New-York tribune., 1920-05-21

foundation in fact for the Lippmann
attack
, This attack appeared in "The New
hepubilc' on March II. Subsequently
the editors Of the weekly placed two
pages al the disposal OF General
ood's managers to reply.
ms offer was declined, because the
"ood managers regarded the attack as
so VICIOUS and so inaccurate that its
violence defeated it's authors AIMS.
ne apology attracted the attention
OF The Review which in its issue to-
morrow will say:
The New Republic having helped
10 give currency to a reported utter
ance of General Woods. of such pre-
posterously violent character as to be
the minds of all sensible persons, now
sets forth. with great fullhess, the
story OF It's acceptance of that report" 5"
The article closes with the follow
ing:
"'The New Republic is. of course,
glad TO note General Woods disavowal
of such lawless statements, 1t re-
grets that General Wood was not
fairly quoted by the correspondent
who was present at the address and it
regrets having given added circulation
W an inaccurate report.
Which sounds Ike fairly good ap-
proNimation TO an apology, but the
heading of the article. Was General
Wood Misquoted - which makes the
thing a whole not much more like
genIeman's apology than 2.75 beer is like
real beer. 1t appears that The New
Republic went to great deal of trouble
and, one would infer, of expense, too.
for money is plentiful in that office-in
the endeavor to find out whether the
report. originally found in The New
York American, was correct, with the
result that finally the obnoxious pas
sage was found in a special 7dispatch
from Fort Collins to The Rocky Noun
tain News In this General Wood was
reported as saying;
My motto for the Reds is S. 0. s.
snip or sfoot. | believe that we should
place them all on ships of stone, with
sails Of lead, and that their first stop
ping place should be hell
In response to a-Fecent inquiry from
a reader of The New Republic.' Gen
eral Wood states that he never said
anything of the kind as in any way ex-
pressing his own views, but was quot
ing what DR.. John Wesley Hill had
said, as showing the bitterness that had
been aroused against the Reds His
own views, the general adds, have been
very often expressed as follows:
Aliens who are avowed enemies of
our government and who seek to pull
down our institutions, if found guilt
after a fair trial, should be sent to
their own country. have ALWAYS en-
phasized very strongly that there should
be no short cut or irregular methods:
that they are entitled to full and fair
trlal before a court OF competent iuris-
diction.
General Woods long record of hon
orable public service has been notable.
among other things, for dignity and
self control, sometimes under very
trying circumstances. The antecedent
lmpro bability. therefore, of his having
uttered a sentiment like that ascribed
20 him in the Fort Collins dispatch
should have made the editors of the
New Republic unwilling to accept its
authenticity without the most thorough
confirmation
"One obvious means of testing its
accuracy, that of writing to General
W ood himself. does not seem to have
occurred to the mas worth while; and
now when they do get a denial, they
regard the statement of an unknown
reporter for the Rocky Mountain
News very possibly he same man who
sent the report to Hearst--as only
shade less trustworthy than the gen
erals denial. Else why the interroga-
ton in the heading? And why the
very stinted language Of the apology ? j.
We fancy that the New Republic is :