Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PRESIDENT ATTACKS WORLD Brands Editor Pulitzer as Villifier of the Nation-Panama Canal Charges Are Made the. Subject of a Special Message to the Congress. Washington. December 15.- Re peated peals of laughter greeted the reading of the opening paragraph of the presiden'ts message to congress on the Panama Canal charges today. As the secretary read the statement that le charges were "false in every particular," Senator Bailey laughed outright as he was passing along the rear of the chamber to his seat. Other senators on both sides of the chamber joined with him, and when the read er reached the statement that a state nent in -a newspaper, which he men tioned. would not be believed, there was general merriment from both sides of the chamber. There was only a small number of senators present when the reading was begun and it was hurried through, the papers accompanying the mes sage not being read at all. The message elicited the greatest interest in the house of representa tives. The members gave close at tention during the reading of the do eument, and there was a ripple of laughter over the president's charae terization of Joseph Pulitzer, pub isher of the New York World. The message, with its accompanying pa pers was referred to a committee. Accompanying the president's mes sage was a large bundle of documents bearing upon the trans.-r of the can al property to the United States. Many of these documents were in French, without English translation. There was nothing which showed di rectly the persons who received the $40,000,000 paid by the United Sta tes, but there was included a list of about 7,000 stockholders in the old and new Panama Canal companies, all of them citizens of France and of the Colombian Republic. There was not the name of a citizen of th-e Unit ed States in the entire list. Attack on Pulitzer. "These stories," the president, in his message, says "were first brought to my attention as published in a pa per in Indianapolis, called the News, edited by Mr. Delavan Smith, The stories were scurrilous and libelous in character and false in every essen - tial particular. Mr. Smith shelter.s himself behind the excuse that he merely accepted the statements which had appeared in a paper published in New York, the World, owned by Mr. * Joseph Pulitzer. It is idle to say that the known character of Mr. Pulitzer and his newspaper are such that the statements in that papei' will be be lieved by. nobody; unfortunately, thousands of persons are ill informed in this respect and believe the state ments they see in print, even though they appear in a newspaper publish ed by Mr. Pulitzer.'' Summarizing the etiarges made in this 3onnection the president says: "These statem-aents sometimes ap peared in the editorials, sometimes in the news columns, sometimes5 in the shape of contributions from indivi duals, either unknown or known to be of bad character. They are false in -every particular from beginning to end. The wickedness of the slander ers is only surpassed by their fatuity. So utterly baseless are the stories, that apparently they represenit in part merely material collected for cam paign purposes and in part stories originally concocted with a view of possible blackmail. The inventor of the story about Mr. Charles P.' Taft, for instance, evidently supposed that at some period of th'e Panama pur chase Idr. W. H. Taft was secretary of war, whereas in reality Mr. W. H. Taft never became secretary of war until long after the whole transac tion in %uestion had been closed. The inventor of the story about Mr. Doug glas Robinson had not taken the trou ble to find out the fact that Mr. Rob inson had not had the slightest con nection, directly or indirectly, of any kind or sort with any phase of the Panama transaction frc>m beginning to end. The men who attacked Mr. Root in the matter had not taken the trouble to read the public documents, which would have informed them that -Mr. Root had nothing to do with the purchase, which was entirely arrang ed through the department of jus tice under then attorney general, Mr. Knox. No Investigation Needed. "Now, the stories as a matter of fact need no investigation whatever. No shadow of proof has been or can be produced in behalf of any of them. They consist simply of a string of infamous libels. In form they are in part libels upon individuals, upon Mr. Taft and Mr. Robinson, for instance. But they are, in fact wholly, and in form. party, a libel upon the United St.ates government. I do not beliere we should concern ourselves with the particuar individuals who wrote the from correspondents or articles in the news columns. The real offender is Mr. Joseph Pulitzer, editor . and proprietor of the World. While the criminal offence of which Mr. Pulit- I zer has been guilty is in the form of a libel upon individuals, the great in- 1 jury done is in blackening the good name of the American people.* It should not be left to a private citizen to sue Mr. Pulitzer for libel. He t should be prosecuted for libel by the government authorities. '1n point of encouragement of ini quity, in point of infamy, of wrong doing, there is nothing to choose be- E tween a public servant who betrays his trust, a public servant who is guil- t ty of blackmail or theft or financial dishonesty or any kind, and a man guilty as Mr. Jos Pulitzer has been ,guilty in this instance. It is, there fore, a high national duty to bring to t justice this villifier of the American ( people, this man who wantonly and wickedly and without one shadow of justification seeks to blackmail the character of reputable private citiz ens and to convict the government of his own country in the eyes of the ci vilized world of wrong doing of the basest and foulest kind, when he has not one shadow of justification of any sort or description for the charge he has made. The attorney general i has under consideration the form in which the proceedings against Mr. Pulitzer shall be brought." The president cites the Act of con gress by which he was authorized to pay $40,000,000 for the canal proper- t ty, and says it was no concern of the t president what the new Panama Can al Company did with the money. Deal Made by Knox. "The Panama Canal transaction i was actually carried through, not by 1 eitehr the then secretary of State, T Mr. John Hay, or the then secretary of war, Mr. Elihu Root, both of whom t however, were cognizant of all the -3- I sential features, but the then attor- I ney general, Mr. P. C. Knox, at pres- I ent senator from Pennsylvania. 1 4 directed or approved every action, and am responsible for all that was N done in carrying out the will of the : congress; and the provison of the law i enacted by congress after exhaustive i examination and discussion weie ra pulously complied with by the exec.u-] tive.'' The action of the government, he says, was wholly uninflueneed by ainy question of who were or were not stockholders, either in the new or the old company. ''If, as a matter of fact,'' he ex plains, ''the canal companies, either or both, had been owned by American citizens or by citizens of any other nationality, it would :iot have al.;r ed in the slightest degree the acti n taken by this government. Our con cern was to get the canal property which was owned by the French com. pany, and to see that the title was clear. Our transactions were carried on openly, 'and were published in de tail, and we dealt solely (so far as the interests of the old Panama Comn pany were concerned) with the liqui dator appointed by the proper French governmental body, the Civil Tribu nal of the Seine. Didn't Manage Distribution of Mon ey. . ''I wish to make as clear as passi ble, and as emphatic as possible, the statement that we did not have any thing to do with the distribution of a dollar of the $40,000,000 we paid as regards any stockholder or bon3. holder of the French companies, save that we followed out the award of the arbitrater appointed in accordance with the decree of the French court, which had dealt with the subject in awarding a certain proportion to t'ie old comipany and a certain proportiP.1.: to the new company. ''As a matter of fact, there is noth-] ing whatever in .which .this govern ment is interested to investigate abiat this transaction. So far as this guv-: ernent is concerned every step of' 4 the slightest importance has been i made public by its 'executive, and e e ery step taken in France has 'thiere been made public by the proper of- 1 ficials.'' The president submitted with th'e message what he said was a full list of the stockholders of the new esmi pany (numbering over 6,000) furnisi ed by Mr. Cromwell, and other papers corroborative of his message. WORLD ANSWERS ROOSEVELT.1 "A Reckless, Unscrupulous Demago gue," it Says-Refers to his "Lamentable Habit of Inaccurate State ments." INew York. December 15.--Th( World. in the cours:e of its answver to Piresident Roosevelt 's references .to that paper, in his special message to 1anno1it muzzle the World. "'While no amount of billinsgate )n his part can alter our determina :ion to treat him with judicial im )artiality and scrupulous fairness; ve repeat what we have already said, hat the congress of the United States ;hould make a thorough investigation )f the whole Panama transaction, hat the full truth may be known to he American people. "The World fully appreciates the ompliment paid to it by Roosevelt n making it the subject of a special nessage to the congress of the Unit ad States. "The World likewise appreciates I he importance of Mr. Roosevelt's tatement when he declares to the ongress that the proprietor of the Yorld should be prosecuted for libd y the governmental authorities, and hat 'the attorney general has under onsideration the form under which he proceedings against Mr. Pulizer hall be brought.' "This is the first time a presideat ver asserted the doctrine of lese ma este or proposed, in the absence of pecific legislation, the critninal pro ecution by the government of citiz ns who criticised the conduct of tha overnment or the conduct of indivi luals who may have had business lealings with the government. Neith r the king of Great Britain nor the rerman Emyeror would venture to xrrogate such power to himself. John Wams's attempt to enforce the sedi ion law destroyed the Federalist par y in America. Yet Mr. Roosevelt, in he absence of law, officially propos s to use all the power of the great st government on earth to cripple he freedom of the press on the pre xt that the government itself has een libelled-and he is the govern nent. "It is true that the World printed he public repo-ts concerning the anama canal affair which resulted 'rom William Nelson Cromwell's ap- I )eal to the district attorney's office luring the recent campaign to pre rent the publication of a story which vas said to be in the hands of the )emocratik national committee. It as Mr. Cromwell's own action which -aised the issue in the campaign. "It is true also that when Mr. loosevelt made his attack upon Dela an Smith the World called attention o certain statements which Mr. oosevelt must have known to be ~alse or misleading, and appealed to ~ongress to end all scandal by a full md impartial investigation. If this e treason, let Mr. Roosevelt matke he most of it. ''Mr. Roosevelt's lamentable habit >f inaccurate statements make it im ossible to accept either his judg nents or his conclusions. In his mes age he does not state correctly even o simple a matter as the pretended sanses of his grievance. The World 2as never said that Charles P. Taft mnd Douglas Robinson made any pro its whatever. Mr. Taft denied that ie was concerned in the transaction .n any way, which denial the World ublished and accepted. It would 2ave been equally glad to print Mr. Robinson's denial could it have sue ~eeded in obtaining one frr,m him.v. as t frequently attempted. The Wo;rld ia no evidence -that he was associat d with Mr. Cromwell, and would ac :ept is word to that efhet, for Mr. -binson is an est;imable gentleman f hg~h character, whose reputation r verr,eity is infinitti b;iter ihan :iit of his distinguishe I. hotther-in ''If the World has libelled anybody e hope it will be punished, but we lo not iritend to be intimidated by MIr. Roosevelt's threats or by Mr. Roosevelt's denunciation, or by Mr. oosevelt's power. ''No other living man ever so gross. y libelled the United States as does ;his presi.dent, who besmirshes the ~ongres, bulldozes judges, assails the ntegrity of courts, sla.nders private ~itizens, and who has shown himself he most reckless, unscrupulous dema rogue whom the American people ev r trusted with great power and an ;hority. 'We say this not in anger, but in ~inere sorrow. The World has im ieasurably more respect for the of ice of president of the United States than Theodore Rloosexelt has ever ;hown during the years in which he 1as maintained a reign of terror and illified the honor and honesty of >oth public officials and private eit zens who opposed his policies or ;hwarted him in his purposes. 'So far as the World is concerned .ts proprietor may go to jail, if Mr. Roosevelt succeeds, as he thraatens; ut even in jail the World will not ease to be a fearless chan'pion of free speech, a free press and a free Teople. ' ENUINE HAND CUT GLASS we don 't sell the a.cid cut. Daniels & Williamson. Mrs. Alice Robertson, TEACHER OF Voice, Piano and Harmony. Studio Over Mower's Store. Open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs days and Fridays. Phone 263. Buying a Piano Dr an Organ is not hard when you come or write to us. Our Pianos and Organs are guaranteed md up-to-date, and at a reasonable price. The cases are beautiful, the inside is nade by the best and most experienced nen in their line, so it is no wonder our Pianos and Organs hold their sweet tone i lifetime. Write us at once for catalog and special rices and terms, stating preference Piano or Organ. Walone's Music House, Columbia, S. C. PIAN4s A2D ORGANS. Z IA/ G. "o sel4 .D 0D CD LA.0. HC)Useal, M.D0. Office Hours - I 0 to a.m. L. A. Riser, M. D. Office with Dr. Houseai. {8 to 9 a. m. Office Hours - 2 to3 p. m. 6.30 tO 7.30 p. m. Boozer Bros., CITY MARKET, 1311 Main Street. Fresh Meat. QuIck Service. Phone 34. FANCY GROCERIES, The best the markets afford. We Ask a Trial Order. BOOZER BROS. Beginning December 5th and lasting for 15 days, we will make a sacrifice sale by giving 25 PER CENT. DISCOUNT on all Clothing, Shoes and Hats, and special low prices on all Dry Goods, Notions and Underwear. This sale Is made for the purpose of clos ng up the business of the - S. S. BIRGE CO. as a corporation. The goods must be sold. .Don't wait, but come ear.y. NOTICE! The County Board of Commission ers for Newberry county will receive applications for the appointment of a superintendent of the county poor house and farm for the year 1909, the same to be filed with the undersigned by 9 o 'clock in the forenoon of De rember 5th next. The board reserves the right to reject all applications. H. C. Holloway, Clerk. Nov. 16, 1908. A-styp-to-dyn. MIade from the long leaf pine. The ~reatest remedy to present time. For ale at Mayes' Drug Store. 1..11..0R.1inwtf. JALL ( FOR YC ihristias Can( Nuts, etc, We can suppl3 TABLE DELI that will pleasE CRANBERRIES A for your Chrig New Year's Dir If you want thii to Eat" call on royslToy We are selling remnant of our at your own pr "ire Works! F Jones' I S. B. JONE! YOUR BA THE NEWBERRY Si lapital $50,000 -- No Matter How Small, t The Newberry Si vill give it careful attent pplies to the men and the IAS. McINTOSH. President. SOME OF OUR To be conservative. To clculae iterest semi-ann To bond every employee. To be progressive and accomn To lend our money to our cus - To treat our patrons courteou: To be liberal and prompt. To secure business from all cle TO BE THE VERY BEST B TO DO BUSINESS WI'I Our institution is under the super examined by the State Bank Examit The Bank at P Pi osperity, DR. GEO. Y. HUNTER, D President. J. F. BROWNE,er. N US IUR lies, Fruits, etc,,aU you with ICACIES tyou. ND CELERY tmas and iner. : : igs "Good us. : : sIToys! r out the Toy stock ice.. ire Worksi! roceru, 3, Prop. NKING! WVINGS DANK. -Surplus $30,000 ko, Matter How Large, wvings Bank ion. This message women alike. J. E. NORWOOD, Cash!er. POLICIES: ually. odating. tomers. ;1y. ANK FOR YOU 'H. vision of and regularly 'rosperitU, . CTS A.sCOnt Cashier.