The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-09
SENATORS STuNG BY SARCASM
TURPIE TURNS LOOSE ON SHER-
MAN AND LODGE.

Hait-Ihe speech Made in support
of CaIFs Joint Resolution in Fa-
vor OF Intervention in Behalf OF
Cuba.
Washington. April S-Senator Turpie,
dem, Of Indiana, who has achieved quite
a reputation in the Senate for his skill
In clothing the most stinging sarcasm
in picturesque language, gave an illustra-
ton Of his powers in that line to-day. az
fordng an hour and a halfs entertain
ment TO his brother senators and TO a
large audience in the galleries. The speech
was made in support CT the joint resolu-
ton, introduced on April l by Mr.. Call,
dem. of Florida, proposing intervention
in the war now being prosecuted in Cuba.
The objects of Mr.. Turpie's invective were
not so much Gen. Weyler and the Spanish
government, as the chairman of the
committee on foreign Relationship Sher-
man, rep, of Ohio, and the junior senator
from Massachusetts. Mr.. Lodge, rep. He
ascribed to Mr.. Sherman helpless inertia,
delay and irrational obstruction; and spoke
Of his taking refuge in the crypt of the
conference committee, very glad to be rid
of his former action.
Mr.. Lodge was portrayed by him as be
longing to the lingo class of extremists,
and as being singularly gifted with the
power TO clothe an interesting and excl
ting subject with all the dullness Of the
timeworn commonplace. He drew an
amusing sketch OF the controversy be-
tween Mr.. Lodge and the Spanish minis
yer. ana SAID that ne expected II 70 end
in a duello, in which the champion OF SEN
apcrial privilege would go into the lists,
fully armed, his visor down, and his lance
'tt rest. But, instead of that. the junior
ROY a
to the room OF the committee on foreign
relations and RECALLED himself on "puffs,
mere puffs.' Mr.. Turpie closed his sar-
castle remarks on Mr.. Lodge by the quo
tatiOn that "PiGmies are pigmies still;
though perched on Alps"
After the above described personal re-
ferenceS 10 Messrs Sherman and Lodge.
Mr. Turpie said 1t was impossible to con-
ce!Ve of "a more wholly unlegislative leg
islative proceeding, more wholly abnor-
mai proceeding, than the action taken by
the chairman of the committee on foreign
relations with reference to the Cuban
question There could not be a more I'M
fortunate disposition of that matter than
that which il suffered from the action, the
inaction and the reaction of the honorable
chairman Of the committee on foreign re-
latons."
Mr. Turpie contrasted the joint resolu-
ton introduced by Mr.. Call with the con-
current resolutions reported from the con-
ference committee. There was in the
former no double entendre, as there was
IN the other 1t contained plain state
illtlll CT the Necessity OF inter pbSlllOn III
the third resolution of the conference re-
port intervention" was mentioned twice.
Int 1t did not say on which side the United
states should intervene. For his own
part, he was in favor of intervening on the
side of Cuban freedom and independence;
and for the sake of freedom and indepen-
dence; and for no other reason or cause.
| He had listened to twenty or thirty 'ad-
| dresses by the junior senator from Mas
sachusetts and Ito remarks on several
! occasions by the senator from Ohio, but all
| that he had been able TO gather out OF
! them was that there was war in Cuba and
| that the Cuban question was great ques-
| tion. Laughter). The Senate had heard
| nothing from the chairman of the commit
| tee on foreign relations as to the territory
in the hands of the Cubans. That senator
| seemed to be as much afraid of approach
! ing that territory as Cen Weyler himself
was. He had mot even looked over the
fence. -" (Laughter). He CMr Turpie) pro-
/ posed to take a fair and impartial view Of
| that territory and its condition.
He then proceeded to draw a sketch of
the Cuban government and of the opera
| tion of the forces on either side.
| He had kept tally, he said, of the raids
\ made by the Spanish troops upon coun-
| try stores, in the eastern portion Of the is
! And he argued that the very existence of
country stores in that region meant that
! there was no thieves there, or that the
| thieves had been oYerawed or punished
i 1t meant that there were no burglars, no
\ robbers in that region: or that they had
! been ,overawed or punished. He reminded
A
captain general of Cuba made pause in
| his campaign, mot so long pause, he
added, as the chairman OF the committee
| on foreign relations made IN his Q4augh-
| teri. Gen. Weyler had made a pause and
! had issued proclamation onering am
l nesty to the priests who were within the
revolutionary lines. He argued from this
! that where there were priests there were
churches; and where there were churches
| there We're people. But not priest had acc
cepted the offer of amnesty. He spoke of
| the Weyler campaign as being in imitation
of that of the Duke of Alva in the Meth
erlands, and said that the result would he
the same The Netherlands had been lost
no Spain; and Cuba would be lost to Spain.
( May he exclaimed. Cuba is lost to
spain irretrievably lost. There IS no more
chance on the face of things to-day for
the re establishment of the Spanish gov
crhment in the island of Cuba than there
is for the re-establishmen Of the French
dominion in San Domingo"
be added that the Cuban republic was
an organized body; that 1t had a coun-
try; that It had maintained itself for
itself the right and title to recognition as
u beligerent. He quoted from the Earl
/ of Chatham's speech to the lords of Great
Britain in defense of the American colon
7 les, these words MY lords, you can
not conquer America; you may raise arm
| les; you may make campaigns you may
| even win battles; you can never subdue
| the spirit of liberty in that people,"
And MIR. Turpie added, 'it is the
! spirit of liberty that is abroad in Cuba,
1
of Spain, nor the gates OF hell can pre-
vail against it."
MI Turpie recalled and ridiculed the
scene in the Senate when Mr. Lodge he
gan, continued and concluded his per
sonal explanation" in reference to the
newspaper statement of the Spanish min
lister He had supposed that it was such
a serious business that there would have
to be. a physical adjustment of it, But
when the Junior senator from Massachu-
sets returned to the Senate chamber on
the self-same day. to explain his expla-
nation, and to expound and explore his
explanation, he began to see diminu-
tion in the size and bulk of the Cuban
question, and to conceive that there would
be a duello between the Spanish minister
and the distinguished Junior senator from
Massachusetts. He had supposed there
! was nothing left to be done, but to select
seconds and to make a choice of Nyeap-
ons. A friend had said to him. however
that his suggestion was premature, and
EUEnV NIT