The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-09-25
Roosevelt's pitiful Fan Down.


till late evening" says the Colum-
bia State ''the President of the
United States, with his private sec
retaries. with his whole cabinet and
all the other assistants and counsel
lors that a president can command,
labored to prepare a reply to Mr..
Bryan's simple demand of the day
before. That reply must be read to-
eether5with the original charges. 1t
damms Mr.. Roosevelt as a square
dealer or a fair dealer; it convicts
him of disregard of the dignity Of
his Office, of disregard of the honor
of other men; of disregard of the
,sacredness of his own word!
.'Mr. Bryan said to Mr.. Roosevelt:
In a statement given out by you
Yesterday -. you endorse q
charge made against Gov. Haskell
of Oklahoma to the effect that h
was once in the employ of the STAN
dard Oil Company and as such was
connected with an attempt to brlbe
or influence Attorney General
Monnett of Ohio to dismiss suits
pending against the Standard Oll
Company.
"Mr. Bryan demanded an 'immed-
late investigation of the charge,
the President to furnish the proof,
or to tell where it could be had.
"Mr. Roosevelt drops the Ohio
end of the matter. He has no proof;
he can sustain no part of the Hearst
charge as to Haskell's conduct in
that State. Rut Roosevelt refers
Bryan to Haskell's record in Okla
homa. And all that he has to found
mis- allegation of fcorruptionsupo
a legation that he doessnot now press
lis that.while attending the Denver
convention, Haskell refused to con-
sent to proceedings brought by the
Attorney General Of Oklahoma to
prevent the Prairie Oil Company
from building pipe line into that
State--and the pipe line was built.
Mr.. Roosevelt does not even pretend
to show that this course was other
than that of a governor with large
views as to the power of his office,
and with his own ideas regarding
industrial development. 1t is not
intimsted that the coming of the
Prairie Oil Company's pipe line shut
out any other oil, or was not to the
advantage of the people of Okla
homa. We have no evidence on
those points.
after utterly and ignominiously
failing to sustain the gross charge
about Haskell's affiliation with Stan
dard Oil, Mr.. Roosevelt makes, in
characteristic style. the broad state
ment that the governor Of Oklahoma
is unfit to be connected with a man
working for moral reforms, and
quotes from an article in the cur
rent issue of The Outlook, that may
have been inspired or paid for by
the Republican campaign committee
savagely attacking the manage
ment of the Oklahoma University.
Then Roosevelt criticized the veto.
ing by Haskell of a child-labor bill.
Finally, the President contrasts
Taft's noble attitude in turning
down compromise with Foraker
with Bryan'c in associating Haskell
with his political fortunes: And the
President knows that Taft's mana
gers sought and secured a reconcile
alton with Foraker, and that after
denouncing him in a private letter,
Taft clasped hands. buried she hat
chet, and sought and secured Fora
ker's promise of assistance.
Neither we, nor the American
people are familiar with the details
of Gov. Haskell's administration in
Oklahoma about which Mr.. Roose-
yelt Yesterday dug up criticisms,
but it is patent to every intelligent
person that the President has igno-
miniously failed to sustain his
charges, and he admits his weak
ress when he tel Ar. Bryan, No
further investigation Of these facts
is required
Roosevelt has been cornered and
caught q. last. His utter unrelia-
bility is glaringly exposed before
the American people.