The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-06-22
DRAMATIC HOUSE SCENE,
[mputation of Arizona Statehood Del
egate ElicitS a Warm Reply trOm
Speaker Cannon.
Speaker Cannon.

A Washington special says. Not in
many years has the house of repre-
sentatives witnessed a more dramatic
scene than it witnessed Thursday, in
cident to the adoption of the confer
ence report on statehood.
A round of cheers from both sides
Of the chamber greeted Chairman
Hamilton Of the committee, while he
moved the adoption Of the report.
While there was no discussion on the
report itself, a more unexpected cpl
sOde occurred.
Marcus A. Smith, the delegate from
Arizona, took occasion in a guarded
way to insinuate that there had been
undue influence used in postponing
an agreement.
Smarting under what he believed to
be a direct insinuation against him,
Speaker Cannon impetuously left the
chair, calling Mr. DalzeI to the desk,
and, taking a position in the aisle,
he asked the speaker pro TEN. for
five minutes to explain his position.
Thunders of applause greeted the
speaker as he stood with hand up
lifted, his head shaking, waiting for
quiet in the house
Finally order was restored, and
then, measuring every word, Speaker
Cannon said:
"Mr. Speaker: AS a member of the
house of representatives during this
session as at all other sessions, I have
represented my constituents, and act
ed for the whole people according to
my best Judgment. The coming into
the union of Oklahoma and the IN
dian Territory meets my approval. If
I had any choice, and were infinitely
supreme, I would prefer to see Okla
homa and the Indian Territory come
separately with an aggregate popula-
ton of two and almost one-haIf mil
lions, with four senators, rather than
to see New Mexico and Arizona come
together, and God knows, rather to
see them come singly with about 30O,-
coo population with four senators.
"You have the result before you,
Although every man in the Indian
Territory should vote against state
hood for the proposed new state
of Oklahoma, notwithstanding that
protest the state would be and will
be formed under this enabling act.
There is no separate vote there. There
is a separate vote, however, as to
the other two. I would not have
taken the floor had not the honora-
BILE gentleman, the delegate from Ari-
IONA (Mr. Smith) made the remark
that there was a high penalty for the
governor of that territory to attempt
to influence legislation, or for one
legislative body or it's membership
to attempt to traffic in legislation
with the other in order to secure
certain other legislation, if correctly
state him. That remark. could not
have had but one motive and one
meaning, and that meaning is that
some one in the house has sought
to affect legislation in the house as
= matter of traffic in order to secure
action upon this matter in the senate.
That 1mputation implied, so far as
know or believe upon any other mem
Der Of this house, is unworthy of the
gentleman that uttered it, and is with
out foundation in fact" Cloud APP
plause.)
When Speaker Cannon finished the
house was in an uproar. It could not
be controlled, nor did the presiding
officer make any effort toward con-
trolling it. Members who had sat in
silence during the delivery of the
speech, democrats and republicans
alike, crowded around the speaker
to shake him by the hand, and tell
him how glad they were that the long
drawn out fight for statehood had
been happily ended in a compromise,
and that his speech voiced the senti-
ments of the members.