Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-02-07
Tillman on McKinteyism
and the Phil1ppine War.

ion of the subject was general
Mr.. Tillnan deprecated the idea
that a man is disloyal to the flag
if he declares his belief thai pro-
socution of the war in the Philip
pines is disloyalty to the 5declara-
ton of independence, and sad ne
was "ready to locate the RESPONSE
bllity for the blood that bas been
spilled.
81 impuga no mans m,tives, =
he said, "but whether the president
be most to blame or Whather the
crime rests on his dupes and sub
servient party dependents ] say,
with all the emphasis of my nature,
that l and none of those who voted
against the treaty are responsible
for the spiling of one droplof the
innocent blood that has beenEshed,
and 1 will not endure patiently
and without resentment any such
accusation"
Mr.. Tillman then discussed at
length the race question as itrelates
to the Philippines, in the course of
which he expressed strong dissent
from the statement made recently
by Senator Morgan, that the civil
war was precipitated by designing
politicians who desired to thrust
the negro with social and political
equality upon the whites OF the
south.
Scouting the charge that the Fill
pinos were not capable of self-gov-
ernment, he said:
'If the Filipino leaders and their
followers, those men of affairs,
men go strong in the faith Of the
right of men to govern themselves
after our great example, that,
although lily armed and without
artillery, it has required ssiKty
thousand American troops over q
year to drive them from the field
and even yet they have not surren-
dered, but have adopted q guerrilla
warfare-if these are not ft for
self-gevernment under our kindly
tutolage let me ask OF those Repub-
licans here who inIpart are RESPONSE
bic for it, and who were and are
now in absolute sympathy with
it, how dared they give the control
of southern States into the hands
of negroes as being fit notionly to
govern themselves, but also to
govern white men? II the
Filipinos are children, what were
and are the ex-siaves of the south?
How dared Republicans appeal to
the northern masses to compel the
south to grant the negroes q free
vote and a fair count whensit in-
volved negro rule pure and simple2' {
We're the fruits of the war mere
Sodom applesto be turned to ashes
in such brief spanf Are the 18th,
14th, 18th amendments to be nulli-
fed in their very essence because
they failed of their purpose in the
south9 Are they for home; use
only7 Is the flag to become again
a Haunting lie and float over q
military despotism, first in the
Philippines and later at the home?
Was the memorable conflict be.
tween slavery and freedom, use-
less2 Have we gained nothing?
Is the commercial greed which
dominates in our councils and
coerces the president to do bis
bloody and dirty work to make Of
the constitution a new league with
death and covenant with hell in
the interest of oppression akin tc
slavery? In order to do all these
things. must we camp outside the
constitution and give the oldsinter.
probation of the Southern slave
holders to the declaration of inde-
pence and nulify all precedente
and decisions Of. our supreme
courts? Did this nation offer UP
of it's best and bravest upon the
altar of liberty the blood of several
thousand men and spend and de-
ssroy five billions of treasure that
we might have a government Of
the people, by the people, for the
people, to find that in the briei
span of one mans life the sacrifice
was vail the civil war q mistake
and that the colored race has nc
rights we are bound to respect al
home or abroad?"
According to Mr.. Beveridge'G