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louse, Mr. Tillman said: No Legal Grounds. "It follows that he found no grounds for indicting me in the courts, which no doubt would have rejoiced him over much, and all this ifuss, fury and fustain about the ser iousness of the ease and the gravity of the offense with whi.h he charges me can be attributed to parsonal mal ice alone.' Referring to the president's letter to Senator Hale, Mr. Tillman declar ed that the president recognized the extraordinary character of his action "as well as the unlawful use he has made of the secret service." Mr. Tillman said he did not deny the au thenticity of the letter or the tele grams of which photographs were miade, and he presumed the letter from William E. Lee was also a cor rect copy, but he was not aware of its existence until it was brought to his attention by .the president's state ment and added that he was not in any wise responsible for Mr. Lee's ideas expressed in it.. Taking up the president's statement concerning Dorr, a land agent making his fil ings through Reeder & Watkins of Marshfield, Ore,, Mr. Tillman says: "It will be noted that I accused Dorr in the senate of being a swind ler, and asked the postoffie depart ment 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 a quarter section for himself and iten other quarter sections for ten of his near est relatives.' Outrageous Falsehood. "It was this bold and outrageous falsehood mainly that caused me to denounce Dorr as a swindler as well as to declare in the senate that he ] had no warant for the assertion. The sleuths which the president put upon my trail have made their report and a perusal of it will show to any fair mind that so far from endeavoring to justify the fraud order against Dorr, they were really put to work to in vestigate me and endeavor, if possi ble, to discover something to my dis credit, while the president directid ] the investigatiom. I say this because it is -hardly possible that a postoffice inspector would set about getting * photographic apies of the letters of: a United States senator and trying to I conviet ihim *of lying if .the ordersi * did not come from a high source. "Let us suppose for a moment that I was guilty of a falsehood in deelar ing that I had not undertaken to pur ehase any land. What did that have( to do with Dorr's transparent and open use of the mails to induce men to send him money to purchase land? :1 D)orr's declaration that I had paid the fees is. an absolute falsehood and ~he postoffie inspectors, while they searched the records for entries at Coquille and noted that Reeder & Watkins had filed 'several hundred applications,' nowhere mentioned I that any had been filed in my name I or for me. Therefore, the falsehood is proved on Dorr, and yet the pres ident deelared 'the assault whieh Senator Tillman made upon Mr. Dorr -was, according to the report of the inspector, a wanton assault made to] cover up Senator Tillnan's own * ~ "No such statement was made by the inepentor. In fact, so earnestly4 intent on convicting Senator Tillman * is the president he actually commits ' hiimself to -tis proposition, to wit: Tillman voluntarily and without any compulsion from any source and with - nothing to conceal brought up e mat-1 ter in the senate -whieh he need not have done to cover up tr-ansactions 'which were absolutely unknown to any. one except himself and his cor respondents, Reeder & Watkins, and were entirely honorable and clean. My exposure closed out the swind lers. Dorr, when his mail was not delivered, retired from the land busi ness and became a fruit grower, as reported by the inspectors. The1 swindlers had secured a good many Thousands of dollars before the ex posure in the senate stopped people from being duped, and yet Theodore Roosevelt, who poses es the only re-1 maining honest man in public life, in the face of the-se facts, has falt called upon to attack the character of a man whose integrity has never be fore been questioned, and whose offi eial position is second only to hi.s own In doing this he makes a false decla.r ation for the inspectors nowhere say any such thing as above quoted which can be proved by an examination of their report." "About the Lying." * "Now about the lying: My letter of February 15, of which the presi dent 3ecared a photographiCcoepy, * antedates by four days 'my statement in the senate that I had not bought any land or undertaken to buy any, and the president considers this posi tive nroof of falsehood. I i!id not say I had not considered the purchase of land; I did not say I had not contem plated the purchase of land, because I had done both. "In my conversation with the at torney general in regard to the reso lution which I introduced, and which he himself prepared after we had talked over the whole land situation, I distinctly tremember telling him that my interest in the matter had 9 been first aroused by my desire to I purchase some of the timber land and that my coming to him was due to the fact that I discovered upon in vestigation that I could not buy it through any agency whatsoever, that I could not buy it even by lawsuit, because I was advised by very able lawyers in the West, among them the ron. George Turner of Washington, f that in attacking the holders of those i land grants no one would have any t ftanding in court except the grantor, th,e government itself. .1 Denies Falsehood. e "I was perhaps disingenuous, but I t moment's thought will convince any i ionest-minded man that as I had not ;igned any papers, had not paid any i noney, had taken nobody's receipt, he usual processes by wbich one undertakes' to buy land, I was peaking accurately and not falsely. i Everything hinges on the meaning of ;he word 'undertaken' and my use of t. Did I mean to conceal the fact ;hat I was anxious to buy some of the and? Not at all. Did I mean to at ;aek Dorr as a swindler when I my-1 4f was engaged in a dishonest and fi4honorable transaction? That is rhat the president would have peo- , >le believe. Can I be justly charged e vith falsehood when, if I had told the ;enate of the. entire transaction, it vould have made no difference what ver, while I would have been charg d with intruding my private affairs nto a public discussion? Just what aw did I break? What wrong did do or contemplite? According to he report of the attorney general, in nswer to the resolution which I in roduced and which passed the sen te, Harriman, the president's dear !riend, still holds in defiance of aw upwards of 2,000,000 -acres of the 9 est lands of Oregon and California Lnd refuses to sell them at any price. never expeeted and could not un ler the terms of the law as I eon- l trued it get more than seven quartar s eetions, for myself and family, one or my pivate seeretary and one a ~or Mr. Lee, making nine in all. This I n the aggregate would mean that I I rou1d obtain through my activity C ere, as the president's charge is, i line quarter sections of 1,440 acres L.t a cost of $4,500. Will the presi-~ ent undertake to say that I have lost y' ny right to buy land because I am a enator? Can the president deny a hat my activity secured the passage I f the resolmt.ion instructing the at- P ornecy general to bring suit for the t eovery of this land for the use of t ~etual settlers? If Ha.riman and oth- .t ~rs like him are made to disgorge by i -eason of these suits, shall the fact b hat I was endeavoring to buy a little e ittance of the land be used as the1 d >asis of a charge of being a liar and 0 Scorrupt senator to be disgraced ?" g Attention Attracted. Senator Tillman then told how his ttention had been brought to this and while at Spokane, Wash., in etober, 1907. He wrote to Reeder a. k Watkins, asking for information b Lnd telling them of his desire to pur- b ~hase some of the land if possible. esiring to find out if the conditions f the grant to the State of Oregon nade it possible for "purchasers" md not "aetual settlers" to buy at 2.50 per acre, he wired to the libra ian of the senate for a copy of thre et. He met Mr. Lee at Moscow,a [daho, and talked with him on the ~ubject, arranging that he would go o Marshfield and. investigate in per on. He authorized Lee to draw on imn if he found that the lands were what they were represented to be. 'Lee's authority as my agent never ent beyond an examination if the and, and if the application was filed, ;o see that I got good timbered lands d nstead of rocks and marshes." He a b ent into detail in explaining his ef-. ~ort to learn the exact status of the ands and got an opinion from Sena or Turner of Washington. After re ;urning to Washington, D. C., in De-b sember, he let the matter drop, he lieving it to be a "very doubtful proposition," until Mr. Lee -showed 0 ~im a letter from Reeder & Watkins e which Mr. Tillman said had been ~ tolen from the desk in his commit- ~ bee room along with other papers in his case, and dee.lared that the theft was probably by somre of the secret ~ervice sleuths. netter of February 15. "Whent Reeder & Watkins," he a aid, "indicated their desire th!at I a hould exert my influence in the sen- a a. I wrote the letter of February a 15, of whiich the president obtained a r photographic copy. In the mean- I ime. and before that letter was~ writ- t, :en, from my investigations and after b : conference with the attoi-ney gen-jg ral. I introduced the .two resohitions a ) Januar 31 one calling ,on the at :orney general for iftformati.'n and he other, which became a hu, in dtr-cting him to institute suits. My )fficial activity then is shown to iave Laken form in the s2-nate before knew anything about Reeder & ffatkins' attitude or expectations md I was in no way influenced by hem. Lost Interest in Scheme. "I was still anxious to obtain some f the land, if it could be done leg Illy, and wrote Reeder & Watkins to hat effect, but my faith in them and n the whole soheme died when I re eived the circulars of Dorr, which ame to me on February 17 and 18 'rom three different directions, show ng the widespread circulation of hem.'' Mr. Lee's report to him, he said. ad also led him to believe that Reed r & Watkins were not "of the cali re and character" to be employed a a matter of such magnitude. "Dorr. of whom I had never heard iefore," he said, . "was evidently >ushing his scheme of getting suckers o invest and using my name, as I ave indicated, without authority; eause I had not paid any fees to im or written to him or filed any pplications. I therefore felt it in umbent on me to expose the swindle a the senate, which I did on Febru ry 19, and asked the postoffice an horities to issue a fraud order. I ressed the passage of the joint reso ition in the senate and on April 30 : became a law. March 18 I was tak n ill and on May 16, after a partial ecuperation, I sailed for Europe, re arning October 21. "The president's sleuths, set to do ie dirty work of spying on a sena )r, when that senator had exposed a rand which was being perpetrated n the public, reported to him on uly 27. I had nothing to do with e change in the law of which the resident complains in regard to the ,cret service. So the president's an nus is not against me on the same round for which he has attacked [essrs. Tawney, Smith and others in ie house, but one of personal malice rLgendered by hatred because of my Durse in the senate during the last ven years. ''I have not attempted to deceive nybody; I have not told any false oods; I have not broken any law; I av act been. guilty of any-immoral anduct. I had the right to purchase de la.nd if I could, but my judgment ald me it was unsafe as an invest ent. I would like to get some of it et and if the attorney general and is successors shall not die of old ge before anything is done, it may e possible that I may have the op ortunity to purchase some of .those imber lands of which he made man Een in his report, though my atten ion has been directed in a compell ig way' to the need of prompt action y the department of ju,stice. Wheth r I ever get any of the land or not oes not matter, if Harriman and thers of that ilk are made to dis orge t.he large holdings which they ave stolen and are attemp+ing .to old. "The president.'' said Mr. Til'l an, "italicizes the words 'as well s myself' as though it were unlawful nmoal or improper for a senator to ny any .land or to act in this chamn er on any question affecting his per nal interest. I fail to see any sense r meason in this positon, but I must ibmit that to the judgment of the nate and the country. I had not be me a party ,to any litigation; I was ot interested except as a private idividual wanting to purchase, and s a senator desiring to enable oth 's to have the opportunity to do >. Of course, the president is sure iat I 4have done something very dis reditable and outrageous. He hates ie and would destroy me if he could. "President Gloats." "The president gloats over the fact dat my let.ter was written 'just four sys before he announced in the sen te that he (I) had not undertaken to ny any land in the West' as clinch ig his contention that I have lied to ae senate. The records show t.hat in be interim the Dorr circular had een sent to me, for on February 19, t'hen I made the exposure of Dorr, said in the senate, 'In the last day r two T have had my attention call d to a scheme of swindling, ate.' It is asy for those who -are .themselves niinerable to convict others on the iost filmnsy evidence and the presi ent seems to work on t.hat t.heory. "On reading Dorr's circular the rhole scheme and combination of windlers, Reeder & Watkins in arshfield and Dorr in Portland, (I id not know anything about Conro *nd Schaefer) flashed on my mind nd, rememnbering Lee's somewhat ubious report as to the character d qualifications of the firm of eeder & Watkins, I decided at one see to it that my name should not e used to inveigle others into t hat ame. Hence my action in the sen "The pesident dismisses with a wave of the hand any possibility of my honesty by saying: 'It is unnec essary to comment on his proposal made in .this letter to use his influ enee as a senator to force the gov ernment to institute a suit which would make it easy for him person ally to obtain some of the land.' It might be well to inquire whether or not the attorney general has been or dered to obey the law of congress passed last April, which I will call the Tillman-Bonaparte law, ordering suit to be instituted for the recovery of these lands. My culpability is of such magnitude in contemplating the purchase of 1,440 acres of land at $2.50 an acre in the eyes of this stick ler for official rectitude-in others -that it may be found that he is de termined to block my so-called ne farious transactions. The Steel Trust Merger. "The man who announces to con gress that he, Theodore Roosevelt, as sumed the right to permit the steel trust to absorb its greatest rival con trary to law, would doubtless not hes itate to help his dear friend Harri man in holding 2,00C,000 acres of the public domain because Ben Tillman has contemplated and wanted to buy 1,440 acres. The president, having convicted Tillman, proceeded to clear Dorr in both cases, contrary to the :facts, and smilingly stares from the centre of the stage, which it is his greatest del.ight to occupy, and com placently looks to have the American people and tbe senate give their ap proval to his verdict. I await that verdict calmly and without fear, and will gladly abide by it. "In conclusion, Mr. President. I court .the most searching investiga tion. Nay, I demand it. I declare most emphatically I have never sought to conceal my effort to buy land; I spoke to the attorney general about it; I explained to the agent of the secret service the whole transa e tion when I gave him the Dorr ciren la,r and the letter which had been sent me concerning it. The question of the motive will at last control and it cannot be shown that I have any reason to conceal anything. I invite comparison of my private life and iy public work as a man and a sena tor with Theodore Roosevelt, or any other man, and feel absolutely sure of the ground upon which I stand."' What is Rome Without Music? Don't say, "can't afford an ORGAN or I PIANO. We will make yeu able, gr.anting from one to thre yars to pay orone.)ral Org ans and Pianos, at the lowest prices Writen at oce frCatalogues, Prices and Terms, to the old Established Malone's Music House, COLUMBIA, S. C. SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY. I will sell at the late residence of J. M. Wicker, deceased, near Prosper ity, on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1909, at 10 o'clock, the personal property of said deceased, consisting of two mules, two wagons, two buggies, farming implk ments, corn, fodder and hay, etc. Terms cash. Sallie Wicker, I Administratrix. Jan. 1, 8, 15. TAX ASSESSMENT FOR 1909. 4 Notice is hereby given that the of fiee of County Auditor will be open from the 1st day of January to the 20th day of February, 1909, for the purpose of receiving returns of tax able property for fiscal year com mening January 1st. The following named places will also be attended as reqired by law: At Whitmire, Monday, Jan. 11th. At Maybinton, Tuesday, Jan. 12th. At Glymphville, Wednesday, Jan. 13th. At Walton, Thursday, Jan. 14th. At Pomaria, Friday, Jan. 15th. At Jolly Street, Monday, Jan. 18th. At Little Mountain, Tuesday, Jan. 19th. At 0O'NealI, Wednesday, Jan. 20th. At St. Lukes, Thursday, Jan. 21st. At Prosperity, Friday and Satur day, Jan. 22nd and 23rd. At Longshore, Monday, Jan. 25th. At Chappells, Tuesday, Jan. 26th. The law requires a tax on all mort tgages, moneys, and credits, also on incomes over and above $2500.00 All male citizens between the ages of 21 and 60 years (except those in. eaal of earning a support) are lia ble to poll tax. There shall be assessed on each dog a capitation tax of 50 cents. Dogs not returned for taxation ar not held to be property of this State. Be careful to ncte each transfer ofI real estate since last return. W. W. Cromer, Auditm- New berry County. BLANK START THE WITH A NE Blank1 I HAVE A FU LEDGERS, DAY BOOKS, RECORD RECEIPT MEMORA] TRIAL BALA' Examine my sto( You will find my p you can order them keep your money in F Maps6' B Does I Pan? It Has Pai< And It Will TO TRA] D1KLET~ WHE] Honesty 'Rules Ev Special-Reduction ii Article in Every If You Want to UY YOUR CHRISTM WE SELL THE B If you compare qi with the prices char chants you will see we offer you. For are entitled to your 0. K LEIl The Fairland S SSOMEOF OUI To be conservative. Topay four pr cent.sm To bond every employee. To be progressive and accc To lend our money to our To treat our patrons court< To be liberal and prompt. To secure business from al: TO BE THE VERY BES' j TO DO BUSINESS V jOur institution is under the st examined by the State Bank Exa: The Bank of P1 osperit DR. GEO. Y. HUNTER, President. J. F. BROWNher. BOOKS4 NEW YEAR W SET OF Books LL LINE JOURNALS, CASH BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS, MDUMS, 4CE BOOKS. :k before buying.2 rices as cheap as and besides you your home town. o.k Store Whg Not? i Others, Pay You DE AT E N E R'S5 ery Transaction. i Price on Every De partment. Save Money S GOODS"FROM U EST FOR LESS. iality and prices ged by other mer the great saving these reasons we trade. : : : : T NE R, q~uare Dealer. 1 POLICIES: innually. mmodating. customers. o>usly. classes. ' BANK FOR YOU pervision of and regularly anner. Prosperity y, S. C. DR. J. S. WHEELER, V. P1esident. J. A. 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