The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-17
The ENOneratinE Letter Of sep
TENDER N.

TENDER N.
That the President Of the United
States may with absolute prOpriety
delegate TO any person whom he NAV
select for the task the preparation Of
documents. letters and what not, and
that the productions Of the person on
whom his choice falls become when
approved and formally set forth BY the
President Official statements Of the Chief
Magistrate, for which he must accept
full responsibility and for which he de-
serves entire credit, will not be seriously
disputed. Certainly no business man
who employs a stenographer. no lawyer
whose clerks prepare papers for him 10
sign, no man in executive place who
cOnsigns parts Of his correspondents
IN clerical assistants will dispute the
proposition
Obviously in the specific case that
now engages attention Mr.. TAFT did
nothing calling for censure when he
directed Mr. LAwLER 10 prepare -as
II he were President an opinion on the
CLAWS Ballinger case. nor did he lay
himself open TO the faintest suspicion Of
wrOpgdoing when he incorporated parts
NJ W. LAwLERs production in a letter
to which he AIMED his own signature.
II IA unfortunate that the attitude
which Mr. TAFT subsequently, assumed
or was put in il not equally free from
criticism. When the stenographer 70
whom Mr. LAWYER dictated IAN opinion
a. II he were President- made the
charge that the letter signed by the
President was composed by Mr.. Law
LER, the answer that good sense and
judgment would have dictated. in our
opinion. was a complete acknowledge
ment n the clerical assistance q ven
by the Assistant Attorney General and
an offer To lay bare the petty domestic
and departmental history Of the whole
affarr Who among The Presidents adj
visers was ~ densely stupid A. 10 mag
inc thai such an acknowledgement would
be received by the public a. discredit-
able 10 the Presidency or harmful tn
Mr. TAT? Forty-eight hours ago We
should have said that nobody in waSh- !
ingtOn could have harbored 80 gro
tesque a misconcep,ion; yet the first |
statement given out a. the White House
on May u after the publication u the /
Kerby affidavit contained these positive
declarations:
Win reference TO the published aHadavtt Of
n KERsT. . ssenographeF IN ,hs once Of the /
Secretary Of The Interior. 20 ths ehsc, ma, the |
Presidents letter Of September "a. iNp saonsrs, I
ing Secretary BALLINoHR vas Substantially pre-
pared for TIE Presidents Signature By Assistant
Attorney General LAWtGR. n vas ssid % the |
white HOUSE 70 DAY that there "a sbaolutsly 10
ioundsuo for any such statement
The President dictated NE letter personally
a. TIE result Of hs own invesuasuon Of The record
and Consideration Of Documents and pagers 10 NJ, .
possc,sioa At the time and upon the report 10 MIN 4
Of me Attorney General"
Whv was 10 unnecessary an euuivO-
cation inherited into what would other
wise have been a perfectly harmless
recOrd2 What explanation Of no futile
an evasion can bs made in the face OF ]
the letter from President TAFr 70 Sena-
tor NELSON, under date n May IS
the day following this amazing denial.
from which the subiOined sentences are
taken:
10 ne diseussiOns Of Ne ts,oad avsninr Mr.
LAwLEn. uho was present Of my suEEs.noa. dis
russed tns svtdsnes ~ some lsnEth. aid 70
NJ LAvLEH mat ! was very anHious % write a
ilu siaiomsni o. tbs ease sad vet out %, rsassns
for ny derisoa. but mat yes tine foF NJ DE-.
parturs On . loau Western MP. soruuyiar tue
nnutis uas iusi one uesk IRON that oar. thst
bed Soas 90 o. seven tst spssshss 70 danvur al