New-York tribune., 1909-01-15
THE TTLLN4N CASE.

:. .oo-,s ~ ne that Senator Tillman is ill
advised in continuing TO ventilate the zeal Ill
Oregon lands which he entered upon ana then
c,dden1v drorned when he found that certain
nrornoters in oregon were giving his intended
narticipa ton unwarranted and unpleasant pun
Ucity He cannot hope by fomenune cohtro-
,orsios with the Attorney General and the Post
master General on side issues 10 divert alteii-
tion from the main facts-facts which he him
o1. admitted in his speech Of January u. The
Senator from South Carolina then made the
onlv defence which he could make against the
two charges which he had 10 meet. He con
coded that he had been "disingenuoGS IN TELL
ing the Senate that he bad never unuertaheh
10 hIIv land in the West since the record SHOWS
that he asked that reservations be mace 1or
him the members of his family and his prl-
yate secretary, and had promised to fcr"aru
money to pay for the entries thus reserved me
fact seems TO he that when the senator uis
covered what INTERPRETATION had been put on his
activities by the Oregon promoters ne was Ihore
or less panicstricken. and went much too rar
., his hurried renudiation of any but the most
casuel interest In the purchase of the land or
the institution on the governments part of suits
through which he and other prospective entry
men might benefit
We think that the press and the public gen
eraIlv are not inclined to judge the Senator
harshly 1t is commonly recognized, however
that his original explanation was inadequate
end unhappv. tt is also commonly recognized
that he disregarded legislative propriety when
he allowed himself to be put in the position OF
comn1ingIing his activities as legislator ana
his activities as land speculator II does not
helm his case now TO abuse others and to COM
nIain that he was the victim Of conspiracy
Nodesty in making charges ought TO commend
itself TO a statesman who leans so heavily on
the saving virtues Of charitable construction
THE Springfield Republican" which has been
very friendly in its attitude toward Mr.. I'LL
man. saws that il finds itself in substantial
agreement with the following. passage from
our editorial of Monday:
himself in a position in which his intentions
were subject to misrepresentation. ana ne coulu
not defend himself with comfort when theY
were misrepresented. No one Will accuse hlr
of having committed a crime. But he did com
NIT a bIunder and one Of the sort which ne
would have been the first to denounce II II
had been committed by a fellow legislator. A
Savage critic Of the faults Of others, he should
have avoided even the appearance of official i'm
propriety He should have realized that IL IS
! never safe to let the purity of ones motives
! hinge on the accidents and mishaps Of textual
! Interpretation.
We are glad 10 know that The Republican
considers our judgment fair. The passage
quoted referred. however, only 10 the charge
of legislative impropriety. We should have been
better sa atisfied If our Springfield contemporary
! had also noted our opinion that in telling the
| Senate that he had not undertaken" to buy
| land in the West Mr.. Tillman failed TO square
! his explanation with the facts established sub
! seouently by his own letters