The Panamá Libel Suit

THE PANAMÁ LIBEL SUIT . Mr. Roosevelt's Panama libel sult against the World had its genesls durin g the last presidential campaign in a complaint made by William Nelson Crom- well through his lawyer, W . J. Curtis, to Distriet Attorney Jerome on Octobe r 1, 1908, that certain persons were trying to blackmail him by reason of his connection with the sale of the Panama Canal to the United States . On October 2 the World received information of Mr . Cromwell's complaint, and a reporter wás sent out to cover the story. He was unable to get an y conformation from the district attorney's office, and so reported to the elty editor. Nothing was written and the matter was dropped. Late the same evening Jonas Whitley, a former newspaper man employed by Mr. Cromwell as a press agent, came to the World office and told the managin g editor that the World was about to print a Panama news article that wa s entirely false. The managing editor knew nothing about it, so he inquired a t the elty editor's desk . He was told that the World had no Panama article of any kind or descripMon, but that it had been trying to verify a report of a complaint made by Mr. Cromwell to the district attorney and had been unabl e to do so. MR. WHITLEY STATED SUBSTANCE OF THE COMPLAINT . Mr. Whitley had voluntarily related the substance of the complaint . He sai d that the persons who were alleged to be trying to blackmail Mr . Cromwell pre- tended that Charles P. Taft and Douglas Robinson were members of a syndicat e interested in the sale of the Panama Canal, and these persons tllreatened to exploit the story for political purposes unless Mr . Cromwell bought them off . A synopsis of Mr . Whitley's aecount of the Cromwell complaint was the n dictated to a stenographer, and the typewritten copy was turned over to Mr . Whitley to revise. This manuscript is still in possession of the World . I t shows that Mr. Whitley seratched out the name of Charles P. Taft and sub- stituted the name of Henry W. Taft. Then he erased the name of Henry W . Taft and restored the name of Charles P . Taft . The news article, as revised by Mr. Whitley, was printed in the World the following morning—October 3, 1908 . lt contained the following : " In brief Mr. Curtis told Mr. Jerome it had been represented to 1Ir. Crom- well that the Democratic national committee was considering the advisahility o f inaking public a statement that William Nelson Cromwell, in connection wit h Mr. Binan-Varilla, a French speculator, had formed a syndicate at the tim e when it was quite evident that the United States would take os-er the rights of the t'rench bondliolders in the De Lesseps Canal ., and that Ihis syndicat e iucluded anioug others Charles P . Taft, brother of William H. Taft, and Dougla s Robinson, brother-in-law of President Roosevelt . Other roen more prominent in the New York world of finance were also mentioned . Aceording ta the stor y unfolded by 'Mr . Curtis it was said that * * * these financiera invested their money because of a full ktnowledge of the intention of the Goverumen t to acquire the F rench property at a price of about $40,000,000, aud thns- because of the alleged information frmn high Government sources—were enabled to reap a rich profit . " After Mr. Whitley liad íinished revising this article he telephoued to AIr . Cromwell and then told the managing editor of the World that Atr. Cromwel l would lilce to make a statement . Very late that niglit Air. Cromwell telephoned to the world office .in(l dictate d a statemeut to one of the Wor1d's stenographers ., The atenogral~her's note s were read over to him to make sure that tliere was no error ; he apprn~ ed tli-en) , and this statement was printed exactly as dictated by Mr. Cromwell . 301 304 THE STORY OI' PANAMA . Dealing with the purehase of the Panama Canal, Mr . Roosevelt asserted that the United States "paid $40,000,000 direct to the French Government, getting the receipt of the liquidator appointed by the French Government t o receive the same " ; that " the United States Government has not the slightest knowledge as to the particular individuals among whom the French Governmen t distributed the sum " ; that " this was the business of the French Government " ; that " so far as I know there was no syndicate " ; that " there certainly was no syndicate in the United States that to my knowledge had any dealings with th e Government, directly or indirectly " ; that " the people have had the Inost minute official knowledge " of the Panama affair ; that " every important step and every important document have been made public " ; and that the " abomin- able falsehood " that any American citizen had profited from the sale of the Panama Canal " is a slander, not against the American Government, but agains t the French Government . " THE wORLD' S EDITORIAL REPLY TO PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT . Up to this time the World had not discussed the Panama matter editorially , but when Mr. Roosevelt went so far as to tell the American people that the United States Government " paid the $40,000,000 direct to the French Govern- ment " it seemed to the World that the tiene had arrived when the country wa s entitled to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . In an editorial flatly challenging some of Mr. Roosevelt's statements, and proving its case b y the official records, the World demanded a congressional investigation into th e Panama scandal. It said : " In view of President Roosevelt's deliberate Inisstatements of faets in hi s scandalous personal attack upen Mr . Delavan Smith, of tale Indianapofis News , the World calls on the Congress of the United States to make immediately a full and impartial investigation of the entice Panama Canal scandal . * * * "The natural query of the Indianapolis News as to `Who got the money? ' was based on the World's historical summary of Mr. Cromwell's connection with the Panama Canal . The inquiry was originally the World's and th e World accepts Mr . Roosevelt's challenge. If Congress can have a11 the documents in the case, as Mr. Roosevelt says, let Congress make a full and com- plete investigation of the Panama Canal affair, and in particular of Willia m Nelson Cromwell's relations with the French compauy, with Panama, and with the Government of the United States. Let Congress officially answer the ques- tion, ` Who got the money?' * * * " Mr. Roosevelt says ` the Government paid this $40,000,000 direct to the French Government' :lar . Cromwell testifies that, the United States paid th e money to J. P. Dlorgan & Co. Mr. Roosevelt says 'the French Government distributed the sum' : -'\Ir . Cromwell testified as to how he distributed it . Mr . Roosevelt talks of ` getting the receipt of the liquidator appointed by the Frenc h Government to receive the same ; ' Mr. Cromwell testified : ` Of the $40,000,000 thus paid by the United States Government $25,000,000 was paid to the liquidator of the old Panama Canal Co. under and in pursuance of an agreemen t entered into between the liquidator and the new company . Of the balance o f $15,000,000 paid to the New Panama Canal Co. $12,000,000 have already bee n distributed among its stockholders and the remainder is now being held await- ing final distribution and payment.' * * " Whether Douglas Robinson, who is DIr . Roosevelt's brother-in-law, or an y of Mr. Taft's brothers associated himself with Mr . Cromwell in Panama ex- ploitation, or shared in these profits, is incidental to the main issue of lettin g in the light. 1Vhether they did or not, whether all the profits went luto William Nelson Cromwell's hands or whatever became of them, the fact that Theodor e Roosevelt, as President of the United States, issued a public statemeut abou t such in important matter full of fiagrant untruths, reeking with misstate- ments, challenging liase by fine the testfmony of his associate, Cromwell, an d the official record, males ft imperative that full publicity come at once throug h the authorlty and by the action of Congress . " President Roosevelt theu took stops to find out if among the records an d archives received by the Isthmiau Canal Connnfssion froni the New Panam a Canal Co. there were any compromisin~, documents. In obedience to hi s ordens the documenta viere examined by Judge Paul Charlton, of the Wa r Department, and Mr . Rogers, general counsel of the Isthmian Canal Commis- sion. Their report was transmitted by Gen . Lnke Wright, then Secretary of War, to President Roosevelt on December 14, 1903. It was to the effect that the records and archives received from Paris contafned solely engineering data . THE STORY OF PANAMA . 30 5 PRESIDENT ROOSE4ELVS AMAZING SPECIAL MESSAGE . On the following day President Roosevelt sent a special message to the Con- gress of tbe United States which is unique in American history . In it he said : " In view of the constant reiteration of the assertion that there was som e corrupt action by or on behalf of the United States Goverument in connection with the acquisition of the title of the French company to the Panama Canal , and of the repetition of the story that a syndicate of American citizens owne d either one or both of the Panama companies, I deem it wise to submit to th e Congress all the information I have on the subject.

Load more