The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-29
Never Approved ColonePs Decision Not to Prosecute
 Harvester Co.
OUT OF COUNTRY
 AT TIME OF INCIDENT
Declares Never Heard Harvester Mat ter Discussed At Cabinet Meeting. Directed Suit Be Brought
 April "A, 1912

Taft, before leaving the White House today for his return to Massachusetts, issued a personal statement, denying Colonel Roosevelt's allegation that he, while secretary of war, had at a cabi- net meeting approved MT Roosevelt's decision not to Immediately prosecute
 Taft's Statement
 President Taft's statement says he never heard the International Harves- ter company discussed at any cabinet meeting, and that the records of tho war department will show that he was out of the country when the incident referred to by the colonel occurred.
 President Taft's statement was issued as follows:
 "Mr. Roosevelt in his speech at Wor- cester, as reported by the public press, referring to the Harvester trust suit, said:
 As a matter of fact, MT. Taft was n member of my cabinet when this Identical case was fully. discussed be- fcre the cabinet and be cordially ap- proved the action taken; and, indeed, dS matter Ol idCts my memory aS that he himself made the motion that there should be no prosecution of the Harvester trust pending the investiga- ton into the trust by the bureau of corporations'
 MT. Roosevelt's memory is very much at fault. I am authorized 10 say by Mir. Root, and Secretary Wilson, both of whom were members of the cabinet at that time. that they have no recollection whatever of ever hearing the prosecution of the Harvester mat ter discussed In the cabinet. And MT. Root is very certain that he never saw or heard of Mir. Herbert Knox Smiths letter to MT Roosevelt under date If September 2l, 1907, on the subject. "I am able to say the sane thing. So far as my recollection goes. I never heard the Harvester trust matter men, tioned in any cabinet meeting that l lattended. and I cannot be mistaken in tfe statement that l never saw or knew of Mir. Herbert Knox Smiths letter of September 21 to the President, until after my administration had begun and tho time when the question of the prosecution came up in 1910 or 1911. And I never saw or read the letter dnI1l abOuE two months ago.
 .sThis correspondence shows that the snstect matter of the prosecution of the International Harvester company came before President Roosevelt on August %, 1907, which is the date of his letter to Attorney Bonaparte: that Mir Herbert Knox Smiths letter dis eussing the question and advising against suit, was dated September 2t, i907; and that MT. Smiths letter was Ff.t JaJ H.v ef ( Roosevelt, under date of September 2f, to the attorney general with direction te the attorney general to bring the letter 10 the President that week, to talk over the natter
 Taft Out of Country
 "The official records show that Presi- dent Roosevelt left Washington in Juno. BOT, for oyster Bay. and returned from ovster Bay to Washington on Septem- OCT 24: that on September 29 he left Washington for trip down the Missis- sippi river. returning to Washington on October 23. 1907: and that he remain ed in Washington from that time on.
 "The official records of the war de- partment show that left Washington in June of the same year and went 10 Murray Bay. Canada; that remained there until August, when I visited Oys- ter Bay on August 13. and then wert to Washington on the 14th and left Washington on August IS, for a west crn trip through Oklahoma, Missouri. tho Yellowstone Park. Oregon and Washington. reaching Seattle on Sep- tember and sailing from Seattle for the Philippines on September 13. did not return to the United States until the goth of December. 19O7
 T have a letter from Herbert Knox Smith, commissioner of the bureau ns corporations. written at my request, ,n which he uses the following language: On November '. 1907. which date I fix from my personal diary, I telephon ed Mr Perkins st the Presidents ord CT that the President took the view that the bureaus investigation should come before the suit
 This indicates with certainty the time when the matter was decided and shows that if the matter did come before the cabinet at all, if must havo been after September 24 and on or be- fore November :, 1907, period when was out of the country, and could not have been present and certainly could not have made a motion or suggestion iri the cabinet that no suit be prose cated until after tho Investigation.
 Negotiations Delayed
 'A1r. Roosevelt asks why suit has not been brought In this administra- : ton against the Harvester trust. A report made to me by the attorney general shows that shortly after the decision by the supreme court of the Standard oil and Tobacco cases the si : torney general was about to begin suit c gainst the International Harvester company when it's representatives re- ouested an opportunity. in apparent good faith to submit reasonable plan Of reorganization or dissolution, which would meet every just cause of com plaint With my approval. the attor- ney general delayed bringing suit pend linz the consideration of this proposi- tion. and during negotiations which en- sued looking to the accomplishment of sucl result.
 These negotiations were delayed. first. bv reason of the time required to make an examination of the books of ths Harvester company, and, second, because of delay in completing the re- mort of the examiners. due to the fact that they were obliged to suspend work on it, in order to complete their work on the steel trust investigation. Thesa negotia tions had continued until April s4, 1912 when, as I have before men, tfoned, they came to a conclusion, and Iis was determined that no agreement could be reached which the government cohld accept. and on that date the at .----->--