The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1900-02-08
TILLMAN'S ELOQUENT SPEECH.
The South Carolina Senator On Tho
Philippine Question.


Carolina, delivered an address In the
United States Senate on the Philip
pine situation His discussion of tha
subject was general.
Senator Tillman deprecated the idea
that man is disloyal to the flag il he
declares his belief that prosecution OF
the war in the Philippines is disloyaity
to the Declaration of Independence,
AID said he was ready to locate the
responsibility for the blood that had
been spilled. l impugn no mans mo-
tiyes," he said. but whether the Pres
ident be most to blame or whether
the crime rests on his dupes and the
subservient party dependents, l say,
! with all the emphasis OF my nature,
thar | am none OF those who Votec
against the treaty are responsible TO-
the spilling of one drop OF this inno-
cent blood that has been shed, and
will not endure patiently and without
resentment any such accusation
Senator Tillman then discussed at
length the race question, as it relates
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 Filipl-
nos were not capable of self-goyern-
ment, he said: If the Filipino lead
ers and their followers, those men OF
affairs men so strong in the faith OF
the right of men to govern themselves
after our great example, that although
! illy-armed and without artillery, 1t has
required sixty thousand American
| troops over year to drive them from
the field, and even yet they have not
surrendered, but have adopted guer-
! lila warfare-if these are not fit for
self-government under our kindly tu-
| telage let me ask Of these Republicans
| here, who in part are responsible foT
! it. and who were and are now, In abso-
| lutte sympathy with it, how dared they
give the control of the Southern States
into the hands of negroes as being mt
| not only to govern themselves, but
also tc govern white men? If the Fill
ipinos are children. what were, and are
the ex-slaves of the South? How dar-
ed Republicans to appeal to the Nor
thern masses to compel the South TO
grant the negroes a free vote and
fair count when it involved negro rule,
pure and simple?
Were the fruits Of those Sodom ap-
, Piles to be turned to ashes in such
brief space? Are the 18th, 14th, and
10Th amendments tc be nullified in
their very essence because they failed
of their purpose in the South? Are
they for home use only? Is the flag to
become again 'fiaunting lie and
float over military despotism, first
in the Philippines and later at home?
Was the memorable conflict between
slavery and freedom useless? Have
We gained nothing? Is the commercial
! greed which dominates in our counselS
! and coerces the president to do his
bloody and dirty work to make OF the
constitution a new league with death
and covenant with hell in the inter-
est of oppression akin to slavery? In
order to do all these things must we
camp outside the Constitution and
give the old Interpretation Of the
Southern shareholders to the declara-
ton of independence and nullify all
precedents and and decisions OF cur
supreme court? Did this nation offer
UP of it's best and bravest upon the al
tar Of liberty the blood Of 100000 men,
and spend and destroy five billions OF
treasure that we might have a govern
ment of the people, by the people, for
the people, to find that in the brief
span OF one mans life the sacrifice was
vain, the civil war mistake, and that
the colored race has no rights we are
bound to respect at home and abroad?'
Adverting to Senator BeVeridge's
quotations from the Bible, Senator
Tillman said: II have heard that the
devil can quote Scripture for his OWL
purposes. Why, l con quote Scripture
myself. Uaughter.) Verify, verify, l
say unto you, Senator from Indiana"
pointing his finger dramatically at
Senator Beveridge. who sat within a
few feet of him, you can not gather
figs from thorns, nor grapes from this
ties"
"If we mete out despotism and bayo-
net rule to that people will it not be
meted back to us? 1t need not be from
foreign source, and it can not lie
from a foreign source that the govern
ment by bayonet will ever oppress the
American people. Our danger lies in
familiarizing cur people with despotic
methods, in abandoning the American
ideal and the principles of our fathers,
THE curse of bayonet rule will COME
back to plague you as sure as there Is
a God in heaven"