The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-27
HUGE SPLIT PENDING.
Republican Party Divided on the
 Phi!ippines.

Pnl!lpplueS.
 From Washington to Chicago Snrohieie'
 An outbreak which is infinitely more threatening and significant than '"d' which has occurred over the Cuban feci- procity bill is now pending on the f'e- publican side of the Senate over the po', icy of Senator Lodge and those or ms Republican colleagues who nave cliai so of the Philippine civil government pni,
 1t Is rapidly being developeA eAstaSats ,ie course pursued by Lodge IS not populdI with majority of Repupiican ,s.,,.e,,,aa who are not memDers or the Soi .s on the Philippines Iney pIi,es' into ac- Republican Party, not tdhns nlto ,,,i count those Of tneir number WHO wi shortly have to hgnt Tor re-tietuo', t a being placed in d most unlortu,'a'e po tion. Lodge dictum that the IT., Iicans shat remain silent while the beih ocdats discuss the military situation III the Fhilippines and thrash over the a.io cities which have recently been brought to the attention of the puDic IS espe- cialty galling to Western oena.ois have already called the attention or sen ator Allison, as chairman or the hePup lican Steering Committee to tue ui s.ne necessity for a radical change or Poiicy by the majority. They nave Saiiea isnt,, ,us attention to the fact that puohc senu- ment throughout the West, and especlaily on the Pacific Coast, in regard to the du- ministration of affairs in the arcnipeiaso Is undergoing change which Is extrelie ly threatening to the Repubncan fdrty. Other Western Senators feel as do Per kins and Bard but have refralneu from speaking their minds to the Republican leaders because they do not want lo pe placed in the position or being charseo with creating discord in the party
 The numerous conferences which nave been held on the floor of the Senate dur ing the past three or four days nave ois- closed that there is desire among he, publican Senators to face the facts ana discuss them without regard to whom they will injure or favor. They believe that if the Democrats are ,permitted to have 6 monopoly of the ammunition which has been furnished by the War De partment and by discharged soldiers ths a1minis.ration and through 1t the Re- publican Party will he placed Tn most deplorabie plight
 The accuracy of the facts which have thus far been published IS not questioned. The report of Major Gardner, the recent action of the President in ordering Gen tral Smith to be tried by court martial, the practical arrest of a number of ofh- cers who are accused of having tortured Filipino prisoners by use of the water cure" and the increasing volume or testl- mony concerning outrages or different kinds, these Western Republicans believe, could be used advantageously for the pur- pose of clearing the skirts of the Re- publican Party.
 They do not want to plunge precip- tately into denunciation of the acts Of American soldiers without some sort of approval from the party leaders. To do so would place them in the category or bolters. They are expected to submit si- lently but none the less cheerfully to the program of the Committee on the fnil- ippines and they are rebelling against that program.
 Sooner or later their rebellion will as- sume the form of an outbreak on the floor of the Senate. That is inevitable. They will not permit the Democrats to enjoy a monopoly of q subject which IS daily becoming more and more important as campaign material. The Pacific Coast Senators cannot afford to remain silent much longer because public sentiment in their States is rapidly becoming crystal lized against a continuation of the scheme of suppression which has been adopted by the War Department. Out there they