The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-11
AIRED IN HOUSE SESSION MT. Rice Makes Statement
 on the Floor REGARDING RULING General Explanations Are Made. Resolution of Censure Drawn for Representing Member Forci-
 bly Adjusting Corset
BY HUGH W. ROBERTS

DOOl illdl lut ABt-fltldlu iidu CIai bCd him with willfully ruling against the side which he opposed yesterday in the local option fight.
 Several members of the House dis claimed for The Age-Herald any intention to reflect on the integrity of MT. Rice. The house then voted an expression ot faith and confidence in MT. Rice, and by resolution thanked him for presiding fair ly over the session of the house yester day.
 Later Representative Jenkins ofaRald- win prepared resolution censuring The Age-Herald of this morning because 1t had seen fit to represent an honored mern- Der of the house as foreibly encasing d lady in corset. This resolution, however, after its preparation, was not presented following requests.
 Mir. Rice's statement
 MT. Speaker, I rise to a question of personal privilege said MT. Rice.
 The gentleman from Tuscaloosa will state his question of personal privilege said the speaker.
 "Mr. Speaker,i' said MT. Rice, "The Age-Herald this morning charged me with wllfully ruling against the side which opposed yesterday in the fight on the Parks local option bill. MT. Speaker, came to Montgomery not because l asked to come. It was not at my solicitation that I secured the nomination to serve in this legislature. I believe that when the people of my county sent me here they thought that l would be fair. be- ieve. MT Speaker, that the members of this house will conscentiously say with me that I in my every effort on yester- day tried to be fair to both sides of the controversy. 1 do not believe that as citizen of Alabama and as a member of the house I should let the accusation which appeared in The Age-Herald this morning go unchallenged.'
 As soon as Mir Rice took his seat MT. Pitts of Dallas rose and said:
 MT. Speaker, l have known the gen. tleman from Tuscaloosa for many years, and l have always known him to be fair. l know that Fleetwood Rice would never te tempted to wilfully make a mistake on any proposition, He keeps the eten tenor | of his way and changes not. He is fair presiding officer, and an honorable gen. tleman." MT. Williams of Barbour said he con- cured in everything MT. Pitts had said with reference to Mr. Rice, and moved that the house express by rising vote its absolute faith and confidence in MT. Rice both as a presiding officer and as an honorable gentleman.
 Before the motion was put MT. Avery sent up resolution. the sense of which was that the house extend to MT. Rice it's thanks for the fair manner In which he presided on yesterday. The resolution .~1 ~t.s..x .r all the members present
 What Was Published
 The passage concerning which MT Rice complained follows:
 "As soon as the vote on the substitute was announced Williams of Barbour moved that the Parks bill be put on it's third reading and final passage. ''The bill was so ordered by MT. Rice. who was i'll the speakers chair. Bu. when Mir. Pegram offered an amendment he agreed to put the amendment to vote over the violent protests of Williams, Waddel and others. Williams went so far as to appeal to the journal. The clerk sustained MT. Williams. but the speaker overruled all concerned and put the amendment to a vote. Tt Is understood that following the vote on the Pegram amendment Mir Rice apol- ogized to MT. Williams At any rate, he refused to permit the offering of addi- tional amendments by Representative Merritt and other prohibltionists"
 On the same subject the Advertiser of this morning says:
 Then mix-up ensued. MT. Rice in the speakers chair, put the question of third reading; the question pre- vailed, as the journal of the clerk re- vealed upon investigation. Widest excitement prevailed; members were hnir Almon substitute had broken the five hours of tension. MT. Rice ruled that the vote on ordering the bill to a third reading had not been taken. and he allowed the introduction of an amendment by MT Pegram. Mir Will Hams of Barbour and Mr. Waddell of Russell were insistent that the called them out of order. Later, he acknowledged, to MT. Williams, his mistake"
 Statement of Williams
 Representative Williams of Barbour. who was a party to the controversy of which The Age Herald made a report issued the following statement this morning:
 '@rhe gentleman from Montgomery MT. Smith. moved to table the substi- tute offered by the gentleman from Colbert, MT. Almon MT. Merritt then moved to postpone indefinitely the mo- ton to table
 "A motion to postpone indefinitely takes precedence over all other motions except to sdtourn or to fix the hour os adjournment to time certain, and thus opens the question for debate
 After the gentleman from Macon. MT. Merritt, had offered his motion to postpone indefinitely the motion to ta- ble. the discussion continued several gentlemen speaking pro and con- MT Merritt finally by unanimous consent withdrew his motion to postpone in- definitely the motion to table, and then the previous question was called on the substitute, the third reading and the passage of the bill.
 The house voted and ordered the previous question, as Is shown by the journal. MT. Rice ruled at first that ordered, the clerk protesting to the offered and adopted. The chair upon changed his ruling, and held amend ments out of order. The vote was ther taken on the substitute, and then oi the third reading the passage of the bill.
 MT. Rice is a skillful parliamen- tartan. fair and just, and l, from long and intimate association with him, am prepared to express the opinion that he would not willingly perpetrate any sort of an injustice.
 He afterwards acknowledged to me his error in ruling that the previous