The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, January 14, 1909, Image 5
DONE FOR SPITE
Rooe?velt Links Senator Tillman
With Land Grab Deal.
BATTLE HAS BEGUN
President Ciivcs Out Result of Secret
4
Investigat ion ? Tillman . Admit*
Having Tried to Obtain I>aiid in
the West.?Wanted Sections for
Himself, Futuily and Secretary.
Washington, I). C.. .A^n. 8.?President
Roosevelt tonight made public
the details of an investigation by
postofTlcc inspectors and secret service
agents of Senator Tillman's connection
with an alleged "land grab"
in Oregan. As he presents the evidence
to Senator llale, in response
to the latter's request to the hearts
of the various executive departmcnta
for a statement of the operations of
the secret service, the President undertakes
to show:
That Mr. Tillman used his influence
as a Senator in an effort to
force the Government to compel a
railroad corporation#! o relinquish
its control of land grants from the
United States in order that he and '
his-family and his secretary, .1. P..
Knight, might profit through the
purchase of some of the land;
That the Senator used his Government
franking privilege in numerous
instances for the conduct of
private business.
Comparatively few Senators vrer
favored with the opportunity of
reading the President's report to
Siiiiainr llnlo tml thnxe who did read
the report look a serious view of it,
alt hough most of the Senators refused
to believe that Mr. Tillman hud
ever done anything in violation of
his oath as Senator.
Senator Tillman does not permit
the fact that the President was giving
out the charges against him to alter
his determination to make no statement
until Monday. He said that
he could not make his reply so complete
as ho would desire for tomorrow's
papers, and that he would
therefore withhold whatever remarks
he might have to make until Monday,
when he would make a statement to
the Senate. No effort was made by
him to conceal the fact that when he
had learned the facts concerning the
i 1 .1 iri'Miil lu> li !i fl ni-nlti !? 11 of
, fort to obtain portions of tin* land
$T ' Iii the names of himsoll and members
of bis family, but declared that as.
at most, lie could have gotten possession
of only a few hundred acres,
bis efforts were, after all, in behalf
of the public and not especially in
his own interest.
Will Keply Monday.
Immediately after the conclusion
of the chaplain's prayer Monday Mr.
Tillman will ask tlie recognition of!
the Chair on a question of personal
privilege. Departing from bis custom
of extemporaneous speaking, lie
will read bis statement, thus insuring
more careful adherence to what
be desires to say than be would be
able to give in an offhand speech.
The communication to Senator
Hale is nearly 11,000 words long, and
in addition there are appended numerous
exhibits including copies
of letters written by Senator Tiilnian
and bis agent, William 10. Leo,
showing that they did make an effort
to secure several quarter sections
of the Oregan land, and the
reports of the postoflico inspectors
who investigated the transactions of
the land agents. It was through
this investigation t^at the allege 1
interest of Sen a to iJt-Tillman was
brought to light, Hpid fat.efully, it
appears, that it was at bis insti
gat ion that the inquiry was negun.
Tho President's communication to 1
Senator llule opens with the statement,
that he had secured for the
Senator information touching th ?
employment of specia'l attorneys, 1
special agents, inspectors, etc., and 1
the report conveying this inforina-i 1
tion lie was transmitting. Then he i
says that it is "not only the right,
hut the duty of Congress to invest;- '
gate the workingsof the secret service
or detect ive"* agents by which i
alone the (lovcrnment can effectually <
safeguard itself against wrong do- I
ing, punish crime, and bring to ]
tice criminals." i
Tlie President continues: '
T would like to state here thai 1
% t
very frequently accusations nave >
been made to inc privately by members
of the two houses to the effect
that the secret service has been
y, used as a 'police of morals,' or to
shadow Senators, Congressmen and
other public officials. Hitherto the
effort to discover the basis for such
allegations has always been fruitless.
I should be greatly obliged if
any information could be furnished
me tending to show any instance j
where this has been done in times <
SUBS
past."
The President enters npou a dls- j
eussion of operations of the special
agents and inspectors, naying that
In ?i.e investigation of specific frauds'
the operators "some times oomo J
acroHH wholly nnexpectod phases of
misconduct." Often, says the President,
the abuse of the franking privilege
is unknown to the Congressmen
themselves.
The Tillman Matter.
Then, leading up to tho Tillma'i
matter, he says:
"Hut a case has just arisen of a ,
different kind, which it seems to mo
1 should put before you as Illustrating
in strikiug fashion tho way in
which investigations begun by any
of these various agents in the strict
line of their duty may develop facts
of high Importance, which tho Investigators
would not in the first
instance have sought do discover,
which, when discovered, ought not
to be hidden or suppressed, but the
development of which may tend to
create an erroneous impression thai
the agents in question were lining
used for purposes not within the line
of their lawful duty."
The communication then recites
that Senator Tillman on February
lb. last, called the attention of the
Senate to the circular of the Oregou
land syndicate, which alleged tha'
Senator Tillman was among those
who had spoken for a part of the
land to be disposed of and quotes
Senator Tillman's deal as follow.-.:
"1 have not bought any land anywhere
in the West, nor undertaken
to buy any. I have made some inquiries
as one naturally would, lu
roaming through the West. 1 simply
want the people of the country to
be put on notice that this swindler
? ii i ?? ?
.?i i \n udiiu 11.i^ no waiTiiiu wnainvor
for endeavoring to inveigle others
into his game."
lOnelosed, the President says, M?*
Halo would lind photographic fao
siniilios of lottors and envelopes from
Senator Tillman and his agent, Mm.
10. Loo, homing on the matter. A
letter of Senator Tillman to Oregon
attorneys is quoted as follows:
"1 wired from Wausaii, Wis., as
follows, and write to confirm it:
"William 10. Leo, my agent, will
see you about land. I want nine
quarters reserved. Will forward
signed applications and money at
once. Members of my family are
cntrymon. Letter follows.
( "Signed ) It. R. T."
"1 write now to say that 1 wired
Mr. Lee, who resides at Moscow,
Idaho, to go at once to Marsh field
and see you about the land, to locate
quarters for the seven members of
my family, who are of age and one
for my private secretary, .1. If
Knight, whom I desire to let Int.)
the deal, and, of course, he wants a
quarter for himself."
"A <?ood (iambic."
"The letter continued," writes the
President, "in stating in detail what
was to he done in order to enable the
Senator to got the land. The William
10. Lee, to whom Senator Till
man thus referred as his agent, wrote
to Uecdcr and Watkins. under date
of December 7, a letter, photographin
copy of which is herewith submitted,
marked 'lOxhibit 1) 4.' In this
letter Mr. Lee explains that he had
written Senator Tillman fully as to
the status of the land matter, advising
him it was a good gamble,
but that the Senator was lecturing,
so that he did not get Mr. Lee's letter
until a week and a half previously,
The letter continues:
" 'In case Senator Tillman gets
in on this deal with some good land
in the eight quarters we want, I
am satisfied that lie can hi1 of great
help in getting matters started from
Washington and cause the Government
to get busy and do something
along the line you desire, lie will
set up such a bowl that it will be impossible
to do otherwise. It. will t?.?
very important for your wholo
scheme to havo a man of his influence
here to aid you at this end of 1
i ho line. By all moans save a lot '
of good land for us, as we intend to i
bo of more value than any one of '
the others in this matter.'"
Then is quoted Senator Tillman'** 1
resolutions providing for the insti- '
tut ion of t lie land suits, after which 1
the President quotes from the Sena- '
tor's letter of February 1 to Messrs (
Render and Walk ins. Says the Pi es- 1
[dent:
"He states that what ho has done 1
in stirring up the question of the
Oregon land grant to railroads his y
Peon done entirely apart from any 1
personal interest he has in the mat- ^
:or, and adds: Although 1 neve*
would have had my attention called *
o it but for the Investigation as set (
>n foot in connection with the pro- 1
posed purchase by me of some of the ?
:imber land in qestion. Of course, ?
f I decide to make the tender and 1
jo into the lawsuit, I will bear your c
proposition in mind, but I would 1
lave you understand that nothing I ?
lo hero in the Senate will be done (
jecause of my personal purchase of s
my of the land. r
Wanted Might Sections. 1
"If I can succeed in causing the ?
Government to institute suit for the i
CR1BE N(
f
ANSWERS TEDDY
Senator TUlman Relates All
Cbarges Made Against Him
BY THE PRESIDENT
?
Shows That Then1 Is Nothing iti tlu?
<'liargeM >ln<le Against Him in
Connection Willi the Qregon I.ami
l>?s*l?Is l{cn<ly (o Compare llecoi'iis
With Koosevolt.
Washington, Jan. 11.?The following
the full text of the speech
delivered in the United Stales Senate
today by Senator Tillman in answer
to President Roosevelt's slanderous
charge about the Oregon land
deal. The speech was delivered to
a crowded Senate. The Senator's
entire speech is printed below:
Mr. President, I rise to a question
of personal privilege.
For the first time in the history
of this government, as far as 1 have
been able to learn, a member of this
body has been brought to the b*.\r of
public opinion, before the Senate
itself to be judged under indictment
by no less a person than the President
of the United States. The
manner of the doing of its and the
animus and zeal displayed by the
Chief Executive are worthy of considerat
ion.
The papers in the case were sent
to Senator Hale as acting chairman
of the Committee on Appropriations
late on Tuesday last. 1 had no intimation
in regard to it until affe:
the Senate met on Thursday. Hy
that time the air was thick with
rumors, evidently coming from the
White House, direct iy or indirectly
that a Southern Senator was in the
toils of the Secret Service; and soon
it was understood that Senator Tillman
was the man.
Having been informed by Senator
Hale of the character of the charge
Thursday afternoon, and that lie
would call a meeting of the Appropriation
Committee on Saturday to
consider the papers relating to the
Secret Service sent him by the President,
1 expected to have opportunity
to examine fully into the case
and make such defense or explanation
in the Senate its* If as I thought
proper. 1 understand the President
had notified Si-n-.it">- ii?i" 11
. . mill' 111*11 I lll'IC
was no nood for hurry, and that ho
would not give the papers to the
press bofoie Monday; hut on Friday
morning lie changed his mind and
not Hied Senator Hale that he had
determined to give all the facts to
the newspapers that evening, and
they appeared Saturday morning. I!
was well to remember that the universal
custom heretofore, and the
courtesy due by any executive to a
legislative body demanded that having
sent the papers to the most important
committee of the Senate,
they were in the possession of that
body, and it was a gross breach of
recovery of the hind and make it
easier for others as well as myself
(the Italics are mine) to obtain some
of it, I shall do it without regard
to the dealings with your firm. I
still want to get some of the timber
land if it is possible, and as it is
probable that Mr. Lee or some other
representative of mine will he In
your country In the next two months
Wo will leave the matter of payment
for the initiatory steps and suts fluent,
proceedings in abeyance for
the present. Any contract wo might
make will be entirely apart from,
md independent of, my work here
In tho Senate, i would be glad for
you to hold in reserve eight of the
!>est quarter sections of which you
have definite information, and I
will in tlie meantime press the investigation
and other work here
which will facilitate the final pur- 1
ihase, and in effect obviate the ne- i
jessity of your taking any case n 1
he courts at all.' i
"This letter, purely pertaining m t
dr. Tillman's personal and private j.
justness, was sent in a franking en- t
relope, of which I attach photo- fgraphic
copy, marked 'Exhibit
3 5.' (
"I call your attention to the lot*, i
er of Mr. Dorr to the Postmaster I
Jeneral under date of November 2 2, J
190S, ('Exhibit E.') in which ho t
isks for relief from the cases which i
Jenator Tillman had brought against r
lim, saying that he had no know;- t
dge that Senator Tillman desired 1
lis operations to be kept, hidden ami 1
iccret from general public know!- '
dge. The report of the inspectors 1
teems to indicate that this young <
nan, Mr. Dorr, acted in good faith, s
lilt thnt liunil ynnotoo rrill
..v/ Iiuvu UUIlttlWI J 111111(111 P
implication for land aa an advertise- f
nent." ' c
)W TO
propriety to mak^ them public. This i
well Illustrates the executive attl- I
tude toward# thla body. He save
the communication to the prena before
the comniitt.?v> had a?vxn the
paperH and exauiiued iuto the uiaiter.
.
It is well understood lhat the
President is an adopt at advertising
and that ho has used the press with '
more aktll than any man la American
politics. lie realizes the importance
ot "gettl?g in the first
blow," though It was below the bolt
aud might well com let him of cowardice.
But he cared nothing for
either courtesy, custom, or decency,
thus treating the committee and the
Senate with that contempt which
has been his wont.
Another probable reason for his
groat haste was that he sought to
distract attention from the action
of the House of Representatives on
Friday in laying part of his message
on the table by the sensational accusations
against a man who has had
long service in the Senate. I could
have made my statement to the
Senate and to the country Just x*
easily on Saturday as I make it
now, for I have nothing to conceal
and there was no great need for delay
or preparation; but realizing
inai trie great influence and power <>f
the Chief lOxecutlve was being exerted
to the limit of his ability to
blacken my name and destroy my
character, and that bis words and the
exhibits which he sent would l>* given
the widest publicity, while niy
own statement would probably bo
epitomized on account of the pressure
on the wires, 1 decided to wait unti'
today, with the hope that my defense,
without being unavoidable
mutilated, would reach the people
in good time. This, the newspaper
men tell me, would not have been
possible on Saturday. This is sufficient
explanation, I trust, for delay.
An examination of the President's
letter to Mr. little, which might just
as well have been a special message
of the type with which we are so familiar.
will show that the President's
changes, boiled down, amount to
two in tin 111 iter.
First. lie promotes me to membership
in the "Ananias Club," and
charges, in effect, that 1 have deliberately
lied to tho Semite.
Second. lie charges that I have
exerted my othcial influence and
worhed as a Senator lor my personal
benefit alone to secure the passage
of a resolution and to press the l)e
pariinent of Justice to bring suit
against the corporations which hob'
so much of the public domain in tieWest
and will not sell it to settlers
under the terms of their grants from
the CJovernment.
He lias prepared his indictment
with consummate ability and skill,
lie is even cunning in the apparently
innocent pretence that in making
a search through tie4 Secret c,
V- U uri VII'!
for one kind of malefactor lie had
run down another, and the case of
that one of such serious importance
that his sense of official obligation
compelled him to prompt action.
Mark you, he has been in the possession
of all the fac-U in this case
since July last, and men will bo curious
to know why, if bis zeal was
honest, he did not make thvn known
then.
The President announced in his
special message to the House on
January 1. .
I have made no charge of corruption
against Congress nor
against any member of the present
House. If I had proof of such
corruption affecting any member
of the House in any matter as to ,
which the Federal Government
has jurisdiction, action would at ]
once be brought.
* * '
This would simply be doing I
my duty in the execution and en- <
fbrcement of the laws without
respect to persons. I Jut I do not I
jr:i r<l O
... <i? wiinin ino province
oc duties of the President to report
to the House "alleged delinquencies"
of members, or the
supposed "corrupt action" of a
member "in his oflieial capacity."
It. therefore follows that he has
'ound no grounds for indicting me
n the courts, which, no doubt, would
lave rejoiced him overmuch, and
id this fuss, fury, and fustian about
he seriousness of the case and the
rravlt.y of the offense with which he
Varges me can be attributed to perid
al malice alone.
tn January I the President dedan
<t \? ii>?? i<" "~s?*
.. .. ....x, in: nniivivt'U IO 00 Ills
olat lonship to tho 11ouho and th.it
10 would not do certain things. On
lanuary ."> ho wrote a letter to Sena- (
or Hale, doing the very tiling in ("
egard to a Senator which ho had '
lecllned to do toward a member of
he House. Why this difference?
n my public work here I have not
lesitated to criticise and comment on f
he official actions and utterances of t
^resident Roosevelt, and I have '
lou lit loss given him good cause t.">
leek revenge. I have at varloua f
itues arraigned him in the Senate
or tyranlcal invasion of the rights
>f Congress, for usurpation of au*|
THE HC
LIVED UNDER RUINS.
A MAN AND WIFK CAMK FROM
I'NDKR DKURJ8.
TlmM' ('liihlmi Also Kiivisl Aft?*r I*? itig
Rui'hwl for hoveu Days l.ar^
Sum of Money Found.
Ueggio, Jan. S. Tho bum shone
again. today in all its splendor, emphasizing
tho beauties of nature in
tho surrounding oouuiry along the
mountains oovorod with groou, over
tho vineyards and lemon groves and
down tho smiling shore where it rebooted
in the opalescent sou. Inside
Rcggio, howcvor, its warms rays fe'l
upon only huge pilos of debris.
Proportionately with other towu.-?
Rpggio gave the highest poreentage
of orphans as a result of the earth
<iuake. The boys were eagerly taken
care of by relations, but the gi*ds
were mostly aluindoued. fortunately,
however, they have been entrusted
to the ladies' committees, which |
firrived here from all parts of Italy j
and doubtless will see tiro good
homes. I
All t li? ? wounded have been removed
from ? .x.x..
Hfell', illlll f>,UUU l'ffugees
have departed from the town.
Ohe thousand bodies have been dug
from the ruins of fallen buildings
and burned in improvised cemeturles.
Among others who escaped uninjured
when the shock canto!
were three children, who, after having
been buried in the debris of
their home for seven days got out.
unaided, burrowing like mice.
A man and his wife also have boon
found uninjured beneath ruins
where they had lain for eight days
subsisting on a pint of olive oil.
The safe of the bank of Italy, containing
,noo.nno, has been found.
KK< >. < it A Ki.l .S I Al.bS OI T.
Willi Mis IVoucher on Account of
Kro. Kill's Keligioii.
Cineinnat i, ' ' n. h. (diaries l\
Taft has severad his connection with
the ITesbyterian church of the Covenant
as a result of a letter written
by the pastor, llev. K. K. Watson,
during t lie national political campaign.
In his letter of resignation.
Mr. Taft also asked to be released
as one of those guaranteeing the salary
of tlm pastor. The action of
Charles I'. Taft was the outgrowth of
estrangement between himself and
Dr. Watson, which had its origin
in a personal letter written to a
Chicago minister by Dr. Watson some
time previous to the presidential
election, in which the latter expresseel
regret at the liberal religiC ^
views of the presidential candidate,
William II. Tart.
thority not given him by tlm Constitution.
for ilt?slwwll..?w.i> ?
in i: <>l I 11?' IIIW
itiid neglect of duty, and paitictilarlv
in the case of Mrs. Morris, for lirutal
and cruel conduct toward a helpless
woman. I was not aware that these
darts of mine had quivered in the
lOxecutivc hide and stung him so,
hut the eagerness and intensity with
which he has presented las case
against me, his making a precedent
wiiere none has existed heretofore,
his taking from the committee to
which he had forwarded them the
papers and giving them to the press
before that committee had considered
them, indicate that Theodore
1 loose ye It enjoys to the limit. the
feeling of getting even with lien
Tillman, and lays on the big stick
with t tie keenest relish, doubtless
believing that the pitchfork has gone
>ut of business.
In his letter to Senator Halo I
lnd on page II the following:
Hut a ease has just arisen of ft
different kind, whieh it seems to
im> i should j)iit before you as illustrating
in striking fashion tho
way in which investigations begun
by any of these various agents
in the strict line of their duty
may develop facts of high importance,
which the investigators
would not in the first instance
have sought to discover, which,
when discovered, ought not to be
bidden or suppressed, but the development
of which may tend to
create an erroneous impression
that the agents in question were
being used for purposes not within
the line of their lawful duty.
It is well to note that the l'rosi!t*nf
nvoguiizoa the ox traded i nary
haractor of his action as well as the
mlawfnl use he has made of
Secret Service. He pretends that Ins
ase against me has been worked up
>y accident, by reason of the discovry
of the inspectors in investigating
he fraduluent transactions of one
Iryon it. I)oor, and that the facts
'ought not to be hidden or suppress>d."
The President says:
Senator Tillman denied tho
statements of this circular, and
(Continued on last page.)
IRRV HE
" V "* '
COTTON GINNED
Censes Bureau Reports Over
Twelve Million Bales
TO JANUARY FIRST
Soutli Carolina Koporta 1,17(1,71:1
Hales j>s lire Share t'p to That
Time?Tin* Indications Now .Arts
That tin* Total ("fop W ill IU1 Over
Thirteen .Million Hales.
W'ashinpton, Jan. S. The cciihuh
bureau today reported 12.470.226
running bales of cotton tinned from
the growth of 100 8 to January 1 las.,
against O.'Jft I .fiOo a year ago, and
27,286 ginneries operated against
27.276 a year ago. The pereentugo
of the whole crop ginned to January
I is 90 per cent for 1000, and 90.4
for l'.his
Tin- report Includes 123 I,S2 1 round
bales and 8 0.0 I 0 sea island bales for
10O0. It counts round bales as
half bales and excludes (inters. Tho
cotton pinned to lanuary I. 1007
and lltoo, was 11,74 1.039 and 9,7
- a, ! 2 ? babs respectively. Tho
total crop of t 07 w :is 1 1,0.77,822,
of which 02.7 per cent was pinned
to .lanuarv 1 The crops of 100'i
and I 0O.7 were 1 2.083,2m 1 and 10,4
0 0.1 0a respect i veI\ .
The rtinninp bales pinned by
States t^e January 1 last, and pintle
i ies res pec' fully follow :
Alabama. 1 .3n 1.112 4 and 3,107.
Arkansas. (' I 1.1 2.'! and 2, lis.
Florida, 00,SOS and 2.77.
(lenrpia. 1,033,0.70 and t.ta.T.
Kansas, Kentucky and New Mexico,
1,07 2 and 0.
Louisiana, 1.70.1 SS and 1,001.
Mississippi. I, .7 IS. 707. and 3,10.7.
Missouri, o'l ,020 and 7s.
North Carolina, 0 10,731 and 2,47
1.
Oklahoma. 384,440 and 080.
South Carolina, 1,170,7 13 and
3,2 19. , '
Tenness'ev. 3 17,343 and 0 10.
I Texas, 3,1 8 0,.7 1 o and 4,14 7.
i Virginia. 12,1 13, and I 1 1
There were 170.00 1 round bales
and 73,12.7 sea island bales for 1008
j and 27.7,.700 round bales and 34,I
2 7:7 sea Island hales for 1007.
Tho (list rilnit ion of sea island cotton
for 1 000 follows:
Florida, 3 2,7 08; (leorpia, 1 1,03 i;
South Carolina, 12,181.
The correct statist as of the quantity
of cotton pinned to l)cccml>Q<*
13 last are 11.004,209 hales.
| MtkDIJilJ) I\Y IMF MINI ST II It
I Who Was Supposed to Have lleen
Killed Himself.
Fort Huron. Mich., .Ian. S.~ My
means of two false teeth it was definitely
established this afternoon
that (iid'Mui Frowning, of Adair village,
was the man who was butchered
last Tuesday ev. ning in the liitie
"Kattle Itun ' Methoulst church
in Columbus Township. With part
of the mystery whiith enshrouded
the brutal crime thus cleared, the
supervisor of St. Clair county immediately
offered a reward of $.">00
for the arrest of the Kev. John II
Carmiehael, of Adair, pastor of tho
church, and the man who was at
t lirst supposed to have been killed,
dismembered and then burned in
the church stove. It is supposed that
he was demented. *
STOMA) I 'HI >1 > LHIt TO DHATII.
School Hoys Arrested in St. I.ouis on
Murder Charm*.
St. Louis, Jan. 8.? Hive boy*,
ranging in age from eight to seventeen
years, were arrested in their
,..>?ma in urn; snriw school oday;
charged with the murder ?>f
W'm. Wachter, a jioddler, who was
found with his skull crushed Wednesday.
The man was found dying hy
neighbors, lie kept so much to himself
that he was known in his neighborhood
as a miser and hermit.
The arrests followed information
given to the police by Mrs. Mary
(ioebehart, mother of two of tho
prisoners. The boys told the police
that they had stoned Wachter "jus.
for fun."
Itirt Inlay of Italy's Queen.
Rome, Jan. 11.?The thirty-sixth
birthday of the queen was celebrated
throughout Italy Friday, Jan.
in a quiet manner. Owing to tho
gloom cast over the country hy tho
catastrophe in Sicily and Calabria,
no festivities were held. The queen
spent the dav quietly with her husband
and family at the Qulrlnai.
9
RALD