New-York tribune., 1909-02-13
RAINEY TAKEN TO TASK
MR. CROMWELL APPEALo
FOR F4TR PLAY.
Panama Canal Charges Declared bY
DIR. LoUering To Be York
of BIackmdilerS.
of BIackm
From The Tribune Bureau


Washington. Feb 12-"Having devoted many
years of nv life to the achieving Of this. the
greatest work Of mankind, and having done SO
without a penny Of gain or profit OF any kind
from any source. beyond strictly professional
oornnensation. and having since the acquisition
tcf the Panama Canal property by the Cnlteo
states served my country upon many occasions
al the request Of the executives, without the
thought Of reward, prfzing more than all else
their official thanks in behalf OF the government
T feel that 7 am entitled to the protection OF
Tho t4ousa Of Representatives against misrepre-
san+a+,on malice and sander within It's pro-
tected walls"
The above statement is contained IN letter
written bv William Nelson Cromwell to Repre-
sentative J. Van Vechten Olcott. OF New York,
in regard to the unsubstantiated charges mace
against him on theshoor OF the House by Repre-
sentative Henry T Rainey, of Illinois. in a
s-eecb on the purchase of the Panama right Of
way. The letter was sent to Mr.. Olcott on rep
mary an6 was the basis OF a speech delivered
NV tbe New York Representative to-day The
tainev speech, to which the letter refers. was
delivered some weeks ago. and although MT
cromwell was the only man directly singled out
for attack aspersions were cast on President
Roosevelt President-elect Taft c. P TAFT
Douglas Robinson and number Of others
Mr. Rainey's remarks were seriously ques-
toned by four members oI Tie IAOu8N ''TA0'-
Representative Lowering first defended Mr
cromwell and charged that the recent Panama
scandal was the concocton OF blackmatlers
who are known 70 him and whose names he VIII
make public in the near future MI Bannon, OF
ohio. took Mr.. Rainey 70 task for his aspersions
on c P Taft, and Mr.. McCreary, OF Pennsyl-
vania attempted TO have read a letter from
William Harvey, of Philadelphia, who was
accused by Mr Rainey in his speech Of being
,lo hoy n
Panama.
"a, 0Ioo,, ,,itb the Cromwell letter. before
hin, took uD MT Raineys charges one by one
and answered them. He declared that the Pan
anna scandal was offered for sale to the Dem
ocratic National Committee and to various
newspapers in the campaign and said that IN
his opipion II was the work of blackmailers He
asserted that Mr.. Cromwell had made COM
,Iete refutation of the charges that any part of
the $4,000 900 paid to the French companies
went him
,, o1oo+t then naraphrased the letter, leaving
-. como of the unparlianentary language II
contained and when he had closed few In the
House envied Mr.. Rainey or the notoriety ne
has achieved.
MD LOWERING CHARGES BLACKMAIL.
Thai Representative Rainey got from The
>au, York World" his information regarding
I,ararna Canal affairs, and that ex-conVicts IN
,,estfpated the stories of fraud and corruption
pertaining to the requirement OF title by the
United States. the charge MADE oy Mr'
Ioyerin, of Massachusetts. Maybe. he said.
The World did not originate all the scan
daIous stories it published, but its columns were
public and We do know that The World did
give credence and circulation 20 them
Mr. Lowering declared that 1.-THE perpetrators
of these false statements known, and the
story of their doings reveals chapter in the