The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-09-28
BRYAN'S ANSWER TO
ROOSEvELT'S ANSWER


garded by democrats as the clear
est presentation of their leaders
position yet made. 1t was issued
Saturday evening from Milwaukee
as follows:
Theodore Roosevelt, President
of the United States, Washington,
D. C.-Dear Sir: While l have not
yet received your letter and shall
not until l reach home next week,
I@have read copy of it in the
press and beg leave to submit the
following reply:
"Mr. Haskell having voluntarily
resigned from the committee that
he might be more free to prosecute
those who have brought charges
against him, | need not discuss the
question of his guilt or innocence
further than to say that the public
service which he has rendered and
the vote of confidence which he
has received from the people of
his state ought to protect him from
condemnation until the charges
can be examined in some court
where partizanship does not bias
and where campaign exigencies do
not compel prejudice.
81 would not deem it necessary
to address you further but for the
fact that you seize upon the
oh of tn lxn
litical capital out of them. You
even charge that my connection
with Mr.. Haskell's selection as
member of the resolutions commit
tee and as treasurer of the com
mittee raises question as to my
sincerity as an opponent of trusts
and monopolies.
"As an individual and as the can
didate of my party | resent the
charge and repel the insinuation.
! have been in public life for IS
years and l have been sufficiently
conspicuous to make my conduct a
matter of public interest. | have
gone through two campaigns in
which party feeling ran high and
epithet was exhausted. | have no
hesitation in saying that you can
not find an act, word or a thought
of mine to justify your partizan
charge.
Il had never been informed of
any charge that had been made
N
him with the Standard Oil Co. or
with any other trust. had known
him as leader in the constitution
al convention of Oklahoma and had
known him as one of the men prin-
cipally responsible for the constitu
ton which has since been adopted
by majority of 100000. 10000 OF
which was furnished by republi-
the governorship of that great
young state by majority of some
100000 had known that the con-
stitution was adopted and that
Governor Haskell was elected in
spite of the efforts of your admin
istration and in spite of the
speeches made in Oklahoma by Mr.
Taft.
"You say that it was a matter
of common notoriety that Mr.. Has
kell was connected with the Stan
dard Oil Co. have right to as
sumo that if so serious an objec-
ton had existed to Mr.. Haskells
election and had been matter of
common notoriety in Ohio, as you
say, Judge Taft would have felt it
his conscientious duty to warn the
people of Oklahoma when he spoke
there. If he did not have the
knowledge why can 1t be assumed
that | had it? And if he had it.
how can you excuse his failure to
communicate the information to
the people of Oklahoma? If you
feel 1t your patriotic duty to de-
nounce Mr. Haskell when he is
only member of the national or
ganization, how much would Mr..
Taft have felt it his patriotic duty
to denOunce Mr. Haskell when he
was aspiring to be the chief eXecu-
tive of great state?
81 could have had no knowledge
of the suit to which you refer
when he was appointed chairman
of the resolutions committee of the
democratic national convention be-
cause the suit was begun while he
was at Denver and as matter of
fact | did not know anything of
the nature of the suit until after
he was made treasurer of the ma
tional committee and no fair
minded person can decide upon
the merits of your charge without
an examination of the provisions
! OF the enabling act passed by the
republican congress and the pro
visions of the license issued to the
oil company by your administra.
ton.
r. 81 need hardly refer to the new.
ly found evidence which you lay
80 much stress upon. viz. the ar
ticle in the Outlook of September
S. My attention was never called
IN that article until I read the NH.