New-York tribune., 1902-05-08
Ter TELEGRAPH To THE rBrprxE.I

Washington. May THE Democratic response
elucdation OF the bill for the establishment Of
| civil government in the Philippine Islands was
made to-day by Mr.. Tillman. of South Carolina
with characteristic vigor of expression and reck-
lessness Of statement 1t was startling in it's
frankness and amazing in its effrontery.
After readins a number of letters from dis
charged soldiers pertaining to the application
Of the water cure" in the Philippines Mr. TIL
man spoke, in part. follows:
The Senator from Maryland CMr. McComas)
injected into this debate for the first time a
discussion of certain phase of the question
that shall briefly alude to. and then dismiss
so far as l am concerned and that is the
hypocrisy Of the Southern people and the repre-
sentatiVes Of the Southern people in standing
mere and demanding that you treat the Filpinos
differently from the way in which We tro,.
southern negroes. When you get ready - ,.,
ever get ready again, to bring into this cbamhar
any substantive legislation looking ~ re,,o,,,,,s
'"e ''"dl'iohs IN the South from Your stand
point or bringing about a change in these con
dluohs' we viii he prepared to make orr case
clear before the American people. and dafapd
brought it about
| do not think it is either proper or v,isa 20
have this question brought in here in this wav
Just as | do not think II is wise or proper to
inject into a discussion of the condition and the
conduct of the war in the Philippines any COM
parison or allusiOn to own unfortunate
tr3tricldaI strife forty years ago 1 will simply
call attention. however to the fact that the
Republican party in its incpency. back in the
'ffties clamOred for the 'fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood Of man. and declared that the
constitution was a covenant with death and
league with hell or words 70 that effect | do
not know that have got the exact quotation.
THE NEGRO QUESTION AGAIN
The agitation which grew up in that un-
fortunate era led to our Civil War. Some five
hundred thousand six hundred thousand men
i do not know how many, and it never will be
known-Offered their lives upon the affairs of
their country, each side Contending for what il
believed to he right
The negro was the casus belli. or his status
was and that brought on the strife. and there
is no use for anybody to deny it. The Southern
which they had inherited from their fathers
that their States had entered into the Union vol
UNFAIRLY; that it was federation, which could
be terminated when the conditions which led up
TO the Union were broken.
do not intend to go back into all this mat
ter but merely to give a general outline.
1t is not worth while to defend secession here
because secession failed il is not worth while
10 revive those bitter memories of the blood
which was shed and poured out freely by brave
men both sides, because II is not worth while
for any man TO dispute the fact that the Con-
federates were patriotic and true to duty
and their cepton OF their duty to their States
and to themselves any who ever wore
the blue. No honest man, no brave man.
decent man. disputes that. The ended; the
South was whipped-or crushed we were never
whipped-but we wore ourselves out whipping
you (Laughter)
The claim on the part of the North was Re
store the Union. give us the Union,'' and Alex
ander Stephens told by Abraham Lincoln at
the Hampton Roads conference to take blank
sheet of paper and write. Save the Union" and
President Lincoln said. "Aleck. you fill out the
balance, and I will agree to it."
The Union restored; the Union was saved
Every Southern soldier knew when he sur.
rendered at AppomdttoX and Salisbury that we
would be nation thenceforth. Every man.
woman and child in the South knew that slavery
no longer existed. We had gone into that fight
we had cast our all into the balance and lost
but was there ever HAT of purpose or OF an
intention that with the cessation of the war;
with the restoration of the Union and the de-
struction of slavery, we would be called upon to