Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-25

$500
the Standard OIL subsidiary company more
authority than It already possessed under
a franchise granted It by Secretary Hitch
cock.
The statement in full follows:
To the Associated Press: President
Roosevelts letter is before me and while
this is the first time in my life have
ing, I am thankful for the distinction and l
wish to express my high regard for the
office Of president and my profound respect
for the wisdom Of our fathers In making
IT. possible to change the occupant of that
high office every four years without the
right granted to a crown prince to succeed
the king.
I assert that it is fair for men to assume
that II my case was to be dignified by an
all-day cabinet meeting that beyond ques-
ton Mr.. Hearst and his campaign as
sociate. President Roosevelt, left no stone
unturned to blacken my character. That be-
ing true. they certainly raked Ohio, fore
and after, concerning the Ohio Standard
OIL cases of 1899, and, finding absolutely
nothing rejecting on me, the president
aside by saying he will make no allusion
to that" He drops this subject because
his original statement was untrue and he
must know from what he and Hearst tried
to find in Ohio and failed, tina I spoke
the truth when I said ! never in all my
life had any interest in connection with
nor service for that company.
I say the president knows now that my
statement is true and 1 regret that he tries
to brush It aside without doing me candid
Justice. Were I TO adopt the character of
language so commonly used by the presi-
dent I would spell It In fewer letters than
falsehood.
soon. NAV I hope TO divide the time with
some partisan Of yours or Prince William,
who will defend your action In this In
stance?
President Roosevelt comes to Oklahoma
and finds a substitute for his Ohio failure.
Does he, in the case OF the state against
tho DrafVin OIL and Gas CnmnlnV WhlHh
he complains l compelled to be dismissed?
Yes, / did have 1t dismissed. lee, we all
know that the Prairie company is a stand
ard oil company offspring and don't for
get the president claims to have known
this also and | charge that the political
allies, Hearst and Roosevelt know l acted
First the Prairie oil company gets it's
franchise in our state not from me, but
from Roosevelt's secretary of interior long
before the state had begun and had its
main line built and operating, and congress
in our statehood bill was careful to declare
that our new state when organized must
respect all such vested rights and existing
franchises. That was all | did and the
federal courts stood ready to call me down
II | violated the Roosevelt territorial fran
chise.
Now Mr.. President. why did your secre
tary of interior grant what you know to b,
a STANDARD Oil pipe line franchise. in our
then helpless territory, and fasten it OF
our new state by q provision OF the state
hood bill? viii Mr., Hearst or the presi
dent please answer
I would also remind the president tina
the company tried to enlarge its rights 81
as to include n gas as well as an oil priv
lego. This I defeated, and even last April
MI. President, your secretary of interio
tried to help the Standard oil gas privilege
against my protest by actually grantini
them a franchise to lay an interstate ga
line also. / notified the secretary tina
since statehood, your days of giving valua
BILE franchises I'm our state had passed ant
7 would resist laying the pipe line onl!
after you yielded and cancelled your un
The president comes TO the local affair
Of our state and assails me for vetoing
child labor bill. -.
went too far and included things not de
sired by our people. Union labor represen
tatives approved my veto. I hope the presi
dent will survive this veto OF a local bi
and permit us to run our local affairs.
The president complains that We remove
certain professors from our state uni
versity, our three state normal schools an
preparatory school in violation OF civ
service rules. That is, the president in hi
usual impetuosity and reckless disregar
of others misstates the facts. Less tina
one-fifth OF the faculties are changed. A
changes were for good cause other tina
politics and done by boards Of regents an
not by the governor. The president CON
plains that there are several suits pendin
!. against me to reclaim Creek Indian lane
The president should have gone further an
said that | was not a dealer in Indian Ian
ana OnlA came III hE a SulSRluRul III
chaser and only incidentally a party witt
out personal interest at all, and especial
he should have said that II is quite al
parent that those who are being sued /
those land cases claim to be and APPARENT
are, the victims of political chiCanery while
the president can better explain than
In short. the president and Mr.. Hears
picked the wrong man and are now drive
into ward politics rather than surrende
like men.
The president assumes that all Oklahomar
are g~rafters just because his territorial a!
s~oclates justified that name; that all el
railroad contractors are bad just becauS
Paul Morton needed his protecting arm
that we all in Oklahoma violate the civ
service law just because Mr., Roosevelt r.
moved the best United States marshal v
ever had, the only reason being that }
voted for a good democrat instead of
bad republican and then the president al
pointed his cousin to fil the vacancy.
AS to the rights of labor in a chill. lab,
bill and my work in the interest Of labo
Mr.. President. please remember with n
its do things. with you its talk only. YC
are the same president who threatened
turn down our constitution because II pr
vides a jury trial IN certain contempt case
Don't forget. Mr.. President. | flatly dar,
you to make that objection. But as Il
price Of your approval you did compel us
cut out the prohibition OF removal OF pc
sonal injury cases against foreign corpoTl
lions from state TO federal courts, and Sc
ersl other good provisions that would ben
tit humanity and curb snecial Interest
Not content with your own threats again
our constitution. you sent Secretary Ia
here TO speak in our campaign a year al
TO induce the people TO vote down the be
legislation ever written. We remember tn
We preserved Mr.. Tafts speech. II diffe
widely from his speeches of this year.
Knowing all these things. the pTeside1
must pardon us for this taking issue wi
the occupant Of the high office we all T
spect. Let US hope that In the future
will appreciate and preserve its dignity al
not try to'reflect upon the character OF
humble citizen. We fail 10 concede Ii
false position when he knows IL Is false.
n c. n. HASKELL