MR. ROOSEVELT & THE TRUSTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1564, 7 October 1912, Page 5

MR. ROOSEVELT & THE TRUSTS.

-DENIES ACCUSATIONS. / By- TeleiraDh—Press Association—Coryrleht Washington, October i. Mr. Roosevelt has given evidence before the Committee of the Senate which is inquiring into the alleged contributions by the Trusts to tho party funds. He denies having authorised the receipt of any donations from Trust magnates during his election campaigns, and demands the cxpul-' sion from, the Senate of Senator Penrose, who accused him of receiving support from the Trusts. s Mr. Roosevelt says that Penlose is an enemy to his country's good;. THE PENROSE ACCUSATIONS. GIFTS. OF STANDARD OIL MONET. Assertions were made recently in' American papers that. Senator Penrose, of Pennsylvania, had received money from .the Standard Oil Company' for services rendered in Washington,, and that a movement was on foot to. bring about his'expulsion from the Senate. One of the letters from the Standard Oil Company to Mr. Penrose, which Kas been published, reads as follows:— . .■• . "My Dear Senator,— . -. •.. ' "In fulfilment of our understanding, it gives me great pleasure to hand you herewith certificate of deposit to your favour for 25,000 dollars, and with good wishes, ' '.-■■*.. ■ ■ . "I inn, yours truly, "JOHN D., ARCHBOLD." In his reply to tho charges on the floor of the Senate,' Senator Penrose declared this letter to be a forgery.. He admits the receipt of the 25,000 dollars, but he says it was only a part of .the 125,000 dollars contributed by Mr. Archbold arid his associates to the Republican, campaign fund of that year. The other 100,000 dollars, he explains, went to the treasurer of the National Committee with tho knowledge and' approval-of President RoosoI These statements of Senator Penrose seem to Mr. Roosevelt 'like ithe action of tho cuttle-fish, which' when attacked by an enemy which it lacks the, courage to oppose, squirts ink and tries''to escape, trusting thnt the enemy will attack the ink instead of the cuttle-fish." By way of "clearing -away .the ink," Mr.' Roosevelt Calls attention to his letters written to Chairman. Cortelyou in October, 1901, directing the return,to the Standard Oil Company of any money that might have been contributed to the campaign fund. In the course of a discussion on the floor of tho Senate, Senator Penrose vouchsafed tliG information that these letters were written by the President after tho money ho was refusing had already been spent in his behalf. This, he asserts,! Mr. Roosevelt knew) but swt the letter "to make a record for future reference." All of which Mr. Roosevelt denounces as "deliberate and wilful falsehood."

In his., testimony before , the Senatorial committee investigating campaign contri-' bution.s, Mr. Archbold confirmed Senator Penrose's stnteiiieitt relative to the campa ijjii contributions. He admitled thai ["resident'lfopsVvelt's attitude toivnrd tho Standard Oil Company in his second lenn wan far from friendly, and let his hearers infer tlyat this might have boon due to the Standard's refusal to give nil additional sum asked for by the treasurer nf the Republican National Committee, Mr. Bliss. ~ The outcome of this assault, upon Penror.e, concludes the Chiciigo "Inter-Ocean" (Hop.), is "likely to be another exhibition of Mr. Hoosevell in a rule similar tii that he played in his 310,(100 dollar traii.siclinu with the late E. ff. Harrinian." The Hoston "Transcript" (l!ep.). tuo, while il dors not tare to take Senator ments at their fnce value, naiiilwu nfh\ thinking that "all in nil, Mr. :i!oo=evelt\ conies out. of these ISIOI ro.velat.oiif. with credit tarnished. Especially is this true regarding Harriman. And until the Archbold affair is straightened out the. public will suspect that Roosevelt was cognisant, of that nid to his campaign and in some way" assented to it."