The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-14
Wants to Provide in Laws
That Offensive Language
Cannot Be Used Against
Branches of Government.
he INTENDS TO FORCE
GOOD MANNERS BY RULE
Lot of Indignation Has Been
Expressed by Senators Ov-
er the Resoution-WouId
MuzzIe Sen. TiIIman.
(By Sheldon S. CIine.)

washington, Feb. 13.-After more
than a century of absolutely free and
unbridled speech, United States sena
tors are to be gagged and their
speeches censored. provided, that
Henry Cabot Lodge, the erudite senior
senator from Massachusetts, has his
way. He proposes to insert in the
rules Of the senate a provision that
no senator in debate shall refer Of
fensively to either of the other coro-
dinate branches of the government or
to the other branch of the congress.
In other words, the senate's manners
not being up to the Lodge standard,
he proposes to enforce good manners
by rule.
Lot Of Indignation.
A lot of Indignation has been ex-
pressed by senators over the Lodge
resolution and it does not appear to
have the sympathy even of Mr..
Lodges fellow republican senator's.
1t is alleged the purpose of the resolu-
ton was to prevent Senator Tillman
making his promised speech attack
ing President Roosevelt. While sena-
tors generally admit it would be de-
sirable to prevent any abuse of the
president by the South Carolina sena-
tor, they object to the idea that the
- IyIo dc
that senators as a rule need to have
written regulations for guiding them
in proper conduct. If Senator Lodge
presses his resolution, therefore, it
promises to have a thorny path before
It,
Senators Deny Charge.
! Older senators deny that there is
less courtesy in senate debate today
than formerly. They contend, as a
matter of fact, that great senators Of
the past were much more inclined to
indulge in unpleasant personalities
than are senators of the present, and
they insist that President Roosevelt
has had to endure no more aggravated
attacks than have some of his prede-
cessors. The further point is made
that Mr.. Roosevelt will not suffer in
any way from anything Senator Till
man may say against him, and it is
argued that for the presidents friends
in the senate to attempt to gag Sena-
tor Tillman might be construed as
indicating the president feared the ex-
posures the South Carolinian has
threatened to make.
While these considerations have
weight, the chief objection to the
Lodge resolution is that the senate
does not feel called upon to gag itself
through fear of what one of it's men,
bers may say about President Roose-
welt or about any one else. Even
those most friendly to the president
realize that while administrations may
change senators always hope to stay
come when the gaggers would find
the gag an unpleasant mouthfull.
End Of the Crum Case.
There is ever reason to believe that
March will see the end of the
"Crum case" One of the early acts
Of Mr.. Roosevelt as president was to
nominate DR.. Crum, negro. for the
office of collector of customs at Char
lesion. s. c. The South Carolina SEN
ators, supported by senators from 9TH
err southern states. succeeded for near
ly two years in preventing confirma-
ton. but action finally was forced in
January, 1905. His four-year term