The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-22
Tho Blood That Is in Senator Hoar.

| InO ItlOOu LhhD 10 Az SOh@soA 1890
Actuated by an irresistible yellow i'm
pulse, Mr.. MASON OF Illinois, a gentleman
| who came to the Senate from Chicago with
| a local reputation as a humorist, had been
shrieking out that the country could not
depend upon the Navy Department for an
honest investigation and q truthful report,
in the first place because IL would accuse
the Spaniards In order to screen its own
| officers, and In the second place because 1t
| would be bribed by BLANco to throw the
| blame upon its own officers In order to ac-
| Quit Spain. He had been demanding the
appointment of o joint committee Of Sem
| ators and Representatives to conduct the
| investigation which the Navy Department
and the Administration could not be trusted
to prosecute alone. AS for himself, Mr..
| MASON did not desire to serve:
"You understand I would not be eligible, nrst, by
reason Of lack Of experience and service in this body.
and, second. because I would not truss myself any.
where. II 1 could possibly help IT. where spaniards
could reach me-"
The second reason offered by Mr.. MASON
for declining to gooto Havana to help in
| v~estigate was, of course, sufficient and con-
| elusive. Nobody seemed to perceive the force
Of 1t except Mr.. HoAR of Massachusetts.
He took the first opportunity to question
| the Illinois Senator. The subjoined dia-
logue %thereupon occurred:
mi. HoAR-May 1 aak the Senator from Illinois Q
question 7'
N MAsoN-Certainly.
"Mr. AoAR-I should like TO ask . question in order
to learn whether I understood him correctly. Posi-.
bly, I did not. and I do not want to do an injustice In
my own thought. Did I understand the Senator in
his former speech 70 say that he would not serve on
this committee, II Il were appointed, and to give a.
one reason that he was not willing to be near . Span.
ish stiletto without an ironclad between him and itp
At tho Same time he proposes to expose the COM
mittee, consisting OF other Senators. to that danRora
"Mr. MAsoN-No; I take It there are some on this
noor who would not DO in any danger from Q Spanish
stiletto. They would be perfectly safe.
HoAR-The Senator. then. proposes 70 have .
select committee OF Senators Of that class-
"Mr. MAsoN-Yes;I am perfectly willing.
"Mr. HoAR-who do not agree with himp
"Mr. MAsoN-I am perfectly willing.
"Mr. HoAR-I want to understand his statement.
chr. MAsoS-It was q nero statement. ARTEnus
WARD was willing to sacrifice his wifos relatives.
and I am perfectly willing to sacrifice those Senators
in the American Congress who sympathiEe with the
Spanish people.
Mr.. HoAR-what sort Of an investigation does the
Senator think he would getP
"Mr. MAsox-we would get o very honest ono. b.
cause all Senators arc honest. We admit 1t.
"Mr. not equally eoura0eoIs."
The single CLEAN of humor, therefore,
which was thrown over the otherwise
dismal and discreditable episode of Mr..
MAsoN's speech about the Administration
and the Maine disaster, was not contrib
utcd by Mr.. MASON himself, but by Mr..
| HoAR of Massachusetts. That full-blooded
patriot and fin old Yankee, in the lam
guage of the lamented JERRY RUsK, "seen
| his duty and he don't it," The country 10
| his debtor. So is Mr.. MASON of Illinois.