New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-02-02

By a SCbfrh '''- D>''-NA''''>
rxrs DRAGGED APART AND TAKEN BE-
FORE THE spEAKER-REGRErs AND
APOLOGIES ALL AROUND AND
PEACE FINALLY RESTORED
,, rv,rosAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.]
t rsb 1-"You an inlpertinent
"Hsni.,e . w. xc,amed Colonel Breckenridge. of Ken
lucky. m s,ortea Mr. Heard Of Mis-
souri,. ,,or scuns a olick and
men ton by excited bystanders of would
,hotants who struggled with desperate lury
o -, AZ each other. 1t will be generally conceded
-, nth the language and the performance 30
.na outlined were supplementary in the eX-
prie"' 80 that the action of the Speaker in
.e I the immediate arrest OF the belligerent
.-,.smen by the Sergeant-at- Arms. and the reDuRe
- administered to them when he said That II they
- M respect for themselves they ought 10 nave
nn,e for the dignity Of the House or Representa-
tIves. were wholly justifab.e and yet II must be
admitted that the provocation both sides was
excessive Mr.. Heard. Of course. knew that ne was
M. IAN impairment sco1ndrel but he deneo 'he
accusation in words that were hasty ana not wen
chosen Whether his words were true or not mace
not the slightest difference, for they were woros
that no knight OF Kentucky chivalry-or any other
sort of chvalry. for that matter-wouin nesna
70 resent the instant. no matter wha' 'he '''ne
ar place The blow which followed. therefore, was
quite a matter Of course.
WHAT THE TROUBLE WAS ABOUT
The incident was wholly unexpected. as such incl
Asn,s In the House of Representatives always are
y. crew out of an attempt TO throttle debate on
.rer which Is probably more dsagreeao.e 10
ADMINISTRATION Democrats Of the cuckoo variety-
vhose powers OF conservation ana seiI-Sa.i me-
80 heen so severely tested in the last eighteen
n,,s as TO excite the compassion even or the
r.r multitude who affect TO sneer at hero-worshp
and Cleveland worshppsrs-tlan almosf an! o,he'
rrat,er which could be mentioned. The Comm't'ee
an Fo-eign Affairs had unanimously reporter d
resolution OF inquiry relating TO Hawaiian aiIais'
Mr. HIT of Illinois. the Republican leader Oh 'ne
irori,v AZ the committee. had spoken oriehy N
sunnort and explanation Of it, and CHAIRMAN NC
C,rearv had replied. When the latter welded .he
cav Colonel Breckenridge claimed IT, ana denahueu
x.oosnit,on but the Speaker recognized MI. Hearu'
.. chairman Of the Committee the District
-, Columbia and who moved the previous ques-
linn in order to prevent further oeoa'e Oh NV
1Jausian resolution that he could DING up pusi-
ness from that committee r..
tn. penuhlicans resented this attempt 10 silence
AZ, u,,, and anv others who might desire to speak
and they declined to vote when division was ue
nanded on Mr. Hcard's notion thus oreakns inc
quorum In the time Colonei brechil''use'
who recently offered joint resolution LOOKING 70
she annexation Of Hawaii TO the United states ana
uho desired TO speak in opposition TO the RESOLUTION
..ra,or,td to-day kept growing hotter and hotter
left. his own seat and walked up the cei''a'
aisle near which Mr.. Heard sits, ana began 10 "a
rostulate with him. The latter remarked 'hat ''e
day had been allotted to his committee ana 'hat II
did not mean 10 have il wasted on another mohKeH
ehow over Hawaii" or words that effect The
r1,ddy face OF the Kentuckian became rudd'er 'hah
ever and ne angry exclaimed:
well you will do District OF Columbia ousi-
ness here to-day unless you get out OF the way ana
.uor, .o,e debate on the resolution. Mark that!
Members who were near enough 10 hear the tones
and words of the disputants scented oimcu'.'
and pricked up their ears. With MOI emphasis
usard who was on his feet dehed Breckenridge.
who he declared had no right to attempt 10 oo-
s,ruct the regular proceedings and the latter VINO
stood facing him several feet away with mem
Der sitting in his chair between them shouted IN
4 voice ouvering with rage;
you insolent, impertinent scoundrei
You are liar the hot and ready retor'
Of the tall thin Mssourian who IL by no means n
athlete and who has, only recently recovered from
an Illness.
THE BLOW FELL SHORT.
The face Of the Kentuckian flushed and paled
again In an instant his eyes flashed and he sprans
forward with clenched fists and aimed a blow at
Heard who stood his ground. ready to defend him.
self The blow fell short and half dozen members
sprang forward and seized the would-be "suggers.
who mady struggled to get together Both were
eager to fight. and great deal OF force had to be
used to keep them apart. Breckenridge is heaVy
man Of powerful physique and his frantic struggles
10 release himself and get within reach OF his ad-
versary seemed about TO succeed when the lean but
wiry Pence OF Colorado. seized him from behind
and stripped his coat nearly off his back before ne
ceased struggle and yielded TO the opportunities
and efforts Of other members who sought 10 restrain
him.
Heard who had stepped into the aisle. was
hustled back with difficulty. but neither Of the
principals paid any heed to the mace. which was
fourished between them by officer OF the
House. whom the Speaker had ordered TO arrest
them the fracas began. q.
OF course the greatest confusion prevailed
Members hurried from all parts Of the chamber
10 the Of disturbance. and within thirty
seconds the centre aisle and the area In front OF
the Speakers desk we're crowded with excited men,
who elbowed and pushed one another and paid no
heed to the gavel the commands OF the Speaker
After a time however with the aid of the ser
geant-at-arms and his assistants, he succeeded In
restoring degree of order. and the culprits
were brought before the bar Of the House. Even
then they appeared to be eager as ever to get
together. and II with considerable difficulty
that a renewal of hostilites prevented.
Speaker Crisp thought it would be expedient to
have them further apart. and they were COM
manded to return to their seats, which are some
distance asunder.
EXPLANATIONS NOT SATISFACTORY.
AS soon as order had been restored Colonel
Breckenridge and made humble apology
70 the House and to the Speaker for his miscon-
duct and tried to palliae his offence by repeating
the epithet Heard had applied to him. He was
rewarded with the applause OF few OF the mem
bers when he sat down. and the Missourian rose
10 offsr his apology or explanation. Heard's ex-
PLANTATION was not satisfactory to Breckenridge
nor was Brcckinrdges satisfactory to Heard, be-
cause they differed with each other on question
of fact Heard declared and insisted that the
Kentuckian had applied thu words 'impertinent
scoundrei" TO him. and the latter quite as strongly
insisted that he did not use the word "scoundrel"
Heard's remark that the gentleman from Ken
lucky" had forgotten. "in his excitement per-
hAps, that he had used the word in question. gave
tinge of comedy the situation, inasmuch as
both men had appeared to be about as excited as