The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-02-22

oath and with the flag above him,
would lie and cast responsibility where
it did not belong. All. Mr.. President,
we can understand much of discussion
n debate; We can endure much o.
public discussion when there should be
silence, put there is one thing this
country can never stand, and that is
to listen, and without resentment, to
an i~nsinuation that the officers OF our
navy are not men Of honor and integ-
rity and Of truth. The officers appoint
ed to investigate will do their duty. 1
do not know what slums the senator
from Illinois may have dragged to
find the expression OF an opinion that
there is lack of confidence in the per-
sonnet of our navy, but l know he can
not find an honorable or a decent or
a patriotic citizen who will stand up
before the country and endorse for an
instant the u~tterances which the SEN
ator has made.
Mr.. President, I speak as one who
sympathizes deeply with the citizens
Of that unfortunate island now engaged
in this terrible, deplorable conflict. 1
yield to nobody in my desire TO see the
conclusion of that war, but i do say
II ever there was a moment when we
should abstain from outrageous and
gratuitous insult to a friendly nation
that time is today. If ever there was
d lIIIe We SlfOuiu lcIlu our nelp 10 tt-
cry department of the government, il
hould be today. If there was ever a
time when we should refrain from un-
ust and ignorant criticism, it is today.
All! Mr.. president, war may come. l
think myself the day may not be far
distant, and when it comes we will
fight it alone, for there will be no other
nation to lift a hand to fight US. When
that day comes our course must be
arprnallV grounded in the right and
until it comes there is nothing so belit-
ties this people in my opinion as these
unjust and outrageous attacks upon a
friendly government. All. Mr.. Presi-
dent, war is grim decision, and when
it comes it must come so that the peO-
pie of the world. whether they fight
with US or not, can at least aspect our
conduct n u patriotism, and, above
all, Mr.. President, it must come under
circumstances which make us respect
ourselves"
SENATOR LODGE SPEAKS.
Senator Wolcott was followed i'm
mediately by Senator Lodge, of Massa-
chusetts, who also had sat very res
tive under Senator Mason's reflections
upon the navy department. He, too,
spoke with intense earnestness, say
ing: "Mr. President, 1 have no desire
and no intention of saying one word
in regard to the war that is raging in
Cuba. No one can detest the horrors
enacted in that island more than I. No
one desires more than 1 to see the
Spanish power swept from that island,
as it has been from all the states of
South America, but, Mr.. President, that
question is not here. We are face to
face at this moment with a great ma
tional calamity. The American people
have received the awful news Of the
civ IL o. Of tho " rchin M n with n
splendid silence and self-restraint, both
in congress and throughout the cOun-
try. They are waiting sternly, quiet
ly, to know the truth, and the truth
they will have. This is not a question
which involves Cubans or Spaniards.
This is a question which involves brave
American seamen gone to their death
in a foreign port. In the presence of
that calamity what We want is the
truth. How are we to get it? I would
rather trust this investigation to the
officers of the American navy han to
any other men in the country. Does
any one that the captain Of
that ship who, ounde stunned by
the explosion, remained the last upon
the sinking vessel, and who, in the
midst of all that awful terror and ex-
element, with every duty nObly done,
| sent a despatch to this country show
ing a GOODNESS and a nerve which are
an honor to the American name. Does
any one suppose that Captain Sigsbee,
capable of such splendid conduct, is
! going to lie about his ship? The Sec
rotary of the navy is a nan of dis
tinguished ability, of honor and patriot
ism. If any n imagines that Secre-
tary Long will nd tell the truth and
insist upon the whole Of it, he little
knows the character Of the man who
has the honor to fill hat great post at
the head of the navy. I for one trust
that congress will await the action Of
the proper department charged with
this inquiry, and will not attempt to do
anything which could in the least de-
gree derogate from the attitude which
| the American people and congress
| should hold in the presence of a ca
lamity SO dire and 50 tragic as that
which befell the battleship Maine"
SENATOR MAsON'S REPLY.
Senator Lodge also presented a tri-
butte to Assistant Secretary Roosevelt.
Senator Mason was in a calmer mood
when he rose to reply. "M~isquotation
and general spasm will not drive me
from the discussion of this question in
the senate" he began. Continuing, he
| charged Senator WOlcOtt with making
a statement which was not borne out
by the record or by any remarks he
| udu Ildue. he shared, ne sara, All the
| genaral admiration of the various de-
partments of the executive branch of
the government, and Senator WOlcott
could not excel him in that respect.
He CMason) fully endorsed all that
| Senate Lodge had said about the hea
of the navy, with whom he had served
in the house and whom he knew to be
a man of ability, Of great head and a
warm heart. He denied hat his re-
marks contained any reflection upon
Senator Longs integrity or honor or
the integrity or honor of the officers Of
the navy. He also resented the init
nation that he had one into the slums
to find words with which to character
ize the navy department. and repeated
his loyalty to the navy n other de-
! partments.
senator Allen, of Nebraska. said he
desired to secure a vote upon the resO-
! luton, but he desired to reiterate the
I suspicious expressed by Senator Jason