Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-05-22
Council Bluffs
TAFT GIVES CREDlT 10 SMITH
Writes Letter Referring to Able
Work for Shiloh Monuments.
SENATOR CUMM1Ns ALSO WRITES
Correspondence Confirms Statements
Made by General Dodge 20 COM
rades in Famous Iowa
Regiment.

Some time since General Grenvine NJ.
Dodge OF this city, Iowa's iilustrious soldier
and the distinguished survivor OF the civil
war period, sent out letter to his com
rades in the Ninth congressional district
IN which he stated, among other things,
that Congressman Walter l. Smith wrote
the inscriptions OF the Fifteenth and Six
teenth Iowa regiments at Shiloh. Certain
papers in the Ninth district which are fav-
orable to the candidacy of Attorney General
II. w. Byers and hostile to the renomna-
ton of Judge Smith have seen fit to dispute
the word OF General Dodge.
In recent letter, President Taft con-
frmed what General Dodge had told his
old comrades in the Ninth district. In his
letter to General Dodge, President Taft
wrote as follows on this particular sub
Ject.
Il note your request TO me to confirm
tho statements that you make in respect
20 Judge Smiths connection with the In
scriptions on the Shiloh monuments, and
Judge Smiths efforts in behalf OF the
placing Of General Grants statue 1 know
Judge Smith well, and know a great many
more reasons for wishing him to come back
to congress than those you state, for
regard him as one of the ablest and one of
the best men in congress, and one Of the
strongest lawyers and debaters on the floor
But as you invoke my personal testimony
in respect to certain facts in your letter,
do not hesitate to say that Judge Smiths
connection with the securing of the in
scriptions which are now on the Shiloh
monuments was direct and close. Many
Iowa persons took part In the discussion,
and many long arguments were made and
the matter acquired such Importance that
delayed deciding the question after the
arguments were made as 1 recollect 1t, for
several months: and at the end of that
time Senators Allison and Dolliver, and
Secretary Shaw and Judge Smith came 10
me with an inscription drawn by Judge
Smith, which was offered and which l
adopted as solution of the difficult po-
sltion presented"
Old Letter from Cummins. -
Judge Smith yesterday made public the
following letter received by him over four
years ago from Senator A. b. Cummins,
who was then governor of the state of
Iowa, which is direct contradiction to the
friends and supporters Of Attorney Gen
eral IL. Webb Byers:
Executive Office, Des Moines. Ia, Feb.
q, l9O6.-My Dear Judge: have yours OF
seventeenth instant. 1 regret as much
as you possibly can the premature pubIi-
CHlkOn respecting lne controversy over tHe
inscriptions. You, of course. know that
was not in any wise responsible for It,
Somebody sent 1t out from Washington. and
the first 1 knew OF it was a dispatch in
the newspapers.
There shall be no publication at this
end of the line OF your very gratifying
information, until it Is beyond recall
through the order of the secretary. con-
graduate you most heartily upon the prog
ress you are making. and 1 am just as
grateful TO you and your associates as
though / had been a member of these
regiments, for 1 have become deeply in
t6rested in the outcome Of the struggle
AS you know, / cannot speak authori-
tatively for the Iowa commission OF thu
representatives of these two regiments
but l feel sure that insofar as the poin
over which 1 have had the controversy
namely, the time of the engagement-th
proposed inscriptions. a copy of which yo'
enclose, will be satisfactory. There is 81
little difference between these that pro
posed and the ones you send me, in thI
regard, that they ought to be accepted
and have no doubt they will be-
THE members OF the Fifteenth low
will feel badly about the change In leases
but 1t is not likely that they will inss
on any further contest. / am not familia
with the merits of this part Of my argu
ment, i only know that they will Away
believe that the government has not give
them credit for all that they suffered 4
that engagement. I will do my best /
make these inscriptions the end OF tn
matter, II they are finally approved by tn
secretary of war Kindly advise me a
soon as the order is entered, and oblige
Yours very truly
ALBERT b. CUMMINS."
Hon. Walter l. Smith. House of Repre-
sentatives Washington, d. C.