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Quote#Speech

Is President Roosevelt ready to act up to his own theory and have his…

Quote byBenjamin Tillman · 1847–1918

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Tillman's address to the Senate on the Brownsville affair on January 12, 1907. Roosevelt had issued a statement saying that each of the accused men at Brownsville would be dealt with on his merits, without regard to race..

English (original)

Is President Roosevelt ready to act up to his own theory and have his children marry men and women of the other races? Would he accept as a daughter-in-law a Chinese, a Malay, an Indian, or a negro in accord to the doctrine laid down in his message which I have quoted? We all know that he would not, and while "fine words butter no parsnips", words like these are a source of incalculable evil.

— Benjamin Tillman

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