Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-12-06
HOUSE RENDERS RIGHTEOUS VERDICT
The Presidents Message. a Most
Able State Document, Read In
Both Branches.
HiKhfafa..

Washington, Dec. 5.-After an inter-
| esting debate Of three hours, the
House. today. by a vote of 3O2 to 80
| adopted the resolution offered by Mr.
Taylor of Ohio, yesterday, for the ap-
pointment of a special committee to in
vestigate the charges against Brigham
! H. Roberts, the Mormon Representa-
| tive-elect from Utah. Previously the
| House had rejected a substitute reso-
luton offered by Mr.. Richardson, the
leader of the minority, to allow Mr..
| Roberts to be sworn in and to send the
| whole case to the judiciary committee.
This substitute resolution, however
by no means commanded the full Dem
| ocratic strength Only 81 Republicans
voted for it. OF the 80 who then voted
against the Taylor resolution, all were
Democrats except two, Mr. Loud, a
California Republican, and Mr.. New
lands, Silveritc from Nevada.
BY the terms of the resolution, Mr..
Roberts is not only excluded from all
participation in the proceedings of the
House until the committe reports and
the House passes upon his case. but he
is denied a seat in the hall. Whether
this will be Interpreted to deny. him adj
mission within the chamber pending
the disposition of his case is yet ITO be
decided. =
The reading Of the. Presidents mes4
sage was completely pyershadowedf fby
the dramatic proceedings whiclf re-
suited in the action Of the House, to-
day. The galleries were thronged with
spectators, mostly women, who sat
patiently through the three weary hours
that preceded the debate and then
waited three hours more until it was
concluded. The most remarkable fea-
ture of 1.-The debate was the fact that
Mr. Roberts presentation of his own
side of the case, which lasted almost
an hour, became so absorbed that he
won the sympathy of many of those in
the galleries, and was several times
showered with applause. 1t was evil
dent that he realized that the. House
was overwhelingly against him and at
times he sppke fierceiy.and defiantly.
Mr.. Taylor conducted the case upon
his side. Mr.. Richardson ,championed.
his resolution. During the. debate Mr..
Grosvenor. Rep, OhN. rose to indfg-
nantly repel an insinuation by Mr.. Rob-
erts that the President had knowingly
appointed men guilty Of polygamy to
federal offices in Utah.
At IL o'clock. Speaker Henderson
called the members to order. All arose
in their places, Mr.. Roberts included
and stood with bowed heads while the
chaplain delivered his Invocation. After
the reading of the journal had been
concluded, Mr.. Cannon from the COM
mittee appointed, yesterday, to wait
upon the President, reported that the
President would communicate in writ
ing. Immediately thereafter, Major
Pruden, the Presidents executive
clerk, announced the message and It
was at once laid before the House. The
members listened attentively to the
reading.
1.-THE message will be found in full
in another part of this issue.]
The reading of the message con-
sumed two and one-half hours, and at
the conclusion the Republicans gave it
a hearty round of applause.
Payne, Rep, N. Y, the leader of the
majority. Immediately moved that the
message be referred to the committee
of the whole on the state of the Union
and ordered printed. Grow, Rep, ex
pressed desire to debate the message,
but this was declared out of order.
The Speaker then laid before the
House Mr.. Taylor's resolution to refer
the Roberts case to a committee.
Taylor Immediately took the floor.
1t was arranged that there should be
three hours debate, one-half on each
side, one half hour to be allowed Mr..
Roberts, and to come out of the time
of the minority. This arrangement
having been made, Richardson, the |
Democratic leader, gave notice of a
substitute he would offer, as follows:
Whereas-Brigham H. Roberts, from
the state of Utah, has presented GER
tificate of election in due and proper |
form as a Representative from said
state, therefore, be it
Resolved, That without expressing
any opinion as to the right or propriety |
of his retaining his seat in advance, or
of any proper investigate thereof, the
said Brigham Fl. Roberts, is entitled to
be sworn in as member of this House |
on his prima facie case.
A@s