Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-01-12


secure the passage OF a resolution and
to press the department of Justice to
bring suit against the corporation which
holds so much of the public domain In
the west, and will not sell it to settlers
under the terms of their grants from the
government.
Skilled and Cunning
HE has prepared his indictment witt
consummate ability and SKILL He is
even cunning in the apparently innocent
pretense that in making search
through the secret service for one kind
of malefactor he has run down another
and the case OF that one, of such Sc
rious Importance, that his sense Of Of
fetal obligation compelled him to prompt
action. Mark you, lie has been in the
possession of all the facts In this case
since July last, and men will be curious
to know why, If his zeal was honest,
he did not make them known then"
Quoting from the presidents message
to the house of representatives on jan
uary T. in which he said he had no
charges of corruption against congress
nor against any member of the present
house, Mr.. Tillman said:
1T follows that he found no grounds
for indicting me in the courts, which
no doubt would have reJoiced him over
much, and all this fuss, fury and fus-
tian about the seriousness OF the case and
the gravity of the offense with which
he charges me can be attributed to per-
sonal malice alone"
Takes Up Letter
Referring to the presidents letter to
Senator Hale, Mr.. Tillman declared that
the president recognized the extraordi-
nary character of his action, "as well
as the unlawful use he has made OF
the sercret service" .s...
Mr.. TiIlman said he did not deny the
authenticity of the letter or the telegram
of which photographs were made, and he
presumed the letter from VIM. E. Lee
was also a correct copy; but he was
not aware of its existence until 1t was
brought to his attention by the presi-
dents statement and added that he was
not in any way responsible for Mr.. Lees
ideas expressed In 1t.
Taking up the presidents statement
concerning Dorr, a land agent making
his filings through Reeder & Watkins,
of Marshfeld, Ore, Mr.. Tillman said:
1T will be noted that I accused Dorr
in the senate Of being a swindler and
asked the post office department to issue
a fraud order against him. Dorr de-
clared in his circular: f $500
so sure is Senator Tillman of our
success that he has subscribed and paid
the necessary fee for a quarter ection
for himelf and ten other esctions for
ten of his nearest relatives 1t was this
bold and outrageous falsehood mainly
that caused me to denounce Dofr as a
swindler as well as to declare in the SEN
ate that he had no warrant for the as
sertion.
SIeuths of President "a
THE sleuths which the president put
upon my trail have made their report and
49, chnuyc N fafr-rnind0d
man that so far from endeavorlng to
justify the fraud order against Dorr, they
were really put to work to investigate me
and endeavor II possible to discover
something to my discredit, while the
president directed the investigation.
say this because it is hardly possible that
a post office inspector would set about
getting Photographic copies Of the let
tiers of a United States senator and try
ing to convict him of lying II the orders
did not come from a high source.
Let us suppose for a moment that I
was guilty of a falsehood in declaring
that I had not undertaken to purchase
any land. What did that have to do with
DORIS transparent and open use of the
malls to induce men to send him money
to purchase land? DORIS declaration
that I had paid the fees is an absolute
falsehood, and the post office inspectors,
while they searched the records for en-
tries at Coquille, noted that Reeder &
Watkins had fled several hundred APP
plications, nowhere mentioned that any
had been filed in my name or for me.
Denounces Dorr
Therefore, the falsehood is proven on
Dorr and yet the president declared
the assault which Senator Tillman made
on Dorr was, according to the report
of the Inspector, a wanton assault made
to cover up Senator Tillman's own trans
actions
mo such statement was made by the
inspector. In fact, so earnestly intent on
convicting Senator TiIlman is the presi-
dent he actually commits himself to
this proposition. to-wit: Tillman, volun-
tarily and without any compulsion from
any source and with nothing to conceal,
brought up a matter In the senate which
he need not have done to cover up trans
actions which were absolutely unknown
to anyone except himself and his CORES
pondents, Reeder & Watkins, and were
entirely honorable and clean.
Much exposure closed out the swind-
lers Dorr, when his mail was not deliver
ed, retired from the land business and be-
came a fruit grower, as reported by the
inspectors. The swindlers had secured a
good many thousand. OF dollars before the
exposure in the senate stopped people
from being duped, and yet Theodore
Roosevelt, who poses as the only remain
ing honest man in public life. in the
face of these facts, has felt called upon
to attack the character of a man whose
integrity has never before been ques-
toned, and whose official position is sec
ond only to his own. In doing this, he
makes a false declaration, for the inspec-
tors nowhere say any such things as
above quoted. which can be proven by an
examination of their report.
"Now About the Lying"
Now about the lying: My letter of
February Is. Of which the president has
secured q Photographic copy, antedated
by four days my statement in the senate
that I had not bought any land or under
taken to buy any, and the president con-
siders this positive proof of falsehood.
did not say had not considered the pur-
chase of land; I did not say 1 had not
contemplated the purchase of land, be-
cause I had done both.
I'm my conversation with the attorney
general in regard to the resolution which
introduced. and which he himself pre-
pared after we had talked over the whole
land situation, I distinctly remember tell
ing him that my interest in the matter
had been first aroused by my desire to
purchase some of the timber land and