The Washington herald., 1907-01-18
REIGN
IN SENATE FIGHT
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

ate, under cover Of the Brownsville dis
cussion to get the conservatives of his
party into such position of advan-
tage as TO permit them to dominate the
national convention in 1908. If il should
appear that the Blackburn amendment
must be voted on. the President. as he did
once before. doubtless would call on Ger
tain Republican Senators. with whom he
has some influence, for. assistance. In
such circumstances Messrs. Warner,
Piles, Burkett. Hopkins. Fulton, and some
others probably would support the Black
burn amendment Senator Spooner might
vote for it. too.
The attitude of Senator Lodge interests
the conservative leaders greatly. They
assert that he is committed 10 the Fora
ker substitute. but he has not yet indi-
Gated definitely what he will do. He will
see the President before taking any fur
/ ther action The BIackburn-C -CuIberson
amendment involves the same point
which he attempted to force through by
means Of his substitute offered two weeks
ago, and as the matter stands now he is
IN position 10 do some debating II is
reasonable 70 infer that he will use the
power that this latest development has
I
vantage from his standpoint
\ Peculiar situation.
/ The situation is peculiar. even unique.
The Republican Senators are placed in the
attitude of opposing a proposition of the
/ Democrats to indorse the acts Of a Repub-
| lican President. Not a champion Of Mr..
Roosevelt appeared yesterday among the
Republicans. all of whom felt bound by
the agreement they had reached 10 put
/ through the Foraker resolution for a sim
iple inquiry into the Brownsville riot with
out passing, prior to the inquiry, on the
question of the Presidents unconstitu-
I tional and legal right 20 dismiss the negro
/ troops.
/ AT one time there was talk of treachery
+ in the Republican ranks. and hints that
! administration Senators had induced Sen
ator Blackburn to propose his amendment
/ indorsing the President, but this idea was
soon dissipated.
While no definite plan has been decided
on by the Republicans, il was tentatively
! agreed when their conference ended that
they should vote to table the Blackburn
resolution if it came to a vote. after ex-
planning that it was not necessary or
proper to consider the matter of indorsing
the President until the facts Of the
Brownsville riot had been ascertained.
Senator Aldrich who has never believed
the Brownsville issue was a satisfactory
one on which 10 attack the President. Is
concerned lest the newly developed situa-
ton viii result in strengthening Mr.
Roosevelt, and is bending all his energies
in the opposite direction. He Is by no
means gratified with the results Of Sena-
tor FoTakers efforts. and that circum-
stance makes the Republican complica-
tOnS all the greater. The general i'm
preston is that nothing viii be done
this week, but that the whole matter
will be forced over TO Monday. TO which
date the Senate is expected 10 adjourn
to-day. Mr. Aldrich went TO New York
last night
In concluding his speech yesterday. Mr.
Foraker offered further criticism Of the
arguments of Messrs. Lodge and Spooner.
At one time he read from the Bible
Agrippa's declaration that Paul should
be given the right 10 face his. accusers.
That he said. has been the law of
every civilized and Christian land"
Purdy Testimony Worthless.
The testimony secured by Assistant to
the Attorney General Purdy did not re-
lieve the case from the objections to the
discharge Of the negroes, the Ohfoan de-
clared. Later he touched on the brutality
Of lynchings. North and South.
The discharged soldiers. Mr.. Foraka
asserted, had not taken part in any of
the riots in the last forty years. which
the War Department has charged against
the Twenty-ffth Infantry. He created
something Of a stir by declaring that the
department had suppressed evidence
bearing on one OF the riots. and said that
no reliance could be placed in the reports
OF the Judge Advocate General which
had been furnished the Senate.
THAT these men should he indicted.
tried and judgment executed against
them by Executive order, without the op-
portunity to be heard" said Mr.. Foraker
in conclusion, is a disgrace TO the United
States"