A great deal of excitement has been caused in America
during the past week by the publication in the New York World of a letter, apparently obtained by dishonest means, written by Mr. Harriman to Mr. Sidney Webster in December, 1905. According to the letter, about a week before the Presidential election of 1904 Mr. Harriman was summoned to Washington by Mr. Roosevelt to ask him if he would help in raising the necessary campaign funds, as the National Committee, under its chairman, Mr. Cortelyou, had failed in obtaining them. Mr. Harriman goes on to say that after an arrangement had been come to for removing Mr. Chauncey Dopew from the Senate to another post, he (Mr. Harriman) agreed to help to raise £40,000 for the campaign fund, and gave a subscription of £10,000 himself, with the result that at least fifty thousand votes were turned in the city of New York. The President has replied to this state- ment that he never requested Mr. Harriman to raise a dollar for the Presidential campaign of 1904, and he con- tinues "Any such statement is a deliberate and wilful untruth."
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