Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-02-08
I|LLMAN|S BRILLIANT SPEECH
FORCEFUL PRO.FlLIPINO SPEECH BY
SOUTH CAROLINA'S SENIOR SENATOR.
A HOME THRUST FOR NEGRO|TES.
The Race Question as it Relates to the
Philippines Curse OF the Bayonct

a feature in the United States
Senate last Monday, january 10Th,
was speech by Senator benjamin
Ryan Tillman, OF this State, on the
Philippine situation. His discussion
of the subject was general.
Senator Tillman deprecated the
idea that man is disloyal to the
flag if he declares his belief that
prosecution Of the war in the Philip
pines is dis!oyalty to the Declaration
OF Independence, and said he was
"rcady to locate the responsibility
for the blood that had been spilled.
| lmpugn no mans motivcs," he
said, "but whether the President be
most to blame or whether the crime
rests on his dures and subscrvicnt
party dependents, | say, with all the
emphasis Of my nature, that | and
none of those who voted against the
treaty are responsible for the spilling
Of one drop OF this innocem. blood
that has been shed, and | will not
endure patiently and without resent
mcnt any such accusation."
Senator Tillman then discussed
at length the race question as it re-
latcs 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 precipitatcd by designing
politicians, who desired to thrust the
negro with social and political equal
ity upon the whites of the South.
Scouting the charge that the Fill
plnos were not capable Of sclf-gov-
crnmcnt, 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
themselves after our great example,
that, although illy-armcd and with
out artillery, it has required sixty
thousand American troops over a
year to drive them from the field.
and even yet they have not surrcn.
dcrcd, but have adopted a guerilla
Wariarc-if these are not fit for self
government under our kindly tutc-
lagc, let me ask of those Republicans
here, who IN part arc responsible for
1t, and who were, and are now, in
absolute sympathy with it, how dared
they give the control Of the South
ern States into the hands of negroes
as being fit not only to govern them
serves, but also to govern white men :?
II the FllipinOS are children, what
were, and are, the cx-slnvcs OF the
South? How dared Republicans
appeal to the Northern masses to
compel the South to grant the ne.
grocs free vote and a fair count
when it involved negro rule, pure
and simple? Were the fruits of
those Sodom apples to be turned to
ashes in such a brief space? Are
the 18Th, l4th and 18th amendments
to be nulli''cd in t"cir very essence
because they failed Of their purpose
in the South? Are they for home
use onl y? Is the flag to become
again 'haunting lic' and float over
a military dcspotism, first in the
Philippines and later at home Was
the memorable conflict between slav-
cry and freedom useless ? Have we
gained nothing? Is the commercial
greed which dominates in our coun-
cils and corrccs the President to do
his bloody and dirty work to make
Of the constitution a new 'lcaguc
with death and a covenant with
he'll, in the interest Of oppression
akin TO slavery? In order 10 do all
these things must we 'camp outside
the constitution, and give the old
Interpretation Of the Southern slave
holders to the Declaration OF In1c-
rcndrnrc and nullify all prcccdcnts
and decisions Of our Supreme Court =?
Did this nation offer up OF its best
and bravrst upon the altar Of liberty
the blood Of 100000 men, and spend
and destroy five billions Of treasure
that we might have government