Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1912-04-29
President Proves He Was Out
of Country at Time Colonel
Says Then Secretary Of War
Attended Cabinet Meeting.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
GIVES OFFICIAL DATA
Harvester investigation Never
Brought to His Attention and
Knew Nothing of Report by
Commissioner Smith.

iBy Morning journal Special Leased wiro.D
| Washington, April 2S.--President
Taft, before leaving the white house
today for his return to Massachusetts,
, issued personal statement, denying
Colonel Roosevelts allegation that
he, while secretary of war. at a cabi-
net meeting had approved Mr.. Roose
| velts decision not to prosecute the
| international Harvester CO., immedi-
ately.
! President Taft's statement says he
! never heard the international .Har-
vester Company discussed at any cab
I met meeting and that the records OF
! the war department will show that
he was out of the country when the
I incidents referred to by the colonel
occurred.
President Taft's statement follows:
"Mr. Roosevelt in his speech At
Worcester, as reported by the public
press, referring to the Harvester
trust said.
AS IA matter of fact MIR. TAFT was
member of my cabinet when this
identical case was fully discussed be-
fore the cabinet. and he cordially APP
proved the action taken; and, indeed,
as a matter of fact, my memory is
that he himself made the motion that
there should he no prosecution of the
Harvester trust pending the investi-
CATION into the trust by the bureau
of corporations.
Mr.. Roosevelt's memory is very
much at fault. | am authorized to
say by. Mr.. Root and Secretary vii
son. both of whom We're members Of
the cabinet at that time, that they
have no recollection whatever of
heartng the prosecution of the Har-
vestef matter discussed in the cabinet
and Mr. Root is very certain that he
never saw or heard of Mr. Hcrhert
Knox Smiths letter to Mr.. Roosevelt /
under date of September 81. 1907, on I
the subject
Il am able to say the same thing |
So far as my recollection goes | never I
heard the Harvester trust matter dis
cussed in any cabinet meeting that
| attended and l cannot he mistaken /
in the statement that | never saw or |
knew of Mr.. Herbert Knox smiths |
letter of September IL to the presi- I
dent. until after my administration /
had begun and the time when the
question of the prosecution came up !
an 1909 or 1910, and | never saw or
read the letter until two months ago.
This correspondence shows that
the subject matter of the prosecution
of the International Harvester Com
pany came before President Roose-
welt on August -. 1907, which Is the
date of his letter to Attorney General
that Mr.. Herbert Knox
smiths letter discussing the question
and advising against suit. was dated
u, 1907. and that Mr..
Smiths letter was forwarded by di-
rection of President Roosevelt under
date of September "a 10 the attorney
general with direction to the attorney
general to bring the letter to the
president that week to talk over the
matter.
"The official records show that
President Roosevelt left Washington
N June. 1907, for oyster hay and re-
urned To Washington on september
"a: that on September - he left '
for trip down the
returning to Washington
IN October %, 1907: and that he re +,
hhlntu III NdShlnStpn from lhil uih' ,
Dn. II
THE official records of the war |
show that | left WASH !
nston i'm June of the same year and }
vent to Murray Pay. Canada. that /,
emained there until August. when
visited oyster Bay on August I 3. and l.
hen went 10 Washington on the a
and left Washington on August I
for a western trip through OKLA
'oma. Missouri. the Yellowstone I
ark. oregon and Washington. reach
ng Seattle september fand sailing
rom seattle for the Philippines on b
september 10. did not return to the d
'nited States until the goth Of De +
cmber. 1897. G
Il have letter from Herbert Knox I
mith. commissioner ~ the bureau
Z corporations. written at my re- ii
ucst. in which he uses The follow 9
ng language "
ON November :. 1907. which date q
fix from my personal dairy. | tele- 4
honed Mr.. Perkins at fS~ PRESIDENTS n
rider that the president took the
lew that the bureaus Investigation Il
houid come before the suit. y
This Indicates with certainty the =.
me when the matter was decided Il
nd shows that if the matter did come q
efore the cabinet az ALL IL must a
a.. been after September - and on e.
r before November :. 1897. during
period when } Was out of tn. coun- ii
y and could not have been present Ia
nj certainly could not have made
motion or suggelgiion In the cabinet "
rat no suit De prosecuted until after n