Speech #560008061

When the first man from Alabama was called to be sworn. the member from Utah would rise and make the objection. and the House. whose roll had been called by the Clerk and whose names were on the roll. would have voted down the objection of the gentleman from Utah. And then. when you took up the next State and ran down to Iowa and Illinois. and objection after objection had been voted down by the House. the members of that body. when they got to Utah. and it was stated that this member was a polygamist. that he was not naturalized. that he was an open violator of the law. and that there was some question under the Edmunds law as to whether he was eligible las a member of this Housethe House would say. "Now. here is something that seems to be worthy of consideration. This is not a technicality. We will have the question examined first. and then decide afterwards what to do with him." That is the safe thing to do when a question of eligibility is injected into the proposition that the member ought not to be sworn in. and that is just what the House did in this case.