Weekly Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1908-1909, 1909-01-29
WlLLETT SPEECH
EXPUNGED FROM
HOUSE RECORDS
COMMITTEES REPORT THAT CRIT
CISM OF PRESIDENT WAS NOT
JUSTIFIED IS ADOPTED.
DESTRUCTIVE OF DIGNITY.
Respect for Executive Must Be Pre-
served and Debate Free of Per-
Sonal Abuse"
CRITICISMS ARE ONLY IRRITATING.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 81
Especial with hardly a dissenting
voice, the House today voted to expunge
the speech of Representative Willett of
New York, in which President Roosevelt
was severely criticised, from the records
of that body.
The House adopted the recommended
ton of the select committee appointed
to consider the speech. \ letter written
to. the committee by Mr.. WiIlett, urging
that his speech should remain on record,
accompanied the report. Mr.. Willett
was stopped near the end of his speech
by the House. the representatives de-
claring that he had overstepped the
bounds of decency in his abuse of the
executive.
Declaring that ''the consideration of
the speech in question involves Il consid-
Grafton of what is and what is not order
ly debate in the House." the committees
report defines the privileges of member
ship of the House and limitations of
debate 1t discusses at length the rela
tionship of the two houses of Congress
and the relations which must be main
tanned between the House of Represent
atives and the President, in accordance
with the constitution.
Must Protect President.
The report declares that it would seem
chat the peculiar constitutional duties
of the House in relation to the power of
impeaching the President do not pre-
clude q clear line of distinction between
that criticism of acts and conduct nee
essary for performance of the conStitu-
tional duties of the House and criti-
cism merely personal and irritating" 1t
also claims that it is especially the duty
of the House itself to protect the Presi-
dent from that personal abuse, innu-
endo, or ridicule tending to excite dis
order in the House itself, and to create
q personal antagonism on the part of the
President toward the House, and which
is not related to the power of the House
under the constitution to examine into
the acts and conduct of the President"
Remarks Not Justified
"Your committee has carefully con-
sidered the remarks of the gentleman
from New York." continues the report.
land finds that his remarks concerning
the President are not justified by any
considerations of the constitutional du-
ties or powers of the House, that they
transcend proper limits of criticism in
debate; 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
impossible to separate the Objectionable
remarks 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.
1t cited as a precedent for such action
by the House the speech of Robert Z.
Kennedy of Ohio, attacking the Sen
ate, made in the House on September =.
1890, which was excluded from the per
manent record.
MI Willett Writes.
In his letter to the committee. Mr.
WilIett claims that he did not transcend
the rules of the House, but that he was
entirely within his rights ito make the
speech, under the order Of general de
BATE
Freedom of speech has always been
held so sacred" he declares, that the
utmost latitude has been allowed in de-
bate, and | respectfully submit that 10
strike my speech from the record in this
instance will establish Il precedent ex-
tremely dangerous"
The House, with but few faint nays,
ia tod fI,n