The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-12-07
AnnaniaS Club Bids Welcome
To President offending Pub
Usher of the indianapolis
News.
LIAR, OFFENDER"
CAUSTIC EPITHETS
Bitter ThruStS Are Elected by
Charges of Forty-Million
Dollar Steal on Panama
Canal Purchases.

The following correspondence. pass
ing between President Roosevelt and
William Dudley Foulke, of this city,
has been made public by the latter,
who is now at Hot Springs. Va:
Hot Springs. Va. Nov. %. 1908.
The President:
"Sir-The indianapolis News. not
only during the campaign, but even af.
ter its close, has been. repeatedly and
continually making serious charges
against your administration as well as
against Mr.. Taft in connection with
the Panama canal purchase, as, for
example, the following:
"'The Panama Matter.
The campaign is over and the
people will have to vote tomorrow
without any official knowledge con-
corning the Panama canal deal. It
has been charged that the United
States bought from American citizens
for s40.000.000 property that cost
those citizens only $4,000. 900. Mr..
Taft was secretary of war at the time
the negotiation was closed.
There is no doubt that the gov-
ernment paid s40000.O0 for the prop
erty. But who got the money? We
are not 10 know. The administration
and Mr.. Taft do not think il right that
the people should know. The presi-
dents brother-in-law is involved in
the scandal. but he has nothing to say.
Refuses to Appeal to Evidence.
" The candidates brother has been
charged with being a member OF the
syndicate. He has. IL is true. denied
it. But he refuses to appeal to tho
evidence, all of which is in the posses
sion of the administration and who'll
ly 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 the election. IL then
Even after the election this has
been continued, IL being said that Mr.
Tafts weakness in Indiana twhere
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 rec
ords? When did they come into the
possession of the government and
what do they contain? If the state
ments of the News are true our peo-
pie ought TO know it; IL not trues sthey
ought to have some just means Of es-
timating what credit should be given
in other matters to journal which
thus disseminates falsehoods. Yours.
WILLIAM DUDLEY FoULKEH
President Rooseveit's Reply.
White. House,
Washington. Dec. 4, 1908.
My Dear Mr.. FoulkeII have re-
ceived your letter of the 18th nitimo
and have read IL in connection with
your previous letters inclosing quota
tions from the Indianapolis News,
paper edited by Mr.. Delsvan Smith.
As Mr.. Smith certainly knew that
all the statements he made were false,
both as TO this Panama. matter and
as TO the other matters OF which you
inclose me clippings. and inasmuch,
therefore. as the exposure OF the. fall
sity will not affect HIS future state
ments. | am not very clear what good
will result from such exposure But,
inasmuch as you evidently earnestly
desire some answer to be made. and
insasmuch as you say that some re-
putable people appear TO believe the
eel IL. - .k. NJ
and inasmuch as you seem To think
that his falsehoods as regards the
Panama matter are the most promin-
ent, viii answer them.
The News states in one of rs is
sues that probably some of the docu-
ments dealing with the matter have
been DESTROYED. This is false Not
one has been destroyed. IL states that
the last documents were sent over in
June of this year. the object of this
particular falsebood. being, apparently,
10 connect the matter in some way
with the nomination of Mr.. Taft
You quote the News as saying that
the people have no official knowledge
conce rning the Panama canal DEAL
The fact is that the people have had
the most minute official knowledge;
that every important step in the
transaction and every important docu-
ment have been made public In com
munications 10 congress and through
the daily press and the whole matter
has been thrashed over In all its de-
tails again and again and again.
The News gives currencr to tbs
charge that the United States bought
from American citizens for $4,000. .00e