The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-24
Claims He Never Heard of tue Request for Con-
 tributi0n
DOES NOT BELIEVE
 ARCHBOLD TRUTHFUL
Charges Oil Magnate With Wicked Assault on Dead Man and Sug- gests That He Testify About
 Relations With Penrose

Oyster Bay. \. Y. August 2a-col- enel Roosevelt sat on the porch at sagamore Hin for on hour and half tonight and dictated a statement Tn re- ply tn the tesiipony of John p Areh- bold today before the senate in3estt- eetiug eommhtee
 He reiterated his declaration that he know nothing of a contribution by Mf. Arehhold or tho standard oil comnany 0 the renu5ucan campaign of tea4 declared that he did not Tor one n'o- ment believe that Mir Archboid's testi- mony Ia truthful" charged MT. Areh- bold with ] wicked assault on dead man. added that during many calls which Mr Archbold made upon him while he was President to. urge hlm not 10 prosecute the Standard oil company. Mir Afehbold never referred to any contribntion to hls campaign fund; and concluded with the suggestion that tho Senate committee should make both Mir. Arehbold and Senator Penrose testify at onee-eoncerning their relations while Mr. Penrose was member of the in- dnstrial committee.
 In his last word Colonel Roosevelt thanked both Messrs Archbold and eenrose for making it clear beyond possibility of doubt that l am the man the Penroses and Archbolds of the country most dread in public life.
 Colonel Rooseveits statement foI- lows.
 In the first place, wish to eaii I is5. f Alr Archhold's statements are true they amount only 10 saying, So far as l am concerned. that Mi. Bliss told him that 1 had knowledge of and approved re- quest for $lo0,o0o from the Standard l oil company which was granted and further request for SiSO.0oO which was not granted. This Is a pure hear say statement and even If made ia good faith would be utterly valpeless.
 Neyes Heard of t
 "NDt onlg did 1 never know anything Of such request being made, but my published letters and telegrams show that wlen the fnnor that there had been 1 conte!butlon reached me, I acted at once. reiteTating my demand again and again that the money should be immedia teiy returned If it Tad been given. Therefore. then on the assumption that MT Arch bold 1s telling the truth, his testimony, 50 far as l ain concerned, consists of the repetition Of hearsay assertions Whiea were instartly disproved by the produce tion of ny letters and telegrams. l wish to reiterafe that until MT. Penrose made his speech. l never had heard 1t suggested that Mr. Archhold had contributed to the campaign or been the means through which any contributions had been made. l But do not fer one moment believe that l Mr Archbold's testimony is truthful He apparently possesses such moral stand- 1 ard that he docs not understand the m l famous accusation he is making against | Mir Bliss. MT. Bliss is now dead. But during the seven years that elapsed be- l fore MT. Rliss' death after Mir. Archbold | clalls he made the contribution In ques- | tion, MT. Al lchtold never brought up any statement of this kind.
 He now says that MT Bliss warned l him fiat nc was making serious mis- take in net contributing the extra amount 1 of 11oueV and that later on when the ad- minis tratio began to deal with the Stand- ard oil people MT. Bliss said it would have been different If they had done as he asked them.
 @rhis is an assertion. that Mr. Bliss was deliberately trying 10 blackmail the standard Oil company into contributing l by scarcely yelled threats as to what
 would happer If they'did not contribute, and that MT Bliss in effect, told them afterward that if they had contributed
 the admnist ration would not have pro- l deeded against then for violating tho
 law. for this was all the administration ! did.
 "Tbis is wicked assault on dead
 man whose high standing and probity l was such that no human being vqo pas l himself honest would ever impute evil
 motives fD him MT Bliss was incapable
 Of conduct such ss Mir. Archbold imputes
 to bim. And cannot too strongly de- r1unce the bnseness Of making such an attack upon m honorable man who V
 now dead and whom Mir. Arehbold neyec ventured tG assail while living. "Noreover. MT. Archbold shows per- 1 fectly clearly, as published reports say,
 that his corporation had contributed in
 order to get value for It's gift and that
 the gift was made with the expecta-
 (Coutinued on Page Ei-htD