The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-01-20

and asked the Postofflce Department
to issue a fraud order against him
Dorr declared in his circular:
So sure is Senator Tillman Of
our success that he has subscribed
and paid the necessary fees for 3
quarter section for himself and 10
other quarter sections for 10 Of his
nearest relatives.
It was this bold and outrageous
falsehood, mainly, that caused me
to denounce Dorr as a swindler, as
we'll as to declare in the Senate that
he had no warrant for the asser-
ton. The sleuths which the Presi-
dent put upon my trail have made
their report, and perusal of 1t will
show to any fair mind that so far
from endeavoring to justify Fhe
fraud order against Dorr, they were
really put to work to investigate
me, and endeavor, if possible, 20
discover something tc my discredlt,
while the President directed the in
vestigation. I say this becaues il
is hardly possible that postofice
inspector would set about getting
photographer copies Of the latter Of
United States Senator and trying
to convict him Of lying If the orders
did net come from high source.
Let us suppose for moment tha'
80 So1onh0ni An
claring that I had not undertaken to
purchase any land. What did that
have to do with BORIS transparent
and open use Of the mails to in
| duce mea to send him money to pur-
chase land? Doors declaration that
had paid the fees is an absolute
falsehood. and the postofice inspe2-
tors, while they searched the records
| for entries at CoqI:lle and noted
that Reeder & Watkins had sle.l
several hundred applications.
nowhere mentioned that Any had
been filed in my name or for me.
Therefore the falsehc od is proven on
Dorr, and yet the President declar-
ed:
The assault which Senator Till
| man made upon Mr.. Dorr was.
| according to the inspector, wan
| ton assault made to cover up Sen
ator Tillman's own transactions.
No such statement was made by
the inspector. In fact, so earnestly
intent on convicting Senator Tillman
is the President, he actually com
mits himself to this proposition, to
wit: Tillman voluntarily and with
out any compulsion from any source
and with nothing to conceal brought
up matter il the Senate which ne
need not have done to cover uo
transactions which were absolutely
unknown to anyone except himself
and his correspondents, Reeder i
Watkins, and were entirely honor.
able and clean. Ny exposure closed
out the swindlers. L'orr, when his
mail was not delivered, retired
from the land business and became
a fruit grower, as reported by the
inspectors.
The swindlers had secured a good
many thousands OF dollars before
the exposure in the Senate stopped
people from being duped, and YET
Theodore Roosevelt, who poses as
the only remaining honest man in
public life, in the face Of these
facts Las felt called upon to attack
the character of man whose lnseg-
rity has never before been cues
toned, and whose official position
is second only to his own.
In doing this he makes a false
declaration, for the inspectors no
where say any such thing as above
quoted, which can be proven by al
examination Of their report.
Now, about the lying: My lette:
Of February Is, Of which the Presi-
dent secured a photographer copy,
antedates by four days my statement
In the Senate that mad not bough:
any land, or undertaken to buy any,
and the President considers this pos
tive proof OF falseh>od. I did not
say I had not considered the pur-
chase Of land; l did not say I had
not contemplated purchase of land,
because I had done both. IN my
conversation with the Attorney-Gel.-
eral in regard to the resolution
/ which I introduced, and which ne
himself prepared after we had talked
over the whole land situation, / dis
tinctly remember telling him that
NY interest in the matter had been
first aroused by my desire to pur-
chase some Of the timber land, and
that my coming to him was due 20
the fact that I discovered upon in
vestigation that I could not buy 1t
even by a lawsuit, because was ad-
vised by very able lawyers in the
West. among them the Hon. George
Turner, Of Washington, that in at
tacking the holders Of those Lana
grants 40 one would have any stand
isg in court except the grantor, the
Government itself See Nichols v
Southern Oregon Co., Federal Re
porter, vol. 135, p. 234.)
I was perhaps dis:ngenuous; bui
moments thought will convince
any honest-mi2deG man that-as |
had not signed any papers, had not
paj5 any money, had taken nobodys
receipt, usual processes W which one
undertakes" to buy land-I was
! speaking accurately and not falsely.
Everything hinges on the meaning
of the word undertaken" and my
use Of it. Did mean to conceal the
fact that I was anxious to buy some
of this land? Not at all. Did :
mean to attack Dorr as swindler
when I myself was engaged in a dis
honest and dishonorable transact
| ioo7 That is what the President