The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1900-02-07
T.llman Speaks On Philippine
War.

"O.d Time" Republicans.-Apt
Quotations from Scripture.
Recently feature Of the day
proceedings in the Senate was +
forceful pro- Filipino speech by Sena
tor B. R. Tillman. His discussion
of the subject was general.
"Mr. TIllman deprecated the idea
that man is disloyal to the f'g il
he declares his belief that prosecu,
tion of the war in the Philippines il
dsloyalty to the declaration of inde-
pendence, and said he was "ready to
locate the responsibility fur the blood
that has been spilled.
Il impugn no mans motives" be
said, "but whether the President be
most to blame or whether the crime
rests on his dupes and subservient
party dependents say, with all the
emphasis of my nature, that I and
none of those who voted against the
treaty are responsible for the sp llire
of one drop of this innocent blood
that has been shed, and I will net
endure patiently and without resent
ment any such accusation"
Mr.. Til:man tle1 d:s,ussed It
length the race question as it relates
to the Philippines, in the course Of
which be expressed s'rong dissent
from the statement made recently by
Senator Morgan, that tie civil wal
was precipitated by d, signing poll.
ticians who desired to thrust the
negro with social and political
upon the whites of The south.
Scouting the charge the F.lipinos
were not capable Of self-government,
he said:
IF the Filipino leaders and their
followers, those men of affairs, men
so strong in the faith Of the
right of men to govern them
selves after our great example, that,
although lilly armed and without
srtillery, it has required sixty thou.
sand American troops 7er year to
drive them from the field and, even
yet they have not surrendered, but
have adopted guerrilla warfare-if
these are not fit for self-government
under our kindly tutelage, let me ask
of those Republicans here who in
part are responsible for it, and who
we're and are now in absolute sym
pathy with it, how dared they give
the control of southern States into
the hands of negroes as being fit not
only to govern themselves, but also
to govern white men? If the Fllipi-
nos are children, what were and are
the ex.slaves of the south? How
dared Republicans appeal to the
northern masses to compel the south
to grant the negroes free vote and
fair count when it involved negro
rule pure and simple! Were the
fruits of the war mere Sodom apples
to be turned to ashes in such brief
span? Are the 18th, 14.h and 18th
amendments to be nulliied in their
very essence because they failed Of
their purpose in the south? Are
they for home use only? Is the fig
to become again Haunting lie, and
float over a military despotism, first
in the Philippines and later at the
home! Was the memorable COL fict
between slavery and freedom useless
Have We gained nothing? Is the
commercial greed which dominates
in our councils and coerces the presi-
dent to do his bloody and dirty work
to maks of the constitution a new
league with death and covenant
with hell in the interest Of oppres.
sion akin to slavery In order to dc
all these things, must we camp out.
side the constitution and give the
old Interpretation of the southern
slave holders to the declaration oi
independence and nullify all prece
dents and decisions of our supreme
court? Did this nation offer up oI
its best and bravest upon the altar
Of liberty the blood Of several thou
i sand men and spend and destroy five
billions of treasure that we might
have government of the people, by
the people, for the people, to fine
that in the brief span of one mans
life the sacrifice was vain, the c.vi