The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-09-06
UNDERWOOD INDIGNANT
AT ATTACK ON PALMER

All ATTAIN ON fALMEh
Washington, September 3.-(Special)
Ir dispatch to the governmental Ger
many, Dr. Albert related a conversation
which had taken place between M. p.
and the President of the United States.
Although M. P" might have been
code signal. or might have referred to
meat packers or member of parlia-
ment," the republicans jumped to the
conclusion that the letters sought to in
dictate Mitchell Palmer.
Senator FrelAhuysen, in his attack
against the Attorney General this week.
referred again to the Albert dispatchy and
added:
Mr. Palmer could not deny that he
was the NJ. p referred to; in fact, he
admits it,
Senator Underwood. as previously
pointed out in this correspondence, an
swered the entire attack of the New Jer-
sey senator. His remarks regarding the
Albert incident, containing the denial of
Mr. Palmer, follows:
Il desire to make merely one more ref
erence to these charges. Let me read
you what Mr.. Palmer himself said in
gard to the so-called Albert papers which
were found. A newspaper tried to con-
meet Mr.. Palmer with the incident because
he had the initials M. p Let the record
show what he said Nobody is able to
deny his statement; nobody can contro-
vert it, Do senators on either side of the,
chamber for one minute believe that the
President of the United States would have
made A. Mitchell Palmer the alien prop.
erty custodian if he had doubted his
loyalty? Does any senator believe for
moment that the President of the United
States would have made Mitchell Palmer
Attorney General of the United States if
he had doubted his loyalty? Yet above all
men in the world the President of the
United States was the one man who was
absolutely cognizant of and knew the
facts in reference to the charge made by
the senator from New Jersey because the
charge is that this M. p, whom the
senator from New Jersey tries to convert
in Mitchell Palmer, had disclosed to Ger
man agents a conversation which took
place between him and the President of
the United States Was not the Presi-
dent of the United States conversant with
the fact az to whether any such converse
ton took place? Palmer denies it. The
President knows whether or not it is true:
he is the one man in the United States
who does know. The senator from New
Jersey by implication, if you believe this
was true, would charge the President of
the United States not only with being dis
loyal to the government but with being
disloyal to himself. 1t is absurd; it is a
mere piece of mud that has been thrown
out from enemy sources to besmirch the
character of clean, just and able man.
Now here is what he says. 1t has
been printed. I am now quoting him
from Mr.. Palmer's testimony:
When the Albert papers were pub
lshed by the New York World the New
York World printed what was alleged to
be memorandum found amongst the AL
bert papers in which reference was made
to the visit to the White House OF one NJ.
p" I had never heard of Albert; I do
not know there was such a person living
at that time, and of course l was amazed
to find this memorandum with reference
to IN. p" and a CARRIED exaggerated
and entirely different statement of what
l had told Mr.. Stanchfield.'
Prior to this he said that Mr.. Stanch-
field was lawyer who had called on him
in reference to securing a shipping line.
Most men knew of Mr.. Stanchfield, his
ability and standing as lawyer in New
York. Then Mr.. Palmer continues:
The New York World telegraphed mo
think, and asked me for an explanation.
I made this statement, which is print
ed in your hearings, and which, as l re-
call, is about what | said:
1.-THE story published in the World
this morning. which implies. though it
does not say. I am the mysterious M. P.
referred to in somebody's report of an al
legged COW ersation with the President, is
all fairy tale as far as I am concerned.
I never had any such conversation with
tie President and never reported any such
conversation to anybody. anywhere. at
any time. / never saw this Dr. Albert,
whose private memoranda are presum-
ably being published by the World, and
never heard of him until these articles
began appearing. I never had any COM
munication of any kind or any character
with him..
could there be a more complete. abso-
lutte denial of this whole proposition than
Mr. Palmer made then when it was pub
ished by the New Y orll World and makes
now? Mark you, these gentlemen who
are still charging him with this connec-
ton, with being the NJ. P referred to in
the New York World, have no proof to
sustain the charge. They are barking
back to this newspaper article, which
was the emanation of some sensational
brain which was endeavor'ng to stir the
American people before we became in
volved in the<war. But there is not one
line of proof In the last analysis there
is just one great witness to prove the
case as to whether or not is was true that
A. Mitchell Palmer had a conversation
with the President of the United States
aud disclosed that converse ton to the Al
bert man, and that one witness is the
President of the United States, who, I
repeat, would not only be disloyal to the
country but disloyal to himself if he had
appointed A. Mitchell Palmer Attorney
General of the United States had this
charge been true.
$50, say these charges emanated from
German interests. They are ISLANDERS which
have been spread abroad for purpose.
1t is not that they care who A. Mitchell
Palmer-is or what becomes of him; but
they are fighting for their dirty dollars;
they are hiring lawyers to get back this
blood money. So far as ! am concerned
they will not take it back SO long as I
can stand in the Senate and protest
against it"