Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1912-04-29
CALLS HIN A GRANDSTANDER
SAYS EXECUTIVES ACTION I'M
MANY PARTICULARS HAS
BEEN TO GAIN FAVOR
THE fight IS GROWING HOT
BOTH REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES
FOR PRESIDENT cAUsTIc IN
THEIR REMARKS

| Boston, April 29.-Flatly contradict
ing President Taft, Colonel Roosevelt
during his campaign tour of Essel
county today issued a statement re
plying to that made by the president
last night regarding the harvester
trust" case. The president had stat
ed that so far as my recollection
goes never heard the harvester trust
matter mentioned in any cabinet
meeting that I ever attended"
Colonel Roosevelt said in his re.
ply, issued in the form of a state
ment written on the train:
Il clearly remember Mr.. Taft being
present at such discussion and TAX
ing part in it," He added that the
president had treated this matter "in
way to show that he subordinates
the interest of the people as whole
to the purposes of securing political
advantage for himself"
Colonel Roosevelt's statement in
part follows:
"Of course. Mr.. Taft was away, as
exery one knew, whileeI was discuss.
ing this matter in personal interviews
with officials of the department of
commerce and labor, including the
bureau Of corporations and the de-
partment of justice, but both before
and after he came back, the matter
repeated was brought up in the cab
met and discussed at length Mr..
Bonaparte has stated in the letter
have quoted that Mr. Taft took the
initiative in approving the course I
followed. My merory is to the same
effect
''Messrs. Garfield, Strauss, Bona
parte and Cortelyou have stated that
this particular question was discussed
more than once in full cabinet meet
ing. clearly remember Mr.. Taft
being present at one such discussion
and taking part in it. Moreover, re-
member that Mr. Taft has now been
president three years and two months
and it is nonsense to say that during
that time he has not had the fullest
opportunity to act on the harvester
5oas,.ad
>'When he came back from his trip
abroad went over with him, not only
this case. but every other case of
importance, such as that of the Ten
nessee Coal and Iron company, which
! Thought might by any possibility
have any bearing on the general pol
icy of the administration. If he
thought that the action I took in
the harvester cas- was in any way in
adequate or reprehensible, it was his
duty when he was in my cabinet to
protest and 1t was even more his
duty after he became president to act
at once.
"The action, which after three years
of inaction, he actually took last week
must have been taken with the Lori
mer-democrati senator, who intro
duced the resolution and could only
have been taken with view to ste
effect on the Massachusetts prima-
ries.
"This case illustrates all the differ
ences between the attitude Of Mr..
Taft and myself toward big business,
and indeed, towards every species of
business. | handled and have always
handled every question of big busi-
ness and of all other business not
from the standpoint of party or fac
tional advantage, and without the
least regard to my own personal for
tunes or to the political fortunes of
any one else. but on its merits and
with the sole object of helping reach
a satisfactory conclusion of business
problems in the interest of the entire
people Of the United States.