The Springfield herald., 1910-09-23

eh Theodore Rooreveit il Contributing
k Company All Rights Reserved
to the defense If those in present cofia
troll of the Republican party In New
York state, whom 1t has affected 10
oppose In tie past. the Evening Post
through whatever editor personally
wrote the article, practised every
known form of mendacity.
Probably the Evening Post regards
the decalogue as outworn; but If Il
will turn to 1t and read the eighth ana
ninth commandments, It will 500 that
bearing false witness is condemned
rs strongly as theft itself. To take but
one instance out of the many IN this
article. the Evening Post snys: III
was Roosevelt who asked Hartman to
come to the White House seoretlyi
who took his money to buy votes iii
New York. and who afterwards wrote
to My Dear Sherman'-yes. tho same
Sherman-reviling the capitalist to
whom he had previously written. say.
ing: You and are practical men,"
Not only is every important statement
in this sentence false. but the writer
who wrote it anew 1t was false. AZ
far as / was concerned. every man
visited the White House openly, and
Mr. Hartman among the others. I
took no money from Mr. Hartman ~.
cretly or openly to buy votes or for
any other purpose. Whoever wrote
the article in the Evening Post IN
question knew that this was tho foul'
est and basest lie when he wrote the
sentence, for he quotes the same let
ter in which had written to Mr.. Har.
riman as follows: What have to
say to you can be said to you as well
after election as before. but I would
like to see you some time before 1
write my message" I am quoting
without the letter before mo. but the
quotation is substantially, II not veri
bally. accurate. That statement In
this letter 10 Hartman is of course
on its face absolutely Incompatible
with any + ought that I was asking
him for ca. 'paign funds. for It is OF
course out of the question that could
tell him equally we'll what had to
say after election If 1t referred In any
possible way to getting money before
election This is SO clear that any
pretense of misunderstanding is proof
positive of the basest dishonesty In
whoever wrote the article In question.
AS matter Of fact, when Mr.. Harri-
man called 1t was to complain that the
national committee would not turn
over for the use, of the state cam.
paign in which he was interested
funds to run that campaign, and to
ask me to tell Cortelyou to give him
aid for the state campaign. Mr.. Cor
telyou is familiar with the facts. In
other words, the statement of the Eve.
ming Post is not only false and mali
cious, is not only in direct contradic'
ton of the. facts. but is such that It
could only have been made by man
who. knowing the facts, deliberately
intended to pervert them. Such M
act stands on level OF tnfamy with
the worst act ever performed by q
corrupt member of the legislature or
city official. and stamps, the writer
with the same moral brand that
stamps the bribe-taker.
/ have seen only. telegraphic alb.
stract of the article, apparently con.
tanning quotations from It,. Practical.
ly every statement, made In these
quotations is falsehood.
To but one more shall allude. Tho
article speaks of my having attacked
corporations, and, referring directly to
my Ohio speeches, of my having
sought to inflame the mob and make
mischief" In those speeches tho
prime stand I took was against mob
violence as shown by the labor people
who are engaged In controversy with
corporation. My statement was In
effect, that the first duty of the state
and the first duty of the officials was
TO put down disorder and to put down
mob violence. and that after such
action had been taken. then 1t was tho
duty of off cials to investigate the cor.
poration. and If 1t had done wrong to
make it pay the penalty Of its wrongs
and to provide against the wrongdo.
ing in the future. 1t is but another
instance of the peculiar baseness the
peculiar moral obliquity. of the Eve
ming Post that 1t should pervert the
truth in so shameless a fashion
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Cheyenne. wyo.. August 27. 1910.