Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1909-01-15
President tanned At LAST
Rebuked by Lower House by
Overwhelming Vote.
PART OF MESSAGE Laid ON Table
Similar Action Taken on the Cnre-
spOnsive Follow-Up of Last Mon
day. Decline to Receive Rep
rehensible Documents

WaSnlngtOn.-AS had Deen lore
casted the report of the special COM
mittee appointed to deal with the
language in the presidents annual
message and in his special message
bearing on the secret service affect
ing members of congress, was sub
mitted and it was used as the basis
for some of the most earnest and
vigorous speeches ever heard In the
history of the chamber. The house
was in no mood to treat the subject
otherwise than seriously.
The president was not without his
supporters, however. In anticipation
of the report, the effect of which was
to administer a rebuke to the presi-
dent, there was one of the largest
attendances of the session, while the
galleries at all times were filled to
their capacity. There was not a mo-
ment during the day that the diplo-
matte gallery was not fully occupied,
many of the foreign representatives
being compelled to sit on the steps of
the aisles. This also was true of the
presidents gallery. although no mem
Der of his immediate family were
present.
Accompanying it was a resolution
which declared it to be the sense of
tho houca that ~ ohoIl 1acIiDa 20 noo
slider any communication from any
source which is not respectful, re-
commencing that the Objectionable
portion of the presidents annual
message be laid on the table, and
that similar action be taken with re-
spect to the message of last week
because Of its being unresponsive to
the inquiry of the house, as to what
the president meant when he said
referring to the limitation placed
upon the field of operations of the
secret service that "the chief argu-
ment in favor of the provision was
that the congressman did not them
selves wish to be Investigated"
When chairman Perkins, of New
York, of the special committee arose
to make his report he faced an al
most full membership while the GAL
leries were packed with interested
spectators. Messrs. Tawney, Smith,
of Iowa; Sherley and Fitzgerald
were on the floor prepared by word
of mouth to resent what they deemed
to be the insinuations of the presi.
dent upon them as members of the
committee on appropriations. They
were not alone in their indignation.
Indeed, for some time past, the feel
ing of the members had been grow
ing more and more intense and some
of them have been giving way to
their sentiments in language which
fully testified to their wounded
pride.
AS was the case when he first
spoke on the question before the
holidays Mr.. Perkins was frequently
interrupted by applause. Upon the
conclusion of his remarks, he SUBJ
mitted the committee report, which.
after quoting from the presidents
message, was as follows:
Understanding this language to
be a reflection on the integrity of
its membership and aware of it's
own constitutional duty as to its
membership, the house in respectful
terms called on the president for. any
information that would justify the
language of the message or assist 1t
in its constitutional duty to purge
itself of corruption.
THE president in his message of
January 4 denies that the paragraph
of the annual message casts reflec-
lions on the integrity of the house;
attributes to the house an entire
failure to understand my message,
declares that he has made no charge
OF corruption against any members
of this house, ana by implication
states that he has no proof of cor
ruption on the part of any member
of this house.
Whether the house in its resolu-
ton OF December IT, 1908, correctly
Interpreted the meaning of the words
used by the president in his annual
message. or whether 1t misunder-
stood that language as the president
implies, will be judged now and in
the future according to the accepted
interpretations of the English langu-
age. This house charged only with
its responsibility to the people of the
United States. and its obligation to
transmit unimpaired to the future
the representative institutions inher-
tied from the past, and to preserve
its own dignity, must insist on its
own capacity to understand the i'm
port OF the presidents language. We
consider the language of the presi-
dent in his message of December s,
1908, injustified and without basis
OF fact, and that IL constitutes . a