Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-13
Mr.. FRYE'S SPEECH.
He Addresses the Senate on the
Hoar Resolution.
HAULING DOWN THE FLAG INCIDENT.
Mr.. BIount's Report Said to Con-
tain No Word of Truth.
MR.. STEVENS DEFENDED,

House bill to improve the methods Of ac-
counting in the Post Office Department was
reported back by Mr. Cockrell (Mo) from
the joint committee on the executive de-
partments. and was placed on the calendar.
A further conference was ordered on the
Hudson river bridge bill, and Messrs. Vest
tAIo.). German (Md.). and Frye (Me.). were
appointed conferees on the part of the Sen
ate.
Mr.. Frye ON the HOar Resolution.
| The resolution offered by Mr.. Hoar (Mass.)
last Monday, calling on the President for
Information as to the appointment Of Mr..
Blount as commissioner to Hawaii, as to
his instructions and proceedings, &C.. was
laid before the Senate. and Mr.. Frye (Me.)
addressed the Senate thereon. He said that
he did not take the floor for the purpose of
discussing the Hawaiian question.
The Senate was not in a condition for
that discussion. 1t was absolutely neces-
there should be thorough and COM
plete official investigation Of the
tacts and report made to the
Senate. He was hoping that the COM
| mittee on foreign relations would make
such investigations; and, after that was
done, he hoped to have an opportunity of
addressing the Senate on the general sub
ject.
Mr. Gray's Flag Remark.
Mr. Frye quoted from Mr.. Gray's remarks
last Monday sentence as to the American
| flag having been used for the purpose of
dishonor, and said that one or two other
Senators had made similar statements.
| What, Mr.. Frye asked, was to be inferred
from Mr.. Gray's declaration? Nothing un-
der the sun, except that the United States
minister to Honolulu has dishonored the flag
of his country, and had undertaken to COM
only have derived information authorizing
him to make such a statement from the
Blount report.
Mr.. Gray said that his statement was
| founded not wholly or in a large part on
Mr.. Blounts report, but was founded
largely on the documents sent to the Sem
ate last February, when the treaty of an
nexation was sent for the action of the
Senate. 1t was founded on the letters Of
Capt. Wiltse and Mr.. Stevens.
| Mr.. Frye did not see how Mr.. Gray could
have arrived at any such conclusion from
the papers to which he referred; and he
quoted sentence from President Harri-
sons message.
Mr.. Gray said that he did not refer to
President Harrison's message but to the
documents accompanying II.
Mr.. Frye said that he did not know how
far Mr. Blount's report was before the Sen
ate.
Blount's Report CcOred.
He did know that It was before the coun-
try in its entirety, and that It was before
| the House in Its entirety. He did not see.
therefore that there ought to be any deli
cacy about a reference to the Biount re-
port, for 1t was, today. public property
In his judgment that was a most danger
Gus report-tco dangerous for any Senator
to base any serious attack upon against the
character Of any private citizen of the Unit
ed States. He (Mr. Frye affirmed, without
hesitation, that Mr. Blount, in his report.
had not written one line of truth: nor given
one unprejudiced opinion; nor rendered one
impartial judgment. He (Mr. Frye assum-
ed that Mr.. Gray's statement was an at
tack on Mr.. Stevens-who was charged with
having dishonored the flag and committed
an act of piracy.
Mr. Stevens, he said, had been born in
the state of Maine. over seventy years ago.
Mr.. stevens Defended.
More than forty years he had been a
prominent figure in that state. The public
eye of Maine had necessarily rested upon
him. For more than thirteen years he had
represented the United States government
as minister at Paraguay, Urugay, Sweden
and the Hawaiian Islands, and had made
international law a careful study. Such a
man had been made the target for abuse
and had been charged with an act of
piracy. The President of the United States
Mr. Frye exclaimed pasSonately, could
and did, in spite of Constitution and law
make Mr.. Blount paramount to Mr.. Stevens
but in intelligence, in education, in integrity
of character in familiarity with affairs. in
experience of life, especially of public life
in knowledge of International law, in ac-
quaintance with the usages and disagree
ments of diplomacy, in devotion to the in
terests and honor of his country, In fidelity
to our Christian civilization. Mr.. Stevens
is paramount to Mr.. Blount and no Presi-
dent-not even Mr.. Cleveland with all his
Ipower-can change that condition.
| Mr.. Frye read long extracts from Mr.
Stevens newspaper statement AMI said:
much 1f asaonSres ahat mo- eiiizen
of Maine had ordered the American flag
hauled down and he complimented the ad-
miral who did haul 1t down admiral Skier
retO that in his dispatch, he said he had
done 1t lin obedience to the orders of Com
missioner Blount."
A Charge Against the eAdministrat ton.
Mr.. Frye went on to say that he had no
doubt that it might become necessary to
break down Minister Stevens He had just
received reliable information reading from
a slip of paper that the purpose of the ad-
ministration was to charge that Stevens
was a party to corruption, employed to
break down the queens government and to
establish a revolutionary government. That,
Mr. Frye exclaimed, did not amaze him.
Mr.. Gray-"Does the Senator make that
charger"
MIR. Frye-'I say that have information
which regard as quite reliable that that is
the purpose. l did not make the charge"
Mr.. Gray-"Will you give your authority
for it?''
Mr.. Frye-'I am not at liberty to do So,
but l am fully convinced myself that any
means will be resorted to to break down Mr..
Stevens. Whether money was or was not
expended by the revolutonists, l do not
know; but as to Mr.. Stevens having any
participation in corrupt practices to re-
move one government and create another
feel able to say that 1 do know that there
is not one word of truth in it,"
Nr. Vests Reply
At the conclusion of Mr.. Fryes speech the
Senate was addressed by Mr.. Vest, who said
that, as he was on the eve of leaving the
| city, he did not wish to lay himself open to
the charge of evading responsibility Oh the
Hawaiian question. He commented on the
partisan speeches of Senators Hoar and
Frye, and said, in reference to Mr.. Frye
| that on all party questions he (Mr VesD
would just little trust him as he would
trust hungry wolf when the bleat of the
farmers lamb was heard in his immediat e
| vicinity. He ridiculed the Christian pre-
| tensions of Mr.. Stevens and the New Eng
land revolutionists of Hawaii and said that
| they had Christianzed the natives out of
| their country, and had taken possession of
| it under the name of God, and then divided
the lands among themselves under law
! do hxy har a n nr1oht