The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-02-02
HARvEY-WiLsoN
The Famous Letters That Passed De-
tween Governor Wilson and
Editor George Harvey

of the correspondence between GOV
ernor Wilson and Col. Harvey. IN
that sense it applied to. them botn.
Neither wished to be put in the po-
sition of giving out private letters
but both assented to the publication
with the distinct understanding that
the initiative came from the Evening
Post.
The first letter, dated December Il,
addressed to Col Harvey by Gov.
Wilson, is as follows:
"My Dear Colonel-Every day am
confirmed in the judgment that my
mind is in a one-track road, and can
run only one train of thought at
time. A long time after that inter-
view with you and Marse Henry at
the Manhattan Club it came over me
that when Cat the close of the inter
view you asked me that question
about the Weekly, l answered it sim
ply as a matter of fact and of busl-
ness, and said never word or my
sincere gratitude to you for all your
generous support, or of my hope that
it might be continued. Forgive me
and forget my manners.
Faithfully yours,
WOODROW WILSON,"
Col. Harveys Reply
| In reply, Col. Harvey wrote to Gov
ernor Wilson as follows:
"My Dear Governor Wilson-Reply-
ing to your note, | think it should go
without saying that no purely person
al issue could arise between you and
me- Whatever anybody else may sur
mise, you surely must know that, in
| trying to arouse and further your po-
litical aspirations during the past few
years, 1. have been actuated solely by
the belief that | was rendering a dis
tinct public service.
"The real point at the time of our
interview was. as you aptly put it, one
simply of fact and of business and
when you stated the fact to be that
my support was hurting your candi-
dacy, and that you were experiencing
difficulty in finding way to counter
act it's harmful effect, the only thing
| possible for me to do, in simple fair
ness to you no less than in considera-
ton of my own self-respect, was to re-
lieve you of your embarrassment so
far as it lay within my power to do so,
by ceasing to advocate your nomina-
ton.
THAT, l think, was fully understood
between us at the time, and acting ac-
cordingly took down your name from
the head of the Weekly's editorial
page days before your letter was writ
ten That seems to be all there is of
| it.
Whatever little hurt l may have
felt sa consequence of the unexpect-
ed peremptoriousness of your attitude
toward me is, of course, wholly elimi-
mated by your gracious words.
Every truly yours,
GEORGE HARVEY"
/ Wilson's Second Letter
Governor Wilson replied under date
of January 18th, as follows:
my Dear Colonel Harvey-Gener-
GUS and cordial as was your letter,
written in reply to my note, it has left
me uneasy, because, in its perfect
frankness, it shows that L did hurt
you by what so tactlessly said. am
very much ashamed of myself. for
there is nothing | am more ashamed
of than hurting a true friend, however
unintentional the hurt may have been.
| wanted very much to see you in
| Washington, but was absolutely CAP
tured by callers every minute | was
in my rooms, and when | was not
there, was fulfilling public engage
ments. | saw you at the dinner, but
could not get at you, and after the
| dinner was surrounded and prevented
from getting at you l am in town to-
day, to speak this evening, and came
IN early IN the hope of catching you
at your office.
For | owe it to you and to my own
thought and feeling to tell you how
grateful | am for all your generous
praise and support of me, (no one has
described more nearly as l would like
to believe myself to be than you have)
L
how | have admired you for the indie
pendence and unhesitating courage
and individuality of your course. and
how far | was from desiring that YOU
should cease your support of me in
the Weekly. You will think me very
stupid, but l did not think of that as
the result of my blunt answer to your
question. | thought only of the means
or convincing people of the real indie