The Washington times., 1914-09-24
DIPLOMACYS DENIALS.
The Times is in receipt Of the fol-

Washington, d. c., Sept. 23 1914
Dear Sir: / should be much Obliged if
you would kindly insert a notice in your
tomorrow's issue stating that the inter-
view attributed to me and published in
today's Washington Times is in no way
correct I emphatically deny that the
views expressed therein conform to the
statement ] made.
Believe me. dear sir yours sincerely
BARON w. Won SCHOEN.
Secretary to the German Embassy.
Allusion in Baron Won Schoen's
letter is to an excerpt which The
Washington Times used, from an in
terview attributed to the baron, and
published in the Washington Post of
yesterday morning. The interview
as published in the morning paper
purported 20 describe the sentiments
Of the japanese people toward Am
erica, and represented those senti-
ments as hostile and highly antagon-
istic.
Baron Won Schoen had Just arrived
in Washington from Tokyo. where he
had been, down to the beginning of
the war between Germany and ia
pan, secretaey of the German en-
hassy. The remarkable statement
concerning the attitude of the Iapa-
nese people began with this para
graph:
You may safely say that the mass of
the Japanese people believe that war
with the United States is inevitable.
Throughout Japan there is an intense
hatred of the American people.
Much more, of the same kind, fol-
lowed.
In accordance with the sound
newspaper policy of verifying news
in the highest quarters, The Times
made inquiry to learn if Baron Won
Schoen had been correctly quoted
and had authorized the statement.
Accordingly i trusted and expert
cnced member of The Times editorial
staff called the German embassy on
the telephone and asked if the inter
view as published in the Post was
correct and authorized. He was es-
sured in the most urequivocai terms
that the statement as it appeared in
The Post was correct and was made
for publication.
The Times theraupon quoted the
paragraph herein presented. together
with some reflections of the attitude
of the Washington Government N
the matter. 1t vas pointed out that
the State Department might ask the
German embassy for an explanation
Of the interview.
There was no possibility for The
Times to do an injustice 20 the Ger
man diplomat, in view Of the en-
hassy's assurance. Moreover, even
without this assurance, the interview
as published in the Post 5cre internal
evidences that strongly bore out the
presumption of its substantial cor
rectness. It was not the kind of an
interview that even the most rabid
critic of newspapers could presume
the interviewer had manufactured.
1t happened that this expression
attracted the attention and the wor-
derment of other people than the edi-
torial staff of The Times. 1t was, in
fact, a most improper emanation
from diplomatic quarter; and as
Baron Won Schoen has been assigned
as secretary of his country's en-
bassy in Washington, it was not
easily to be passed over AS result of
the belated discovery that an error
had been perpetrated, Baron Won
Schoen now addresses to The Times
his request for a correction.
With the statement of the facts
as here given, The Times is very
willing to present Baron Won
Schoen's letter to the public, and let
it be judged on a fair view of all the
circumstances. The ordinary pro-
cedure of blaming the interviewer is
quite familiar to The public; to say
that the reporter lied has heen the
traditional defense OF the public man
who discovers that he has talked un-
fortunately. In tn. present instance
The testimony decidedly sustains the
interviewer. His quotation If Baron
Won Schoen was fully justified by the
statement that the German embassy
rade to The Times.
Diplomatic denials have been so
numerous, and in so many cases So