The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-09

The Peoples Representative.
During long centuries our English
speaking ancestors struggled and bIed
That a representative government
might be established among English
people Our revolutionary forefathers.
more than century ago, struggled ana
Died that our government should be a
representative government; that the
laws OF the American people should bp
passed by the representatives chosen
by the American people. The congress
of the United States today exists a s. a
result of centuries Of struggle for pop
uiar government. Let every man who
is d member of it vote on this ques-
ton in the manner which seems 10 him
most worthy Of the traditions of which
we are the heirs, of the Institutions of
which we are the protectors, ard of tho
people of whom we are the represent
atives."
As was tae case when he first spoke
on the question before the holidays,
Mr.. Perkins vas frequently interrupt
ed by applause. Upon the conclusion
of his remarks, he submitted the COM
mittee's report, which, after quoting
from the presidents message, was as
follows
Report of Committee.
Understanding this language u bv
bership. and aware of its own conssitu-
tional duty as to its membership, the
house, in respectful terms. caHed on
the president for any Information that
would justify the Language of the ines
sage OF assist it in It's constitutional
duty to purge the house of the implied
charge of corruption.
The president. in his message Of
Jan. T. denied that the paragrap h Of
the annual message casts reflections on
the integrity of the house; attributes
to the house an entire failure 10 TN
derstand my message; declares that
he has made no charge of corruption
against any member of this house, and
by implication states thai he has no
proof of corruption of any member of
this house.
Whether the house, in its RESOLUTION
of Dec. Il, 1908. correctly interpreted
the meaning of the words used ~ the
president in his annual message, OF
whether it misunderstood that Ian
guage as the president implies, viii he
Judged now, and in the future. accord |
ing to the accepted interpretation Of the |
English language. This house, charged |
only with its responsibility to the Deo- /
pie of the United States. and its obli- !
CATION to transmit unimpaired to the |
future the representative institutions /
inherited from the past, and to pre-
serve It's own NlSHitgs must iilStSA WI /
it's own capacity to understand the inn
port of the presidents language. We
consider the language of the president
in his message of Dec. s, 1908, unjusti- /
fed and without basis of fact, and that
it constitutes a breach of the privileges
of the house; therefore, be 1t
The Resolutions.
:. Resolved That the house, in =
:, the exercise of its constitutional =
:. prerogatives, declines to consider ::
:. any communication from any y
:. source which is not in its own =
- Judgment respectful; and, be it =
:. further
:. Resolved, That the special COM =
!. mittee and the committee of the =
:. whole house on the state of the =
:. Union be discharged from any con- =
:: sideratf0n of so much of the presi- =
:. dents annual message as relates :.
:. to the secret service and is above Z:
:: set FORTH and that the said por- ::
= ton of the message be laid on the =
:. table; and, be il further :
:. Resolved, That the message of =
y the president, sent to the house on -
:. Jan. 4, 1909, being unresponsive to ::
= the inquiry of the house, and con- =
:: stituting an invasion of the privi- =
:. Ieges of this house by questioning :.
:: the motives and intelligence Of ::
:: members in the exercise OF their :.
:. constitutional rights and functions, =
= be laid on the table,
MIR. Denby's Remarks.
When Mr. Perkins concluded. he :
yielded time to his colleague on the
comm tee Mr.. DENLY, who said the
house was confronted with The most
painful duty that had fallen 90 its lot
since he had been a member. 1t was
greatly to be regretted that the presi- |
dent should have seen fit to mention by
name in his message certain members
Of the committee on appropriations,
mot with a view 10 exposure of cor
ruption, but merely to criticize them {
for their official action in their legisla- t
tive capacity"
The president, he declared. did not
agree with the committee, but surely.
he said, he could not claim the right /
to hold up 10 public ridicule in a state
paper every member whose views did ,
not exactly accord with his own
To-day" he continued, with calm de- {
liberation, your special committee of I
fers a resolution intended to make clear
the attitude of the house of representa-
tives toward THE president when in the !
exercise of a constitutional privilege he !;
strayed from the path of reason and | :
Just criticism into the realm of person. I
al abuse, suspicion and innuendo."
More Messages and Laughter. t
a ludicrous interruption of the debate 2
occurred just as Mr.. DENLY concluded, :
when a doorkeeper announced: +
Mr.. Speaker, q message from the 5
president of the United States" :
The house, led by the Democratic c
side, burst into laughter. as it beheld s
Mr. Latta, assistant secretary to the :,
president, standing in the center aisle +
with a document in his hand. Speaker {
Cannon could not restore order for a Y
'ull minute to recognize Mr.. Latta For 1
I minute after the receipts of the mes L
"a ges, for there were three of them. &
he house seemed stunned. The debate
vas resumed when it was noticed that
III communications referred to routine
matters.
Defense of Roosevelt. !,
Mr.. Bennett of New York predicted c
hat the action Of the house would play 5
10 more part in the record of Theodore
Roosevelt than did the rebuke of the =
louse to President Tyler, or the act Of | r.