The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-01-12
T1LLMAN ANSWERS ROOSEVELT.
Continued from page 1.)

and open use of the mails to in
duce men to send him money to pur-
chase land? Doors declaration that
l had paid the fees is an absolute
falsehood, and the postofice inspe3-
tors, while they searched The records
for entries at Coqmlle and noted
that Reeder & Watkins had filai
several hundred applications,
nowhere mentioned that any had
been filed in my name or for me.
Therefore the falsehcod 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, a wan
ton assault made to cover up Sen
ator Tillmans 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 a matter in the Senate which ne
need not have done to cover u2
transactions which were absolutely
unknown to anyone except himself
and his correspondents, Reeder &
Watkins, and were entirely honor
able and clean. My exposure closed
out the swindlers. porr, when his
mail was not delivered, retired
from the land business and became
fruit grower, as reported by the
inspectors.
The swindlers had secured a good
many thousands of dollars before
the exposure in the Senate stopper
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 has felt called upon to attack
the character of a man whose intes-
rity has nevar before been ques-
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 photographer copy,
antedates> by four days my statement
in the Senate that I had not bough:
any land, or undertaken to buy any,
and the President considers this pos
! tive proof Of falsehrod. I did not
say I had not considered the pur-
chase Of land; did not say l had
not contemplated purchase of land,
because I had done both. In my
| conversation with the Attorney-Gen-
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
my 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 TO
the fact that I discovered upon in
vestigation that l could not buy 1T
even by a lawsuit, because I 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 lant
grants no one would have any stand
ing in court except The grantor, the
Government itself. See Nichols V.
Southern Oregon Co., Federal Re-
porter, vol. 1855, p. 234.)
l was perhaps diS:ngenuous; but
moments thought will convince
any honest-minded NAN that--as
had not signed any papers, had not
paid any money, had taken nobodys
receipt, usual processes ny 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 l mean to conceal the
fact that 1 was anxious to buy some
Of this land? Not at all. Did !
mean to attack Dorr as a swindler
when myself was engaged in dis
honest and dishonorable transact
ion? That is what the President
would have the people believe. Can
be justly charged with falsehood
when if I had told the Senate of the
entire transaction 1t would have
made no difference whatever, while
l would have been charged with In
trnding my private affairs into
public discussion? Just what Law
did ! break? What wrong did
do or contemplate? According to
the report Of the Attorney-Generai,
in answer to the resolution which 7
introduced and which passed the
Senate, Hartman, the Presidents
dear friend, still holds in defiance
of law upward of 100000 acres OF
the best lands of Oregon and Cali
fornia and refuses to sell them at
any price. | never expected, and
could not under the terms of the
law as l construed it. get more than
seven greater sections for myself