The news & observer., 1901-12-10
TILLMAN FILINGS DOWN
THE GAGE TO MCLAURlN
He Renews i'm the Senate the Proposition That Both
Men Resign Their Seats in That
Body.
THE JUNIOR SENATOR DOES NOT ACCEPT

question of personal privilege. He had
before him huge pile of manuscript. II
arise to a question of personal privilege
in connection with the published state
ment that / have been excluded from
| participation in the Democratic party"
he announced. With evidence of consid-
erable emotion he proceeded to explain
| that if suhc was the case and if he was
to be without assignment upon commit
tees the right of his State which ne in
part represented in the Senate would
suffer The personal effect of an eXclu-
| sion from representation on committees,
| was he said not of so much Importance
as it's effect upon the State of South
| Carolina.
! The only notice he had ever had, he
| said. that he was to be excluded from
the Democratic caucus came last spring
before the adjournment Of the
Senate when he was accosted by the
| chairman Of the Democratic National
Committee in the cloak room, and asked
why he no longer attended the Demo-
cratic caucuses. Mr.. McLaurin said he
he had replied that in view of his opin-
ion of the questions growing out of the
| Spanish war he thought that mis- pres
ence might be embarrassing. The Wem-
ocratic chairman had replied:
"Then perhaps il would be less en-
barrassing to you not to be invited to
| the caucuSu?"
Mr. McLaurin said he had replied:
Certainly"
/ This incident, Mr.. McLaurin declared,
was the elimination o a long series
| of tc in
ment of the Democratic party against
him.
BY this time the entire Senate was in
| terested. Several Republicans crossed
the political aisle to the Democratic
side the better / listen to what Mr..
McLaurin had to say.
Continuing, Mr. MeLaurin said he
would be silent. He did not fear that
the movement against him was one to
keep alive sectionaiism. For many
years the people OF the South had real
! lied that they had not obtained their
fair share of tho national benefits
Mr.. Mcaurin recalled the fact that,
although Samuel j. Randall had advo-
Gated a protective tariff he had been
! voted for in a Democratic National oCn-
vention for President. Hancock, al
though, he declared that the tariff was
a local issue had been nominated for
/ President and David B. Hill, although
he opposed the income tax had not been
read out of the Democratic party.
The holding of such views by Northern
men, no matter how Diverse did not
endanger the position of certain politi-
cal leaders, and consequently they were
| immune from attack. But when a
Southern man, said Mr.. McLaurin, tried
to get the benefit of the tariff for his
people, those whose political career
might be ended by the success OF his
efforts were ready to crush and hu-
initiate him. He had contended that of
the tariff was q robbery his section
should share in Nthe booty. Upon the
| issue of that speech he had later gone
into campaign in South Carolina, and
although his Democracy had been
Attacked upon the stump, the people of
his State had endorsed him. He de-
I clared that during that compaign "calum-
~, falsehood and trickery'' never before
equalied in American politics had been
employed, and now the principal charge
Il against him was that during the Mckinley
administration he had been bought by
| patronage / and that he had renewed his
| former contract with President Roose-
welt. Entertaining the high personal re-
gard that he did for both the late Presi-
dent and his successor, Mr. McLaurin said
it would be unnecessary for him to say
that neither would stoop to so ignoble
an act 1t was true that an unfortunate
condition of affairs had existed in his
State, and that he had recommended good
| men for office. because he did not desire
to see repetition of the horrible affair
| at Iakeysle, when a negro postmaster
had been burned to death. He had voted
for the war with Spain and declared that
in the same spirit in which he had cast
that vote he felt that he was compelled
to support the administration that con-
Quoted it. He still thought that the
conduc of the war should have been nom
partisan and during its progress he had
never heard from President McKinley's IS
lip word concerning party advantage.
Mr.. McLaurin paid a high tribute to the
late President whom he characterized as
broad statesman and Christian gen.
| tleman"
! Mr.. McLaurin said that he had no Off
cial knowledge of the charge brought
against him by Democratic colleagues
but that from the newspapers he under
stood that the principal charges were
that he had not opposed the ratification
of the treaty of peace with Spain, but
he had upheld the administration in its
| efforts to restore order in the Philip
pines and to that end had voted for an
increase in the standing army aud that
| he was in favor of the upbuilding of the
| American merchant marine.
IF these are the only charges. said
| he dramatically "they are true and I
! glory in them He said he had not
! wished to vote against his party upon