The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-01

mittee are of opinion that public good and the dignity of the Senate will be alike best promoted and protected, so Tar as this particular case Is concerned, py imposing upon each Senator by formal vote the censure of the Senate for the | offense by him committed and therefore recommend the daoption of the resolu- | tion."
 At the conclusion of the reading Of the majority report Mir. Bailey of Texas or fered the following statement as repre- sntinR the views of himself and four other Senators:
 we dissent from so much of the report 1 of the committee as asserts the power or | the Senate to suspend a Senator and thus denrive a State of its vote and much l as describes the offenses of the Senators as of different gravity; but we approve the resolution reported. "J. W. Bailey, |F "E. w. Pettus, "J. c. s. Blackburn, .Fred T. Dubois,
 Murphy J. Foster.
 Members of the Committee on Privileges
 and Elections"
 The report of the minority or the com-
 mittee was then read. This was pre-
 sented by Mir. McComas on behalf Of
 himself and Mir. Beveridge. in which Mr.
 Pritchard concurred in part. The Sena-
 tors signing the statement say they do
 not agree with the majority of the com
 mittee as to the punishment proposed py
 the majority.
 They then say: "The junior Senator from South Carolina is guilty Of unpar- liamentary language. The senior Seha- tor from South Carolina Is guilty Of phy- sical violence. The lightest form of pun ishment is a reprimand or censure. and it is the latter @whichNthe majority pro- poses to infiict for two offenses differing in character and gravity. The minority of the committee are of the opinion that this punishment is inadequate and to ignore the differences between the or lenses is unjust. The minority or the committee is of the opinion that suspen- sion of the two offending Senators from their Senatorial privileges heretofore in- dicted should now be formally ad1udged and continued for different periods of time.'' The minority report then enters upon an extended argument in support or this nro,ositton. The report concludes by recommending that Senator McLaurlh De suspended from his functions as Sena- | tor for five days and that Senator r1il- | man be- suspended for twenty-five days l They add:
 | .The objection that no punishment
 should deprive a sovereign State Of its l votes in the Senate fails when we con slider the rights of all the States ana | above all, the right and duty or the l Senate to adequately punish grave | offense."
 MT. Pritchard's addition to the above | statement is in the following language' q concur in all the foregoing views ex- cent as to the punishment of the junior | Senator from South Carolina. It Is my opinion that the punishment he has | already suffered is adequate to his of- | fense. make no recommendation as to | inc nunishment to be imposed on the senior Senator from South Carolina. MT. Bacon said the senior Senator from South Carolina CMr. Tillman) had ex- pressed his desire through the Senator l from Kentucky (Mr. Blackburn) to make nublic acknowledgement of his error and to apologize to the Senate. The junior Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Mc- Iaurin) had expressed the same desire through him (Mr. Bacon). He deemed 1t important that these facts should be made a part of the record. MT. GaIlinger said that under the Sem ate rules it was not competent to move | to substitute a minority for a majority l report otherwise he would move to SUD stitute the minority report for that Of the majority. as he believed the minority re- port recommended fhe precise klno ot punishment that ought to be innicted on the Senators involved. During the roll call on the adoption Of | the majority report when the name or Mir McLaurin of Mississippi was reacneo | in the roll-call, he said: "Being related | bv kinship to one of the Senators in- | volved, ask to be excused from voting. The request was granted. | MT McLaurin of South Carolina, one of the offending Senators, said in re-
 sponse to his name which had been re-
 stored to the roll: "I refrain from Vot- | ing for obvious reasons | When MT. Tillman's name was called. he arose deliberately. Every eye in the chamber was fixed upon his. His face was stern and set and he was pale as | sheet. Evidently he was laboring under | great emotion. Among gentlemen. ne l said slowly. as his words were heard dls- l tinctly in the uttermost parts Of the chamber. "an apology for an offense com- | mitted under the heat Of blood IS usualy | considered sufficient.
 Then he resumed his seat amid gasps of astonishment among Senators and | spectators.
 Mr Burrows hastened to the desks of
 the official stenographers and directeG that Mir. Tillman's words be written out
 at once.
 At the conclusion of the roll-call, hut
 
 Kean (N J). who had voted for the res olution. said:
 Having heard the Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Tilman) against insult the Senate, l change my vote from aye to mo-"
 The resolution was adopted, 54 to F. Senators voting nay being as follows: Beveridge, Clark CWyoD. Deboe, Diet rich. Foster CWash.). Kean. Kittridge,
 McComas. Willard. Pritchard, Proctor, Scott-12.
 Mir Burrows demanded that the state
 ment of Mir. Tilman be read to the Sen
 ate After the reading Mir. Tillman
 said "The words uttered by me were
 not intended to be offensive. and If they
 were so considered, very gratefully with
 draw them
 The chair CMr- Fryel said: The
 Senator has withdrawn the remarks. Is
 there objection on the part of the Senate
 to their withdrawal?'
 'I object MT. President" insisted MT
 Dietrich CRep., Neb.)
 The effect of the objection is to incor-
 porate MT. Tillmans esterance in the
 record of the Senate.
 MT. Platt (Conn) explained that he
 voted reluctantly for the resolution just passed, but he could see no other way
 open to the Senate to punish the offend ing Senators. He favored suspension and differentiated punishment. Continued on Page FiVs)