OCR Text |
Show TUFT YARN IS MjSVEIED Boston, April 20, Flatly contradicting contradict-ing President Taft, Col. Roosevolt dining his campaign tour of Essex county today issued a statemont replying re-plying to that made by the president last night regarding the Harvester trust case. The president had stated that "so far as my recollection goes, I never heard the Harvester trust matter mentioned in any cabinet meeting that I over attended." Col. Roosevelt said that. In his reply, re-ply, Issued in tho form of a statement written on the train: "I clearly remember Mr. Taft being present at'such discussion and taking part In It." Pie added that tho president presi-dent had treated this matter "In a way to show that he subordinates the Interest of tho people as, a whole to tho purposes of securing political advantage- for'rmntfetrr1 The Statement. Here is Col. Roosevelt's statement: state-ment: "Of course, Mr. Taft was away, as everyono know, while I was discussing discuss-ing this matter In personal Interviews with officials of the department of commerce and labor, Including tho bureau bu-reau of corporations and of the department de-partment of justice, hut both before and after ho came back tho matter was repeatedly brought up In the cabinet cab-inet and discussed at length. Mr. Bonaparte has stated in the letter I havo quoted that Mr Taft took the Inlatlvo In approving tho course I followed. My memory la to tho same effect. "Be this as it may, however, Mr Taft could not ha-ve failed to have full information as to the action taken tak-en Every Important matter of this kind involving a question between two departments of the administration administra-tion always was threshed out In full cabinet and thl3 was especially true of questions of this particular naturo between the department of justice and the secretary of commorce and labor. Remembers Taft Being Present "Messrs. Garfield, Straus, Bonaparte Bona-parte and Cortelyou havo stated that this particular question was discussed dis-cussed more than once in full cabinet cab-inet meeting 1 clearly remnnber Mr. Taft being present at ono such discussion dis-cussion and taking part In it. Moreover, More-over, I remember that Mr Taft now has been president three years and two months and It is useless to sav that he has not had the fullest opportunity oppor-tunity to act on the Harvester case If ho so deslrod. "When he came hack from hie trip abroad. I went over with him not onl)' this case but every other case of imr portanco, such as that of ,tho Tennessee Ten-nessee Coal & Iron company, which I thought might by any possibility have any bearing on the general policy pol-icy of the administration "If he thought that the action I took in the Harvester case was in any way Inadequate or reprehensible, :t was his duty when he was in my cabinet cab-inet to protest and It was even moro his duty after he became president to act at once. In Collusion With Lorlmer. "Tho action, which after threo years of inaction, he actually took last week must have been taken in collusion with the Lorimer-Demo-cratic senator who introduced the resolution res-olution and could onlv havo been taken with a view to 'the effect on tho Massachusetts pilmaiies. "This case Illustrates all tho differences dif-ferences between the attitude of Mr. Taft and myself toward big business, and, Indeed, towards every species of business. I handled, and have always handled every question of big business bus-iness and of 'all other business, not from tho standpoint of party or factional fac-tional advantage, nad without the least regard to my own personal fortunes for-tunes or to the political fortunes of aiui.nu cIso' but on Its merits and with the bole object of helping reach a satisfactory solution of business problems in the Interest of the people peo-ple of the United States. Mr. Taft has treated thin Har- m? u st (lucst'6n in a wnv to show j inat he subordinated the intorcsts of ! ine people as a whole to the purpose mmS" polItlc advantage for |