The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-04-08
ROOSEVELT IS NOT
TO SEE POPE
ro,u n NOT ACCEPT LIMITATIONS
AUDIENCE WOULD
IMPOSE.
In Personal Statement to Press Former
President Asks Both Catholics and
Protestants to Regard Incident as
Absolutely Personal and That No
Feeling of Bitterness Ensue.

| it was believed ex-President Roosevelt
would have with the Pope on Tuesday,
April 5, will not take place, owing to
conditions which the Vatican has i'm
posed and which Mr. Roosevelt refused
to accept.
Although the definite negotiations
relative to the audience ended before
Mr.. Roosevelt left Egypt, the announce
ment was withheld until after Mr..
Roosevelt reached Rome last night, at
the solicitation of his American Cath
Ollie friends here, who believed in the
meantime the Vatican might change
| it's attitude.
American Intervenes
One of the former Presidents Amer
| lean friends, who had been with him
| in Egypt, came to Rome yesterday,
without any authorization from Mr..
Roosevelt, and interceded with Cardi-
nal Merry del Val, the papal secretary,
in an endeavor to avoid a situation
which, as it now stands, has caused a
real sensation in Rome, although it
was not entirely unexpected. But his
efforts were unavailng.
| While at Gondokoro in February last
nr. Roosevelt wrote to Ambassador
Leishman, saying he would be glad of
the honor of an audience with King
Victor Emmanuel and the Pope. The
audience with the king was promptly
arranged. Before an arrangement
could be reached relative to an audi
ence with the pope, several kilograms
were passed.
The negotiations were ended by Mr..
Roosevelt refusing in any way to be
limited as to his conduct, and an
nouncing that an audience with the
pope under the circumstances was now
impossible.
History of Negotiations.
The history of the negotiations is
about as follows:
| While at Cairo Mr.. Roosevelt re-
ceived the following telegram from
Ambassador Aeishman, dated March
I23:
Mgr. Kennedy, Rector of the Amer.
|ican Catholic College: In reply to an
inquiry which caused to be made, re.
lquests the following communication be
transmitted to you: The Holy Father
will be delighted to grant an audience
to Mr.. Roosevelt on April 5, and hopes
that nothing will arise to prevent it,
such as the much regretted incident
which made the reception of Mr.. Fair.
banks IMPOSSIBLE
Mr.. Rooseveit's Reply.
Replying by cable to Ambassador
Leishman on March rs, Mr.. Roosevelt
said:
please present the following to Mgr
Kennedy: 1t would be real pleasure
for me to be presented to the Holy
Father, for whom entertain high re-
spect, both personally and as the head
of great church. l fully recognize
his entire right to receive or not re-
ceive whatsoever he chooses, for any
treason that seems good to him, and if
he does not receive me, shall not for
a moment question the propriety of his
action. On the other hand, in my
turn, decline to make any stipulations
or submit to any conditions which in
any way would limit my freedom of
conduct. l trust on April he will
find it convenient to receive me-"
On March % Mr. Roosevelt, at Cairo,
received a caolegram from Ambassa-
dor Leishman giving the message from
Mgr. Kennedy, which concluded by
saying:
Audience Impossible.
"The audience cannot take place ex-
cept on the understanding expressed in
the former message"
The following day Mr.. Roosevelt
sent another message to the American
ambassador, saying:
"The proposed presentation is, of
course, now impossible"
| Mr.. Roosevelt particularly desired
that the incident shall be regarded by
his friends, both Catholic and Protest
ant, in America, as personal, and that
it shall not give rise to an acrimonious
controversy.
With this end in view he cabled to-
day the following statement to Rev.
Lyman Abbott, editor of The Outlook,
at New York:
A Personal Statement.
Through The Outlook l wish to
make statement to my fellow-Ameri-
cans regarding what has occurred in
connection with the Vatican. / am
sure that the great majority of my fell
aow-citizens, Catholics quite as much as
Protestants, will feel that l acted in
the only way possible for an American
to act, and because of this very fact, I
most earnestly hope that the incident
will be treated in a matter-of-course
way as merely personal and, above all,
as not warranting the slightest exhibi-
ton of rancor or bitterness.
| Among my best and closest friends
are many Catholics. The respect and
regard of those of my fellow-Ameri-
leans who are Catholics are as doar fn