The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-31
SENT TO COVENTRY
BretZ Suspended From the
Assembly.
LECTURE FROM THE CHAIR.
The Unhappy PopuIist From Alameda
to Be Reprimanded at the Bar
of the House.
LECTURE FROM THE CHAIR.
Special to THE MoRNISs CALL

have preferred this TO the punishment that
was Inflicted upon him. BY vote OF sixty
to sixteen he was suspended from all pIlV-
ieges Of the House for the period OF one
week. and in addition to that he VIII De
compelled 10 appear before the bar OF the
House to receive reprmand, the severity
of which is entirely within the discretion OF
Speaker Gould.
The report of the investigating committee
which provided for BreIZ'S expulsion had
been made a special order for o'clock, but
when that time arrived there was another
delay This time it was caused by the fact
that the Judiciary Committee, TO which bad
been referred the question as to whether or
not Gator could defend Brett before the bar
of the House. had not reported. The conf
mittee was celebrating as to whether the
Populist candidate for United States Sen
at0r should be allowed 10 crate In me
Assembly chamber or not.
At 3 o'clock. however. Shsnahan. the
chairman Of the judiciary Committee, ap-
peared with the report The majority OF
1be committee we're In favor of Gator, but
the minoIity-Shanahan Afford, Hamilton,
Fjnlavson and Mack-were opposed to
Bretz being represented By outside eOun sells
As soon as the minorityi report had beer
read Shanahan moved to have it adopted.
Before he had an opportunity of speaking
to it, however, Speaker Gould announced
from the chair that if counsel were called
from outside the membership of the Assem-
Div it would require the unanimous consent
of the House.
Barlow, the san Luis ObispO Populist,
said that unfortunately there were no
LAWYERS among their representation in the
Assembly They were out of luck in that
respect. and ought to be allowed an orator
who had the sane gift of CAB that the
Speaker possessed.
Shauahan made one Of his characteristic
speeches against permitting Gator to talk.
he said thai il such thing were permitted
il would argue that the Legislature had lost
its self-respect, and was no longer able TO
think and act for itself. He eontended that
when matter had been referred to CON-
mlttee as had been done in this case, and
had been thoroughly investigated and
report submitted, that ought to be SUI
fcien:.
When Shasta's tall orator was in the midst
of his argument Bl-dsoe Interrupted him
with point Of order. declaring that be was
not speaking to the question.
Shanahan did not take the interruption
kindly, for be quickly retorted with tile re-
mark that man who would bubble over
tie passage OF a memorial resolution on
the death # the most distinguished men,
Der Of the Republican,, party was not a COM
petent judge.
OF course this reference to Bledsoe's act
Of Saturday aroused him 10 a fearful pitch
of passion, and in the intensity Of his rage
be fairly screamed cut that be was right in
what he did.
Shanahan's reply to Bledsoe was loudly
applauded, and the discontinue Of the
latter created much laughter The derisiOn
expressed was so pronounced that Bedsoe
again arose in another ghty passion and
declared that he represented the indepen-
dent voters Of Humboldt County, and from
now on he would be an Independent men,
Der of the Assembly. He was so well salts
hed that members Of his party were joining
IN the general Iidicule that he was determ-
med to break away from them all and vote
upon every measure as he chose.
After the row had subsidized Shanahan
proceed d with his argument he said that
either Bretz Kerns ought to be expelled.
II the charges preferred against Kerns had
been sustained be would have commended
BreZ for having made them, but as the in
vestigttiou had proved them to be utterly
false be was in favor OF Furnishing the man
who had made them.
Shanahan took considerable latitude in
his talk and went over the history Of the
case. He recited the fact that when the re-
port Of the Investigating Committee was
made Vann, the Popuist member, had in
dor5ed every word Of 1t except that portion
Of it which called for expulsion.
When Shanahan had concluded Vann
undertook to wriggle out Of the position he
had taken when be signed the report but
he made deploraole exhibition of himself
in doing so. What be said however, met
with proper response from his brother
Popuists, and one of them, Massey Thomas
II Santa Clara, so far forgot himself as to
give a war-whoop, which brought forth
severe reprimand from The Speaker.
Although Bledsoe had been severely re-
pulsed be was not by any means siieDced.
for at this juneture he was on his feet to
re lute Shanaban's statement that there vas
no prece dent for permitting Gator to sp'ak
in behalf OF Bretz at the bar Of the House.
he cited the case of Elwood Bruner in
whose defense, two years ago, Franklin
Bull. the attorney, had been permitted to
speak.
Gould destroyed that point for the time
being by stating that when Bull spoke the
Assembly had resolved itself into commit
tee of the whole.
Mathews Of Tehama argued that if Brett
was to be permitted to have counsel the
same favor should be accorded to Kerns.
he spoke against it, however, and said that
if Gator was gwen permission to speak he
would abuse the privilege just as he had
done before the committee.
A rofo fin toll pfuo -
report, and it was killed by vote of 80 to
SO.
The same vote reversed defeated the
report which gave Gator the privilege TO
argue.
Barlow then sent up resolution proyid-
Ing that the House resolve itself into CON-
mittee Of the whole to consider the matter,
but his voice was the only one heard in its
favor.
Shanahan then sent up resolution call
ing for the expulsion OF Bretz.
Vann offered a substitute, which, If
adopted. would have whitewashed the
offending Bretz. He declared that there
were circumstances surrounding the way in
which Kerns voted Of sufficiently suspic-
ious character to warrant the statement that
Bretz had made, and the substitute called
for bis exoneratiOn.
Bedsoe sent up another substitute, which
provided that BreiZ should be excluded from
all privileges of the House for the period Of
one week.
1t had been arranged by Gator and Bretz
that in the event OF the former being forbid
den 10 talk, Vann should make the argu-
ment. he did So and the point upon which
he laid the greatest stress was that Stephen
n. White bad testified before the committee
that sack" had been used in the Repub-
lean campaign Of two years ago. Vann
cOntended that in making this statement
White had committed just as serious an
olfense as had Brett, but instead OF being
TeprimaBded for it, he had received enthu-