apparently to connect the mat
ter in some way with the nomination
of Mr. Taft.
"As a matter of fact, the last papers
we have received of any kind were
sent over to us in May of 1904 and
they have been accessible to every
human being who cared to look at
them ever since, and are accessible
now Any reputable man within or
without congress, Republican or DEM
ocrat, has now and has always had
the opportunity to examine any of
these documents.
"You quote the News as stating that
the people have no official knowledge
concerning the Panama canal DEAL
The fact is the people have had the
most minute official knowledge; every
important step in the transact
ton and every important document
has been public through the daily
press, and the whole matter has been
threshed over in it's details again and
again.
"The News gives currency to the
charge that the United States bought
from American citizens for $40,000,00O
property that cost these citizens only
$12, 900, ,0O0.' The statement is false.
"The United States did not pay
cent of the $4O,00O,OO0 to any American
"The News says there is no doubt
that the government paid S4O00O.O00
for the property ana continues. 'DuC
who got the money? We are not to
know The administration and Mr..
Taft do not think it right that the
people should know
'Really, this is so ludicrous as to
make one feel a little impatient at
having to answer 1t. The fact has
been officially published again and
again that the government paid $4O,-
COO 600 and that it paid this S40000,000
direct to the French government, get
ting the receipts of the liquidator APP
pointed by the French government to
receive the same.
Doesn't Know Recipients
''The United States government has
not the slightest knowledge as to the
particular individuals among the
French government to whom was dis
L..--- = n. N.