The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-28
WILLETT'S REMARKS
 CUT FROM RECORD
Special Committees Adverse
 Report Is Adopted
CRITICISM NOT PROPER
Committee Declares That 1t Is the Duty of the House to Protect the President From Personal
 Abuse or Ridcule.

Washington, January 27.-The House, with but few faint ''nayA' today adopt ed the report of the special committee on the Willett speech.
 Representative Mann of Illinois, chair man of the special committee, presented the report which, he said, represented the unanimous opinion of that committee. After the report had been read, MT. Mann offered to yield time to any mem Der wishing to discuss the report. but as none evinced desire to do so, the res olutien striking out the speech was passed with hardly a dissenting voice.
 A letter written to the committee by Representative Willett urging that his speech should remain on record, accom- panied the report. Declaring that the consideration of the speech in question involves consideration of what is and what is not orderly debate in the House. - the committees report defines the priv ileges of the. members of the House and the limitation of debate. It discusses at length the relationship of the two houses of Congress and the relations which must be maintained between the House of Representatives and the President in ac- cordance with the constitution.
 The report declares that it would seem that the peculiar constitutional duties of the House in relation to the power of impeaching the President do not preclude a clear line of distinction between that criticism of acts and conduct necessary for performance of the constitutional duties of the House and a criticism merely personal and irritating"
 It also claims that 1t is especially the duty of the House itself to protect the President from that personal abuse or ridicule tending to excite disorder in the House itself, and to create personal antagonism on the part of the President toward the House and which Is not re- lated to the power of the House under the constitution to examine into the acts and conduct of the President"
 Your committee has carefully consid- cred the remarks of the gentleman from New York" continues the report, "and finds that his remarks concerning the President are not justified by any con slderation of the constitutional duties or powers of the House, that they transcend
  that they are destructive of that courtesy, respect and dignity which ought to be preserved, and that they ought not to remain in the permanent official record of the proceedings in the House."
 The committee claimed that it was im- possible to separate the objectionable re- marks from the remainder of the speech, and that the only way to eliminate the remarks considered out of order would be to strike out the entire speech. It cited as a precedent such action by the House the speech of Robert P. Kennedy of Ohio, attacking the Senate, made in the House on September 8, 1890, which was ex- cluded from the permanent record.
 In his letter to the committee MT Will lett claims he did not transcend the rules of the House. but that he was entirely within his rights to make the speech under the order of general debate. Free dom of speech has always been held so sacred" he declares, "that the utmost latitude has been allowed in debate, and I respectfully submit that to strike my speech from the record in this instance will establish precedent extremely dan gerous."
 The resolution recommended by the special committee for adoption by the House reads:
 Resolved, That the speech of MT. Will lett, printed in the daily Congressional Record of January IS, 1909, contains lan- guage improper and in violation of the privileges of debate. and that the same be stricken from the permanent record"