_November 4, 1904_
Certain slanderous accusations as to Mr. Cortelyou and myself have
been repeated time and again by Judge Parker, the candidate of his
party for the office of President. He neither has produced nor can
produce any proof of their truth; yet he has not withdrawn them;
and as his position gives them wide currency, I speak now lest the
silence of self-respect be misunderstood. Mr. Parker’s charges are
in effect that the President of the United States and Mr. Cortelyou,
formerly Mr. Cleveland’s executive clerk, then Mr. McKinley’s and my
secretary, then Secretary of Commerce and Labor, and now Chairman
of the Republican National Committee, have been in a conspiracy to
blackmail corporations, Mr. Cortelyou using his knowledge gained while
he was Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Labor to extort
money from the corporations, and I, the President, having appointed
him for this especial purpose. The gravamen of these charges lies
in the assertion that the corporations have been blackmailed into
contributing, and in the implication, which in one or two of Mr.
Parker’s speeches has taken the form practically of an assertion, that
they have been promised certain immunities or favors, or have been
assured that they would receive some kind of improper consideration
in view of their contributions. That contributions have been made to
the Republican Committee, as contributions have been made to the
Democratic Committee, is not the question at issue. Mr. Parker’s
assertion is in effect that such contributions have been made for
improper motives, either in consequence of threats or in consequence of
improper promises, direct or indirect, on the part of the recipients.
Mr. Parker knows best whether this is true of the contributions to his
campaign fund which have come through his trusted friends and advisers
who represent the great corporate interests that stand behind him.
But there is not one particle of truth in the statement as regards
anything that has gone on in the management of the Republican campaign.
Mr. Parker’s accusations against Mr. Cortelyou and me are monstrous.
If true they would brand both of us forever with infamy; and inasmuch
as they are false, heavy must be the condemnation of the man making
them. I chose Mr. Cortelyou as Chairman of the National Committee
after having failed successively to persuade Mr. Elihu Root, Mr. W.
Murray Crane, and Mr. Cornelius N. Bliss to accept the position. I
chose him with extreme reluctance, because I could ill spare him from
the Cabinet. But I felt that he possessed the high integrity which I
demanded in the man who was to manage my campaign. I am content that
Mr. Parker and I should be judged by the public on the characters of
the two men whom we chose to manage our campaigns; he by the character
of his nominee, Mr. Thomas Taggart, and I by the character of Mr.
Cortelyou. The assertion that Mr. Cortelyou had any knowledge, gained
while in an official position, whereby he was enabled to secure and
did secure any contributions from any corporation is a falsehood.
The assertion that there has been any blackmail, direct or indirect,
by Mr. Cortelyou or by me is a falsehood. The assertion that there
has been made in my behalf and by my authority, by Mr. Cortelyou or
by any one else, any pledge or promise, or that there has been any
understanding as to future immunities or benefits, in recognition of
any contributions from any source, is a wicked falsehood.
That Mr. Parker should desire to avoid the discussion of principles I
can well understand; for it is but the bare truth to say that he has
not attacked us on any matter of principle or upon any action of the
Government save after first misstating that principle or that action.
But I can not understand how any honorable man, a candidate for the
highest office in the gift of the people, can take refuge not merely in
personalities, but in such base and unworthy personalities. If I deemed
it necessary to support my flat denial by any evidence, I would ask all
men of common-sense to ponder well what has been done in this campaign
by Mr. Cortelyou, and to compare it with what Mr. Parker himself did
when he was managing Mr. Hill’s campaign for Governor; and to compare
what has been done as regards the great corporations and moneyed
interests under this Administration with what was done under the last
Democratic Administration while Mr. Olney was Attorney-General; I
would ask all honest men whether they seriously deem it possible that
the course this Administration has taken in every matter, from the
Northern Securities suit to the settlement of the anthracite coal
strike, is compatible with any theory of public behavior save the
theory of doing exact justice to all men without fear and without
favoritism; I would ask all honest and fair-minded men to remember that
the agents through whom I have worked are Mr. Knox and Mr. Moody in the
Department of Justice, Mr. Cortelyou in the Department of Commerce and
Labor, and Mr. Garfield in the Bureau of Corporations, and that no such
act of infamy as Mr. Parker charges could have been done without all
these men being parties to it.
The statements made by Mr. Parker are unqualifiedly and atrociously
false. As Mr. Cortelyou has said to me more than once during the
campaign, if elected I shall go into the Presidency unhampered by any
pledge, promise, or understanding of any kind, sort or description,
save my promise, made openly to the American people, that so far as in
my power lies I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no
less and no more.