The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-04-06
THE CAUSE OF THE Beers
ADVOCATED BY AN ASSISTANT SEGRE-
TARY OF MGKINLEYS CABINET.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY DAVIS
To Resign and go upon the Lecture
Platform-To Tell the People What
He saw and Learned In south Africa.
To Urge the American People To SYM
pathize with the Beers and ''Let the
World know such an UnhoIy War
Should STOP"

Should Stop:
Washington. April Webster Da-
Wis, assistant secretary of the interior,
who has just returned from South At
rica today, his withdrawal
from the department and has prepared
a letter of resignation for submission
to the president to take effect very
shortly. He will go on the lecture
platform in the interest of the Beers.
Mr.. Davis says that as a result of
his visit to the Transvaal he feels inn
PEELED to tender his resignation as as
sistant secretary of the interior. He
will at an early date deliver a lecture
in this city in the interests of the
African republics. Mr.. Davis feels
that this in the best way to arouse
the enthusiasm of the American peo-
pie in behalf of those republics and
awaken attention to the justice of
their cause.
Mr.. Davis decided to resign because
OF the acceptance OF an invitation 10
deliver a lecture on the South African
war and he felt that as an official he
could not express his views with such
freedom as he could as a private citi-
zen. The invitation was extended by
n~on-partisan citizens of Washington
and was not inspired in anyway by
persons directly connected with Boer
interests. Mr.. Davis said today:
1T is purely a matter of sympathy
on my part. l went to South Africa
unprejudiced, visited both armies, saw
much of the British soldiers n people
n I'D a1-4 T~~ fnr
seeing what 1 did l made UP my mind
that the cause of the Beers was just,
that the two smallest republics in the
world were struggling against the
greatest empire in the world for JUS
tice and independence. The struggle
seemed to me very unequal. The
whole number of Beers including men,
women and children, is not greater
than the population of the city of
Washington, and yet these brave peo-
pie have courage to put up the great
est fight in history against an empire
of 400, 000, 900. 1 concluded at once that
my sympathies were with those strug-
Cling for liberty, and 1 feel that the
American people should sympathize
with them in their fight for justice and
independence.
when I entered the train at Pre-
toria, on my return home, fully 1000
men and women, mostly women, whose
husbands and fathers and sons were
al the front, gathered at the station
to bid me good bye and as the tears
rolled down many Of their faces, they
made the last request Of me that l do
everything within my power upon my
return home to let the American peo-
pie Enow of their exact condition, to
let them know how they had been
abused and outrageously -misrepresent-
ed b enblish. English correspondents
ave no trouble in getting dispatches
over the cable lines, as they are con
trolled absolutely by the British, while
it is impossible for information re-
garding the situation from the Beers
StandpointS to reach the American
| people. If I did not, as a free Ameri-
can, decide to listen to their appeals
my conscience woul burn and the
faces of those suffering people, as
| brave and as noble as God yer let
live in any land, would haunt me as
long as I live. / am, therefore, deter
mined to do everything in my humble
| way to assist them. Their cause is just
and in God is their trust and in the
| light of the past history Of the Afneri-
can people who went through the same
struggle, I believe the Beers will win"
Mr.. Davis was asked what course he
would AVE the people of this country
pursue in order to assist the Beers. He
replied:
ID anything and everything within
their power, and let Great Britain and
the world know that the sympathies
of the American people are not with
Great Britain but with the Beers and
in the interests of humanity and civil
lization. We should let the world
know that such an unholy war should
stop and stop at once"
Mr.. Davis since his return to this
country has had numerous invitations
to deliver lectures, wi has so far de-
cided to accept only that extended by
the citizens of Washington. This.
lecture probably will be delivered
next Sunday night. Mr.. Davis denied
that he brought with him a commune
cation to this government from Presi-
dent Kruger. He admitted, however,
that he had had several conferences
with President Mckinley, but declined
to make public what had passed be-
tween them.
When asked as to whether he would
go on the stump during this campaign
in the interest of the republican party
Mr.. Davis said that he did not care tC
look into the uture n that all he
had within sight at present was his
lecture in Washington.
He had no criticisms to make in re-
gard to the administrations attitude
concerning the war in South Africa.
Secretary of the interior Hitchcock
sal today that the announcement o,
Mr.. Davis intention to resign was
complete surprise to him. He had ex
pected that Mr.. Davis would resume
his duties, although he had not seer
nor heard anything of him sine his re
turn until today when he was informed
hat he was to resign.
Mr.. Davis formal resignation wa!
sent to the White house later in thu
day through his private secretary. A
the White house no statement was OBJ
ainable concerning the resignation
other han the fact that it had beee1
! received, and the officials declined 4
say whether it would be accepted o
not.