The Washington herald., 1914-03-10
white House Correspondence.

| To the Editor; In the Washington Her
aid, under the title of Statesmen. RenI
and Near 'on December Z, 1913. Mr. Fred
c. Kelly wrote:
The letters that reach the White
House every day run up as
high as I,OOo to say nothing Of per-
haps 2t0 or 80 teIegrams .
Comparatively few greet the Presi-
dent when he reaches his desk
Many days he has oniy about a dozen
letters TO answer personally. Even on
the average the number IL probably
not more than twenty-five
In addition 10 these few letters that
he answers personally. however, are
a considerable number that are dis
posed Of for him and the answers
brought to him for his signature
Mr.. Kelly also says that certain
class of letters. received daily. far too
numerous for the President IT, answer
personally. are answered for him in a
routine way. He then pictures a proud
recipient exhibiting a letter from the
President when. in fact. Mr.. Kelly says,
the President probably never saw the
note TO him and did not dictate the an
swer"
Furthermore. after setting forth s,ms
of the methods Of the people TO get their
letters by Mr.. Tumulty to the Presi-
dent by marking the envelopes Per
sOnal.'' Strictly Confidential" etc. or
inclosing their letters to the President
in envelopes addressed TO Mr.. TumUlty
with explanation to Mr.. Tumulty that
the letters are about something that the
President wouldn't want living soul TO
be in on" or sending their letters In care
of Mrs. Wilson, or IN care of the Presi-
dents daughters. etc. Mr.. Kelly Ge-
clares with seeming stamp of authority:
As a matter OF fact. none of these
schemes work. For example:
letter to the President. inclOsed with
one to Tumulty. is opened and read by
Tumulty. and IL it were of much con-
sequence il probably would reach him.
anyway. and he would show 1t to the
President II he thought it worth
while.
So Mr.. Kelly asserts. 'as a matter OF
fact" that only such letters of the peo-
pie to the President reach the President
as Mr.. Tumulty may think it worth
while shall reach him.
Perhaps such information was partly
the ground upon which the editor of the
Protestant Magazine stood when he wrote
10 the President that there was "a wide
spread feeling that certain let
.ers are Withheld from YOU by your
private secretary. Mr.. Tumulty," and
\ hich called forth the Presidents answer |
appearing in The Washington Herald. on |
Is 1914, as follows:
The White House.
washington. Jan. 10, 1914
My Dear Sir: Allow me to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your letter of
January Is and to thank you for your
Candor in writing me.
Il beg leave to assure you that the
impression that any part of my cor
rcspondence is withheld from me in
any circumstances by my secretary
on account of religious predictions
on his part is absurdly and utterly
false. ! venture to say that no Presi-
dent ever had more frank and Sats-
factory relations with his secretary
than / have with mine. The whole OF
my correspondence is constantly open
to me. Mr.. Tumulty is more prompt.
perhaps, TO call my attention TO mat
tiers in which his prejudice is sup
posed to be engaged than to other
matters of relative indifference.
'Of course. ] need hardly add / am
not speaking from an impression. but
from knowledge of just how my Corre-
spondence is handled Sincerely YOURS,
WOODROW WILSON"
1t will he noticed. however that while
ne President says. THE whole of nv
Is constantly open to me-"
here is nowhere In his letter any denia.
( Mr.. Kelly assertion that 1t rested!
ith NJ. Tumulty TO show the peoples
'tters to the President il he thought it
orth while. And therein is the unan-
Sered question still. MODESTINUS.