The sun., 1916-10-05
LANE STIRS COLONEL
TO SHARP ATTACK
Secretary's Denial Of Own
Statement That Note Sending
Was Failure Causes Reply.

OYSTER BAT, L. l., Oct. A.-Col. Roose.
welt to-day sent a letter to Franklin X.
Lane. Secretary Of the Interior. In reply
to the secretary's denial that he had ad-
mitted that the note sending policy Of
the Wilson Administration has been q
failure.
In his Battle Creek speech the Colonel
quoted Secretary Lane for 50 saying and
the Cabinet ohfcer informed Col. Rooss-
welt that no had not expressed such SEN
timents. In his denial. however. Mr..
Lane asserted that by the note sending
policy the United States had achieved
the greatest diplomatic triumph Of . half
century," and the Colonel uses this as
sertion ~ . basis for another attack on
the Administration. The letter in part
follows:
"ln your fnal paragraph you Say that
Chief Justice White has been quoted "a
saying that by our notes to Germany
We have achieved h greatest diplomatic
triumph OF q half century. and you say
thAt you agree with this view, and that
We have achieved more by this note
sending than years Of war could have
accomplished. I trust for the sake OF my
esteemed friend Justice White that he
has been a. enormously quoted In his
statement a. you we're In yours.
Il remember when the statement was
made. II was not At the end Of the
vote sending episode: II was nearer the
beginning. Just prior to the sinking Of q
ship by = German submarine, on which
occasion some hundreds of lives were
lost. The sinking OF this ship. following
Immediately upon the alleged statement of
Chief Justice White, served a. . curious
commentary thereon.
You are now yourself. my lear Mr..
Secretary. in & diplomatic position con-
Quoting negotiations apparently with the
object OF seeing what We can do to pia-
cate the Mexicans for our having per-
mitted them &c murder hundreds Of our
men. women and children. and to settle
them for having forced Us already to
incur an expenditure Of between $780,
0Oo,o 900 and $500. 000. 200.
You say In regard to our notesending
to Germany ~ having Achieved the
greatest diplomatic triumph Of a half
century Ip February. 1918. in our frst
note we informed Germany that II her
submarines caused the death Of any OF
our people by sinking ships on which
tney Were travelling thet We would noiu
her to strict accountability For over
n ear thereafter we continued to write
notes. and the Germans continued to
sink ships on which our citizens were
travelling. They killed all told some
$500 non-combatants. between 100 and
200 babies under 2 years Of ~ nifty
Of whom were under 1 year Of aga
There were several hundred women
among the persons killed.
I'VE did not hold Germany to &C.
c~ountability strict or loose. For one
year We permitted the killings to 20 on
unchecked. No atonement has been given
US by Germany for our people who
were killed. II q been announced In
the public press that several Of the cap.
tains of German submarines have beer
decorated for the very acts for which
we informed Germany that we would
hold her to strict accountability.
MY dear Mr.. Lane. II you regard
this record A. constituting the great
est diplomatic triumph Of q full half
century and that thereby we achieved
more than years OF VAT could ave &C.
complished' you must pardon my saying
that you show more easy optimism OF
nature than soundness Of historic judy
ment."