The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-21
MT. Williams Goes After
 Cannon.
IE INTRODUCES RESOLUTIONS
Denounces Action of Speaker In
 Adjourning House.
Speaker Cannon, Craving the Indul- genee of the House, Attempfs to Explain and Justify His Ac-
 ten of Saturday.


 floor by unanimous consent to speak to a question of privilege of the House. Mir. Williams. the minority leader in the House of Representatives. today directed attention to what he called the speakers breach of provision of the House in arbitrarily adjourning the House on Saturday last.
 He would make all allowances he said for the "pestering" with which hs had inflicted the speaker and for hu- man nature intolerant at being SO pestered. but at the same time. he de- clared the speakers act was one of the gravest things that had occurred in parlimantery history.
 "All talk" he said, about a breach in the personal friendship existing between you and me. Mr. Speaker. growing out of what regard as your Saturday evenings arbitary adjourn ment of the House. is nonsense"
 Real friendship he said. were too hard to form and to maintain and too precious after they are formed, to be lightly shaken off by sensible men
 Mir. Williams then spoke of the con- NQt& by yeas and nays.
 The speakers action is undeniable and is undenied by him." he said Tho speaker can not deny that 1t was his intent and purpose to cut off the right to demand the yeas and nays and that was the reason why he did not make the open ruling. but instead resorted to this unprecedented parliamentary act. by ignoring a demand and explaining ntah haA Nkxr fnx there was no House to appeal to. nor to explain his purpose to-"
 Speaking in the most unimpasxioned manner and carefuily weighing hfa wordss Mr. Williams. continuing sald
 tsThe truth Is. MT. Speaker. that you are one of the best men in the world, but a long and undisturbed power whose lesser abuses have been good naturedly passed over. has made you somewhat despotic and intoiernnt of opposition"
 For some moons, he said. members of the house and press gallery had mo- ticed that the speaker frequently had made jest of some official act an no doubt the speaker thought he could so treat Saturdays incident.
 But" he said. the motive purpose and effect of that action. which was unprecedented. unexpected and unan- nounoed was to destroy the very es-
 
 annihilating the constitutionaifty guaranteed right of one-fifth of the House to place themselves on record in
 Mfr. Williams then offered the follow ing resolution which despite the pro- be privileged:
 "Resolved-that the act of tha Speaker of the House of Represanta- lives in adjourning the House on sat- urday April IS, 1908, was a breach Of privilege. of the House affecting fte proceedings"
 Speaker Cannon Explains.
 Craving the indulgence of tha 1ow.. speaker Cannon declared in reply that under normal conditions, the rules ns the House were to be observed.
 Tn the recollection of the chatr .s sald the Speaker. since the present occupant has occupied the chair, re- spect has been paid to the constit,tion and to the rules framed under it
 He then quoted the rule rerara,n.. dilatory tactics and said:
 For two weeks past, 1t is an open secret, time and again avowed by tha gentleman who leads the minority, that he was resorting to dfiatory nrornaa. inEs for purposes which seemed to Him tustifiable. to emphasize, az he clafrasd matters that were pending at tha tfr,,a touching the Joint legislation. The zen tleman hut shortly before the motion to adjourn was made again ayowed and sought to Justify his action"
 It was not for the chair he said. h condemn the action of any member. ali members being equal in their conatttu- ttonal rights and in their rights under the rules. After quoting from the con- stitution bearing on the duties Of each. House of Congress. Speaker Cannon de- AN. ing in a dilatory manner when the chair announced that the motion to ad- iourn had prevailed. The Speaker ad- mitted that he heard Mfr. Williams's re- quest for a division, but" he said. ''aa the gentleman was proceeding as he had proceeded for two weeks and many times upon that day. and just before the motion to adjourn had exer- cised his power for dilatory proceeds ings. he resorted to dilatory proceed- ings The chair watched carefully to see if he invoked the constitutional right to demand the yeas and nays. As he did not, and as no other member demanded them. the chair as Speaker and as q member. after long session of the House and after a vote was ta- ken viva voce upon the motion to ad- iourn at the hour of half past six in a seven hours session. the chair held if to be not only his privilege hut hia dutv to sweep aside tho merely dila- tory demand and declare the House adjourned"
 The Republicans broke out into loud nnDlause. in the midst of which Mfr. williams was clamoring for recogni~ tion and the Speaker was calling to MT Dalzeil to take the chair. Mr. pai- zeu mounted the rostrum and the Speaker stepped down on the floor.
 A motion by MT. Payne to table the -osolutIon was carried 146 to 11e. Messrs Cooper and Nelson. ReDubli- cans of wisconsin voting with the Democrats.