The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-19
ONE MAN POWER
IN LOWER HOUSE
Speaker Cannon Violates the
Rules and the ConStitu-
ton as Well.
HIGH HANDED PROCEEDING
MINORITY SEEMINGLY HAS NO
y RIGHTS WHATEVER.
HIGH HANDED PROCEEDING

Washington, April 1S.-A situation
which has developed extreme tension,
10Th personal and political, has grown
out of the last minute of the session of
the house today. The speakers action
in declaring the house adjourned, on
the motion of Mr.. Payne of New York.
the majority leader, without needing
the demand of Representative Will
liams, the minority leader, for a divi-
sion, was denounced tonight by Mr..
Williams and by other members of the
minority as "tyrannical." Representa-
tive Williams, while he did not care TO
make a statement tonight concerning
the situation. declared that the speak
er's action was the most high-handed
proceeding that speaker of the house
Of representatives had ever carried
through"
Statement of Mr.. Williams.
Mr.. Williams recounted briefly the in
cidents leading up to the adjournment
stating that when the motion of Mr.
Payne was put to the house he had
asked for division. a right guaran-
teed To- him by the rules of the house
and by the constitution. The speaker,
he said. declared the motion carried and
r left his desk and walked toward him.
!. Mr. Williams said he understood the
speaker TO say something to him. but
he had responded This is beyond a
joke.
Mr.. Williams says he turned away
and proceeded to his committee room,
and the speaker left the house and
went to his room.
Mr.. Williams said Speaker Cannon
and he always had been good friends,
but that he felt the speakers action in
declaring the house adjourned in the
way he had decided it was las arbi-
trary an action as any speaker of the
house of representative ever had
taken
cannon's Excuse.
Late tonight Speaker Cannon. in dis
cussing the comments of Representa-
tive Williams and the situation as it
dcVelOped at the close of the house
Proceedings today, said:
4 For more than two weeks under the
lead of Representative Williams, the
minority has been engaged in filibus-
ter The majority has the right, and II
is its duty. to legislate. Ii has been
performing that duty. and no doubt
viii continue 10 do so. The rules of
the house prohibit dilatOry motions
that would he in order were they not
made for diIatOTy purposes. In the
iast two weeks many dilatOTy motions
have been declared out of order by the
speaker in the performance of his
DUTY, Today's session began with dila-
sorry motions, under the leadership of
Representative Williams. After a long
session of seven hours consideration of
the diplomatic appropriation bill was
completed i'm committee of the whole
sS the bill reported favOrably TO the
: house. Representative Williams de-
marded the yeas and nays on passage
Of the bill. The minority supported
him in this demand. and the yeas and
nays were ordered. The minority sub
stantially voted for the bill.
Alleged DiIatory Motion.
Representative Payne, at $50 .. m.
moved that the house adjourn. The
question was put and there was a de-
Cided majority voting aye on the viva
NOce vote. Representative Williams
did cry out division but this. in view
of his continued dilatOry tactics, was
dilatory demand and the chair so
treated il, declared the motion to adj
jOuTn carried and adjourned the house
until II o'clock Sunday. which time.
under a special order of the house. had
been set aside for memorial services.
The constitution does provide that
on demand of One-fifth of the members