The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-04-24
THE SENIOR ON THE JUNIOR
Til1man Makes Charges of Dis,
honesty - Declares McLaurin
Without Conscience

Replying to a request for his opinion
on Senator McLaurin's speech at Char
lCtte, Senator Tillman spoke as follow
in an interview at his home in Trcn
ton:
alt is contradictory, full of para
doXes and seems intended to pave tn,
way for the Senator's passage into tht
Republican camp. 1t may excite sur
prise outside of the State, but the only
thing which astonishes us here - III:
continued effort TO pose as a Democrat
Democracy has Il broad or genera
meaning and spcciu e. local mean
ing as applied to one ci tho grea: ma
tional parties. My colleague says, 'My
definition of Democracy is liberty fol
man formulated into \ theory of gov
ernment; it means mans lnalienablG
ownership OF himself. 1t means free
thought and free speech. This is not
the definition gwen in any dictionary,
nor is it the definition given by Jeffer-
son, and 1t is only intended to Justify
the Senator's Gesertion of his party,
his treachery TO it's principles and his
betrayal of the people of South Caro-
lima who have trusted him. The Kan
sas City platform is the only cmbodi-
ment of Democratic principles that
can now be recognized and no man
can be considered Democrat who
ignores the principles and policies laid
down IN that platform and persistently
votes with the Republican administra-
ton in both its foreign and domestic
policies.
"Senator McIaurin iterates and re-
iterates the charge that the 'ncw De-
mocracy' is sectional party and then
truthfully CLAIMS that the South which
i'll the last campaign was alone Demo
cratic, SIS the American end of Amer-
Ca. Strange that because Of this fact
and our veneration and love for the
principles upon which our government
rests that this 'broad American states
man and new born Democrat of o.
hitherto unknown type should coun-
Gil our people to accept conditions as
they are and make the most of them
"Senator McLaurin declared in '9S
that Mckinley should be renOminated
by acclamation,' and if his speech
means anything it means that the De
mocratic party ought to surrender all
of its traditions which he claims arc
'long since dead become an echo to
the Republican party, endorse its
foreign policy as well as its domestic
policy, ship subsidy, large standing
army and everything, and subslde alb
solutely as a Democratic party.
eff the administration policy IN every
respect is right, what need is there for
the Democratic party as a political fac
tor? | have never believed that my
colleague would dare face the people of
South Carolina in any political cam
paign again, knowing what do about
him, but as he indicat his purpose to
still masquerade as 8, emocrat and
while attacking me c.h the as one Of
the leaders of the d new De.
mocracy, it is his pun Z to lead our
people into the Republican camp, duty
compels me to speak out and tell GER
tain things.
"Mr Mcl.aurln made in the Senate,
January, 1899, speech which was as
ultra and as pronounced in it's denun-
citation of the acquisition of the Phil
ippines, and portrayed the many dan.
gers which threatened our country in
consequence, as any ever delivered in
that body. Up to Saturday night be-
fore we voted on the treaty with Spain
on Monday, February, 7, 1899, he re-
peatedly told me and other Senators
he was btteily opposed to the ratifica-
tion and would not vote for it. Be-
tween adjournment Saturday evening
and the vote on Monday the mantle OF
'broad American statesmanship' de
scended upon him and few minutes
before the Senate went into executive
session TO consider the treaty and take
a vote as agreed, he gave halting
and lame explanation of his intended
change of front. His vote secured the
ratification because on the first roll
call MIR. Jones, of Nevada, who had
also told us he would vote against the
treaty, passed when his name was
called, and | feel certain if Senator
McLaurin had stood by his party and
by himself, Mr.. Jones would not at
the end have voted for the ratification.
"Conscious as he is that Ills vote
was the governing factor in the train
OF momentons consequences so far
reaching and terrible and involving
the war of subjugation in the Philip
pines, the expenditure of hundreds of
millions of dollars, the loss of thou
sands of lives and other dire results
which no man can foresee, it is natu-
raj for Senator McLaurin to make a
desperate effort to vindicate the Presi-
dents policy and his own action. The
declaration of independence of course
has become obsolete, and an abandon
ment ct dead tradition is the policy
OF a man who behaves as he has done
"Such man has no conscience OF
principles. The eloquent speech which
he delivered in the Senate was largely
stolen from &c rmon delivered by the
Rev. DIR. Henry Van Dyke, on Thanks
giving day, November, 1893, in the
Brick Church Of New York city, two
months before Senator McLaurln de
livered it in the Senate.
81 have not only had to blush be
cause 6lcLaurin had deserted his part,
in great crisis under suspicious cir
cumstances and contrary to his avowet
purpose but have had the modification
Of having other Senators, Northern
gentlemen, speak Of the degradation t
which South Carolina had come il
being represented by man who woul
hplllxr ota ha