Show REJOINDER 1 President Placed in an Exceedingly Bad Light New York April 2 tE E H II Harriman late tonight gave out the tle following statement in response to the statement made public I by President Pl Roosevelt at Washington to today today t day I For many years eaI I have maintained an i intimate confidential correspondence with wih my friend Sydney Sdney Webster What 1 I wrote him and what he wrote me was of oC course Intended an for our eyes alone aloe In Inthe Inthe Inthe the course of or a letter leter which li he ito wrote rote me mc meIn ml In December 1903 1915 19 he warned me against being drawn Into politics polte and questioned whether I had any political or party In Instinct This drew from me the reply to Mr Websters in inquiry ulry which In a sub substantially sub substantially correct coret form for had been stolen and This letter leter was written on Jan 2 2 1906 10 at a time when no one could doubt the cordiality of my relations i with the president About Abut ten lays flays ago a 0 I was told that a I discharged stenographer was trying to sell sel to some newspaper a reproduction from his notes of one of my m private letters leters 1 I could hardly believe belve that any an matter so obtained would olid be le accepted or published Yet I 1 made every evel effort efort to prevent it i When hen I late yesterday afternoon that a New York paper had a transcript of these thes notes note I notified the publisher at once of the facts and urged upon his attention the gross gs outrage that the t pub puh publication of It under tinder such circumstance would involve While deploring of ot course cours COln that the sacredness of oC a private prIvat corres corre correspondence cores should thus be violated Io I b can cannot cannot cannot I not withdraw anything in the letter Injustice of Roosevelt I have read red the presidents statement I am most mot anxious to treat him and his utterances with the consideration due to the high office which he holds Nevertheless Nevertheless less I feel bound hun to call cl attention to certain cr tain tam things in regard to which he does dos me rae mean mea an a Injustice In his letter leter to Mr 11 Sherman Sheran he clear clearly ly I seeks to convey the Impression that the personal per Interview with him in the fall fal of oC 1904 1901 was wa of my seeking and not his He lie says ss Ills His Ils Harriman and my letters leters now before me In the fall fal of 1901 1 run runas rn runas as follows On his return from spending the summer in Europe on Sept 10 10 he lie wrote mo me that if I I thought It de desirable desirable he would come to see me rae at any anytime anytime anytime time then or later When hen he had bad been ben bena aa as a you OU remember a a delegate to the Re ne Republican publican convention having voted vote for formy formy formy my nomination On Sept 23 I answered Ha letter leter saying g At t present there a s nothing for me to see se you yo about abot though there were one or two In mv my m let letter letter letter ter of acceptance which I would uld like to have It out discussed with wih you ou before putting Letter Roosevelt Withheld Let me present the facts On June 20 1904 10 the president wrote rte to me the tho fol following following following lowing letter leter which he does doe not Include in the correspondence published today tOa It I reached reache me in White House Washington June 3 Zi 1601 1904 Personal My I Dear Mr Harriman I thank you for your our letter As A soon as you Ol come home I 1 will i want ant to see seo you U The fight will wi doubtless be b hot then It has hI been beena a real pleasure pleure to see se you yo this year Very truly yours your THEODORE ROOSEVELT Opening Sentence Eliminated In reply to this I wrote him on my re return rt return turn tur from Europe the letter of Sept the opening sentences of which he te cilia eliminated elmi nate In his publication New ew York Sept 20 1964 1904 19 My Iy Dear Mr 11 President I was aas glad to receive your note of June 29 2 last while I was In Europe I am getting matters maters that accumulated accumulate during durin my m ab absence ab absence sence somewhat cleared up and if you think It I desirable will wi go to see se you yo at atan any an time either now or later It I seems to me that the situation could not be In better shape Yours sincerely 4 E H nARRIMAN rAN rANo To o The Te President Washington D C Then hen followed a series of invitations C from the White House both from the president prel ent and his secretary urging me to go to Washington On Oct 10 the pros dent wrote In view of the tit trouble over oer the state ticket in New York York I should much like to have a few words with wih you ou you OU think you OU can c get got down dow here within a few days or take either cither lunch or r dinner with wih me meOn meOn meOn On Oct Oct 14 H he wrote My Iy Dear Mr Ir Harriman Hariman A tion ton has come to me mo in a roundabout way that you dont think It wise to come to see me In these thee closing cosing i weeks of the campaign but that you OU are reluctant to refuse Inasmuch I as have asked you ou Finally Finaly Went to Washington i A funeral In my family prevented a prompt response to the presidents P re r Invitations but finally about Oct abut 20 2 I was able to go to Washington and see se him There is some difference of recollection as a to what transpired at nt that Interview Fortunately the Ute president himself In his personal letter of No Nov 30 throws some light upon what did take place He lie says Il If I you OU remember when you were down here both you and I were WEre so In In certain of the New Sea York po developments development that I 1 hardly if I at atall atal atall all al touched on governmental matters Again Agin In Inthe the same letter leter he matel says As Asa a matter mater of fact as a you will wili wi remember when you did come down dow to see seo me you and I were both so 1 engaged In the New York political situation that we talked of little Itte else else The invitation of ot Oct Oc 10 bade me to the White Wite House Hous to have a few f w words with wih the president In view of the trou ble bin with wih the state ticket In iq New York I had replied on Oct 12 1 I 1 am giving a very er large part of my time to correcting the trouble truble here and intend to do so JO if it I any effort on my ray part can accomplish it It I 1 will wf take occasion the first fl t of next nest week to run rn down to see you and Bd I think by b that time the conditions will wI be very much Improved Willing for Public to Decide Whether W ether I was seeking reeking his bis aid to se secure secure cure euro the adherence of the state of DC Nev XeN ev York to the state ticket or he was Beck in Ing mine Is la proved P or disproved by thU t tt correspondence and ad I 1 cheerfully submit b to the public whether the thc inference clear ly Iy suggested by the president Is the tle prop er Cr one one I did not so understand It I prop from the Invitation nor from the Interview The president dwells at length lengh on the assertion that tat he ho did not ask me to con tribute for the presidential campaign cn nor for lor his hI hl personal benefit I dont don I t deny this statement nor Is J It at alt all al con cp ith the assertions I made md in the Webster letter respecting the interview Therein I distinctly said Th president sent me a request to togo togo togo go to tJi for ft fo conference upon the political conditions in New York state I complied and he told he me under understood understood stood sto the campaign could coul not be suc sue successfully carried crIed on without sufficient money and asked If I would jelp them In raising the necessary fund tel at as a the na tonal committee under Chairman Cortel Corte you you had utterly uter failed of oC obtaining them and there was a large lar e amount uc them from the New York state committee ommittee If I that means anything whatever b it must be that ae ne e was urging to help the New York state commie and not the national committee nor the tal campaign except so 0 far Car as the suc success success cess s of the state ticket would contribute to th success of the national ticket Contributed His What hat the condition of or the tho finances of the New York state committee and of the Republican committee was Is II well wei known to every ever one Oe That the national did owe the state committee and the state committee was In finan financial cial straits strait is notorious I 1 was as not a po pa manager I 1 was asked aske to go 10 to Washington by the president In the g In of the state ticket I could help to raise rise money That I did help in this regard that I did raise rise funds Immedi Immediately I atel upon my return from the interview with the president is undeniable and to this fund I contributed O My Mv in with the president covered a wide cYere range rge of subjects connected with the New York state campaign and I did not pre pretend pretend pretend tend to go over the whole matter maler In the Webster letter leUer The presidents letter leter of oC Oct 14 1 and his Ills comment thereon are interesting In that letter letter he suggested that I might think there was some danger In my vie via ie him during luring the closing weeks mY of the campaign and suggested that if I thought so r my m visit be postponed until after the thE when he would ask me to discuss some governmental mat matters matter matters ter connected with the campaign Here Hera Her were two distinct Invitations to discuss discuses two different subjects I could soc see so no danger In i visiting him to discuss New NewYork NewYork ew York politics before the election and therefore I went and discussed the sub an alone and after the election eleton took up the tho other subject for consideration with ith him himI I think If I what concerned me as the tM object of the visit had been ben the govern governments gover ments relation to t the tio tie railroads the in interview would certainly not have been beu en entirely entirely confined to politics I am not responsible for what Mr tr Sherman may ma have hao said sid to the president with wih reference to the conversation he had with wih me rae All Al that I have to say sy is that I did not meet his urgent requests ruPt that I contribute to his campaign fund and that the statements alleged to have been ben attributed to me by him were false The president was w assured of this fact by a mutual friend who was as present at atthe atthe atthe the Interview Depew and Bliss Senator Depew when asked about aboul the Harriman Hariman letter said saidI sid I 1 know nothing about It I except the part that refers reer to lo me m as a possible am I to France Fran It I is true a n told me rae that I might mi ht be b appointed to tha thaI place but I 1 to toli him that I did not nr ar I at all al for the ambassadorship That all al I can cn say sy about abut the Harriman HarIman letter Cornelius Bliss made Corelus tade this to te iu quay lions r rI I have not seen Sn th tI Har n Ml Jt and an I dont dot want to see ff it and if I did du see It I would se say My nothing about it ii i |