The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-19
CANNON IS
  5 Declares Minority Leader Williams. SPEAKER GIVES HIS SIDE A Situation Which Has Developed
 Extreme Tension. The Trouble Grew Out of the Speakers Action in Aaioarnins House
 without Heeasns Mr.
 wfiIism.'s Demand. - HI

Washington. April fs.--A situation which has developed extreme tension, both personal and political. has grown out of the last minute of the session of the House today.
 Speaker Cannon's action in declaring the House adjourned on the motion of Mir. Payne of New York. the majority leader, without needing the demand of Representative Williams the minority leader, for division. is being de-
 aounced tonight by Mir. Williams and by other members of the minority as styrannical" Representative Williams.
 while he did not care to make state
 ment tonight concerning the situation. declared that the Speaker of the
 Houses action: was The most high.
 handed proceeding that Speaker of a House of Representatives ever had carried through"
 Mir. Williams recounted briefly the incidents leading 4np to the adjourn
 ment, stating that when the motion of Mir. Payne was put to the House, he had asked for q division. . right guar anteed to him by the rules of the House and the Constitution. The Speaker. he said. declared the motion carried and left his desk and walked toward him.. Mir. Williams said he un- derstood the Speaker to say sofne ing
 to him, but that he. had responded.
 "This Is beyond joke"
 Mr.. Williams says that he turned away and proceeded to his committee
 room and the Speaker left the House and went to his room. Mir. Williams
 said Speaker Cannon and he always
 had been good friends, but that he
 felt the Speakers action in declaring the House adjourned i'd the way he had declared it. was aas arbitrary an &C., t.on as any Speaker of the House of
 Representative ever had taken. T
 Late tonight. Sueaker Cannon, in discussing the comments nf Represen- tattve Williams and the situation as 1t
 developed at the cioae Sg tI,e House pfoceedipgs today, said <.
 "For more than two weeksg nn&si fhe lead Of Representative williams the minority have been engaged in a aiiibnster. The majority has the right
 and it.-ss. it's duty to iegislate. It has
 heeps proceedIng to perform that duty and will no doubt continue to do SO The rules of the House prohibit dila. | tory motions that would be in order were they, not made for dilatory. pur-
 poses. In the last twot weeks. many l dilatory motions have been declared out of order by the Speaker in the per. formance of hIs duty. Today's session began with dilatory motions, under tht | leadership of Representative Williams AIIeF a iCuB sCSSfOu OA sSCFcuf consideration of the diplomatic appro. l priation bf1l was completed in commit. i tee of the whole and reported with ia. | vorable recommendations to the House Representative Williams demanded | the yeas and nays on the passage oi the bill. The minority supported hin l in this demand and the yeas and nayt i were ordered The minority substan- | tialiy voted for the bill. Representa- 1 tive Payne at 6:30 o'clock moved tha' | the House adjourn. The question wal | mt and there was decided majority voting aye on the viva voee vote.
 "Representative Williams did cry ou | division but this in view of his con
 tinued diIatory tactics, was dilatorJ demand and the chair so treated 1t. de | clared the motion to adjourn carried l and adjourned the House until l; | o'clock Sunday which, under specia | order of the House, had been set aside 1 for memorial services.
 'sThe Constitution does provide that | m demand of one-hfth of the member ship present. the yeas and nays shal | be spread upon the journal.
 Representative Williams did not de- mand the yeas and nays nor did any 1 other member of the House. As he did not choose to exercise his right under | the Constitution the chair ignored hii l dIlatory demand for a division and de- | clared the House adjourned. The bare | statement of the proceedings show | that Representative Williams did not avail himself of his constitutions | rights or did not choose to do so."