The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-04-02

Senator Tillman interrupted al this
juncture say that any child would know
that the vessel was blown up from the
outside What he wanted to know, he
said, was who did it. If the committee
know, the senate should, he said. be in
formed and the committee should not
pursue its usual course of keeping i'm
portant developments from the senate.
This intimation was made in a brief
speech in Senator Morgan's time and
created quite a scene. Senator Quay,
member of the committee, demanded that
Mr.. TilIman should give names when he
made charges.
The South Carolina senator was pro-
ceeding in the same general line, when
Mr.. Morgan, who had grown very impa-
tient. asserted his right TO the floor. COM
handing Mr.. TilIman to take his seat.
This he did and the incident was ended
for the time being, allowing the debate to
proceed. Senator Pettus supported and
Senator Caffery opposed the resolution.
CONFIDENCE IN MCKINLEY.
Mr.. German referred to the recent unan-
imous action of congress in entrusting
the vast sum of $50, 900 900 to the president
for his expenditure in maintaining the
dignity of the country, and said that
since the days of Washington no such
confidence had been imposed in a chief
executive Of the nation, but that while
this was a great trust, it carried with it
vast responsibility. So far, the legisla-
tive branch of the government had been
united in support Of the executive. 1t
was evidently impossible to preserve this
cohesion on the present proposition, and
he counselled that 1t be not pressed.
Senator Pettigrew took a similar posi-
ton. He said he was willing to support
the administration in all reasonable and
just measures in preparation for what ap-
peared an inevitable war, but he did not
intend because Of his loyalty in this re-
spect to be induced to give his adherence
10 a measure that did not appeal to his
own judgment. The islands were, he
said, fully 1,500 miles from our own coast,
and to attempt to acquire them now
would be in violation of our policy of
not annexing territory which is not con-
tiguous. He said there was no assurance
beyond the word of senator's that the
president really desired the purchase of
the lSiduuS, anu lILlIndleu IHdl tue COUl-
mittee on foreign relations had taken ad-
vantage of the present apparently friendly
spirit of congress to spring a question of
policy which at least had only had a
brief consideration from the executive
He said Senator Lodge had had a report
in favor of the policy now undertaken,
in his desk for a year and that the friends
of the measure sought to get it through
now under the stress of war pressure. He
called attention to the fact that Senator
Lodge had said that the islands could
not be annexed in time of war, and if
this was true, and with war so imminent.
as il was, it was evident that there would
not be time to complete the purchase in
time TO make them available. If there was
going to be war, he thought the United
States could secure all the coaling sta
tons necessary on the island of Cuba,
and that if there was no war there none
would be needed.
Senator Lodge replied briefly TO this, adj
hitting his long advocacy of the acquisi-
ton of the Danish possessions and ex-
planning his efforts to secure action at
the present time. He said he had called
upon the president with reference to the
purchase Of the islands. and that not only
he. but the naval officials, had concurred
in the opinion that their possession would
be of inestimable value in case of HOSTILE
ties in the West Indies.
Senator Perkins and Senator Elkins,
both Republicans, attacked the purchase
proposition as unwise, in that il was LA
BILE 70 involve US in extra expense and
unnecessary entanglements.
Senator Teller stated that ordinarily he
would favor annexation and that he had
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