The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-04
By Associated Press

New York, May 29-President Roosevelts love for books and art and his scholarly appreciation of the work of authors and painters, to whom he sent many of the 150,O ,OoO letters which he wrote during his public career, is shown in the ninth instalment by his biographer, Joseph Bucklin Bishop, in the June issue of Scribner's Magazine, out here tomorrow
 Amusing and interesting missges, as we'll as those more sedate and crit ical. the article says, were written by Colonel Roosevelt to Brander Mat thews. Joel E. Spinearn, Booth Tark- Simons. Frederick MacMonnies. Au- gustus Saint-Gaudens, James Ford Rhodes Lord Morley, NJ. Jusserand, Frederick Scott Oliver, Arthur J. Bal four, Henry Bordeaux, Charles Scrib- ner and Robert Bridges
 critic of Roosevelt had written to MT. Mister protesting against the Col onePs characterization of Thomas Paine as "a dirty little atheist" de- claring it was an unpardonable vilifi- cation of "one of the greatest men of his time" Mister forwarded the let ter to MT. Roosevelt, to which the lat ter responded:
 VI eTSOndl)
 September 25 1901.
 Dear Dan: This is delightful. ought not to have used the exact word atheist. He admitted the existence of an unknown God, but denied there was al God of the Christians. As to whether he was dirty or not. it is a mere mat ter of private judgment. I was re- cording in the sentence the fact that he had stayed several weeks in bed without getting out for any purpose, and that as consequence a swine in i a sty was physically lean by compari- son. Faithfully your..
 THEODORE ROOSEvELTY "Mr. Owen WisterN -{ BPS Chestnut street
 Philadelphia, Pa." The Colonel. in another letter. scor- ing rather sensational novel dealing With the west and published In 1901 said he had grown to have "a horror of the reformer who is half charlatan and half fanatic. who ruins his own cause by overstatement." Explaining his opposition to the entrance into the United States in 1908 of the Princess Kropotkin. he said; People who call themselves anarchists no matter how they qualify the word by calling them selves reformers,' by just so much add to the strength of the worst and most vicious clements of our civilization" T have always been grateful to you and Saint-Gaudens for just existing" he wrote to Frederick MacMonnies in 1904, "for it is a big asset on the na- 1, tion's credit side that it should have produced you both." To James Fora Rhodes statement that "in no quarrel is the right all on one sides and the wrong all on the other" he took ex- ception in these words: 'I fully be- lieve in and appreciate not only the Ivalor of the south. but it's lofty devo- tion to the right as it saw the right; and yet I think that on every ground that is. on the question of the union on the question of slavery, on the question of state rights-it was wrong with folly that amounted to mad ness and with perversity that amounted to wickedness."
 One of the most interesting of the letters was one written by the Colonel in 1908. before the panic of the year before had subsided. When the panic began in New York vigorous efforts, it is said. were made to have Roose- welt. then President. call off his suit against the Standard Oil Company and an investigation of the Hartman rail- way lines, which he had ordered. Tn spite of the strenuous controversy concerning these and other questions of public policy, the Colonel found time to write long and learned let ter to MT. Balfour. reviewing a book called "Decadence" which was then