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Show r? tr Vr" xTF A r? r? r S7 S0ME reasons why "uncle lfvVlN& V BlXl A r ISO fC JOE" CANNON, OF ILLINOIS, i JiViiiTO 0)1T iliYslil THE PRESENT SPEAKER, g $ IS SO POPULAR, J IN FOUR PAPERS No. 3 , by l. white dusbey. . H The rank Is hut Iho guinea's stamp, Tho man's the Rowd for a' ih.-it. H "And I may bo excused, Mr. Chalr- H man, if I say that no man In my short B career or middle-aged career, because B . It Is ceasing to be short now has re- H 'minded me as much of that couplet as H 'the speaker of this house. He reminds H me frequently of coined gold. The gold H -would bo valuable without the stamp H 'that Is put upon It, but the stamp gives Hj it ready currency, andtglvcs It a better H opportunity to do tho work of the peo- H pie. Joseph G. Cannon .would have H been valuable as Joseph x5. Cannon if Hl lie had never been a Justice of the peace H oven; but without the stamp of the peo- H .pie's approval, giving him olllclal rank, H lie would not have had tho ready cur- D rency that he has had to and through H 'all our hearts, nor the opportunity that Hj he has so effectively exercised to do 1 tho people's work as he thought It H should be done." H This Is from the speech of Keprescn- 1 . tatlvc John Sharp "Williams, Democrat- Hj lc leader, in the last hour of the llfty- H eighth Congress, when the House united H in a "Joint caucus" to express Its H -unanimous good will toward the relir- H Ing Speaker, and search the records of H Congress from the beginning, and there H ' Is not another such tribute from the H minority leader to the fairness and H worth of the Speaker, who Is the ma- H jority leader. H Porccd Respect for Speaker. H More than a hundred years ago the H Continental Congress adopted a rule H that "when the House shall adjourn H every member shall stand In his place H until the President shall pass him " H That enforced universal respect for the H presiding ofllcer by parliamentary rule. H The last House of Representatives, in H the closing hour, laid aside all rules H and regulations of parliamentary prac- Hj 1 tlce. and, in good fellowship, held what H they pleased to call a Joint caucus of H , nil members of all political parties to H , express their affection as men for the Hj man they had for two years addressed H : as "Mr. Speaker." H This unprecedented and unpaiiia- H ,mcntary demonstration, with the trlb- 1 ute paid by Mr. Williams, the. Demo- H , cratlc leader, is the best testimonial to H the manner In which the last Speaker exercised the great authority that had H 'been placed In his hands by a political majority. Nothing more need be said H about Mr. Cannon as Speaker, and yet H that would not constitute a sketch, nor H would it convey the reasons for the H confidence of the House In the Speaker. H There have been more brilliant men H In the Speaker's chair, and Mr. Cannon H would not desire to be compared with H; Clay and Blaine, nor Carlisle and Reed, B as brilliant and forcible party leaders H of the House. And yet he handled questions as difficult and delicate as H they did In a way to keep partisan and H factional friction from developing into H open hostility and partisan riot. He or- H ganized the House on political lines, as H had all his predecessors, and at times 1 cracked the party whip over his fol- H lowers, perhaps, but whatever he did was done In such a way as to leave few H heartburns and no bitterness to mar H the universal esteem of all when he H was about to declare the fifty-eighth j .Congress adjourned without day. H uommon Sense and Good Humor. 1 .Mr. Cannon had no other secret than H that of common sense, common falr- H ness as between man and man, old- H ' fashioned fellowship and good humor. H Where the rules and the power of the H office protected most of his predeces- H sors in the Speaker's chair, his reputa- H tlonNfor honesty and fairness and his good nature protected him and enabled H him to do things in an easier, If less dignified, way than they did. Where H the dignity of the office has prevented H members from assailing other Speak- H ers, universal affection prevented them H from saying anything disrespectful to 1 the Speaker of the fifty-eighth Con- Hl gress. H The Democratic leader, Mr. Williams, H felicitously expressed this unique con- H dllion at the close of the second session j of the Fifty-eighth Congress in the. H resolution of thanks which he there of- H ferecl and which was adopted, as fol- Mr. TVIlllaniH of Mississippi . Tlosolvod, Thnt H the House of Representatives return Its thank!) H to Its Speaker, tho Ifon. J. G. Cannon of Illinois, for the fair. Impartial and nblc man- H ncr In which ho has presided over Hh dcMb- H orations, and for the sturdy common sonw and H Rcnlnl cood humor v.-hlch have been displayed H by him and which have Induced the mnmbern H of tho House Itself at thin session In a decree H almost unprecedented, In Imitation of him, to 1 display the name sterling American charncter- Jstlca In their deliberations and mutual deal- The above resolution was unanlmous- H y agreed to by a rising vote H Joseph G. Cannon owed his election H as Speaker to his long, intelligent and B patriotic service In the House. He had HBVJ been thirty years a member, had long HBVJ been a member of the Committee on BVJ Appropriations, and through five Con- BVJ gresses the chairman of that commlt- HBVJ tee, controlling the great appropriation HBVn bills, and keeping strict watch that HBSP these bills were clean of jobbery, and HBVJ as. free from extravagance as the chalr- BVl man of a committee can make them by BVJ fearless discussion on the floor of the HBVj House. He had won the sobriquet of IBVl "watch-dog" of the Treasury, and a IBVj reputation for honesty, patriotism, and PBVJ experience. He had been twice defeat- cd for Sneaker and had continued his loyal support of. the man who trl- HBVJ -umphed over h!m, in good, nature. He IBVJ had been a member of the Committee on Rules with Speaker Reed and MaJ. aiclvlnley. in the Fifty-first Congress. and had shared in the work of piloting J Ihe McKinley bill through the House. BVJ EMore than all else, he had been a fear- I less tighter on the floor, giving and rc- i celvlnrr hard knocks, without remcm- J j bering these after the battle. He had j won admiration for his fighting quall- HBVJ j ties, and also for the way he took pun- BVJ lshment. Those who followed him, and BVJ those who opposed him, all liked the HBSJ man, and be was the friend of every HBVJ cne on both sides of the House. Cannon the Only Choice. When Speaker Henderson retired BVJ from Congress, withdrawing from the BVJ contest in his district in the midst of HBVJ the campaign, the Republicans instlnc- HBVJ tively turned to Mr. Cannon, pledging BVJ him their support, though at the time HBVJ lieither he nor they were more than HBVJ candidates ior election to the House. HBVJ His selection as tho candidate for HBVJ Speaker was agreed upon long before PBVJ thp Fifty-eighth Congress met. There H 'was no contest. H ' In organizing the House, Mr. Cannon H was frank and considerate- with the H minority. He called the minority lead- H er,: Mr. Williams, into the Speaker's H room and said: "Now, John, I propose H to be as fair to the minority as the po- H lltical exigencies will permit. This Is H fa Republican Congress, and the Re- H i.publlcans will do the work and' accept the responsibility, but I do not propose to break your lines. 1 want a well-organized minority, and 1 propose to leave to you the selection of the minority minor-ity representation on the standing committees. com-mittees. You will handle your own men, in your own way, and select them for committee places. I will not Interfere with your selection except where you cross geographical linos and embarrass my own selection by making too many from one Slate on the same committee. 1 have no more fear that you will make Improper selections than that I would myself." With this understanding. Mr. Williams Wil-liams selected the minority representation representa-tion on the committees, and only in a few instances were these changed, and reasons satisfactory to him given in each case. In organizing the majority of the committees, the Speaker was entirely en-tirely frank with Ills own followers. He followed tho old precedents where he could. Ho had no friends to reward and no enemies to punish. He had no secrets about what ho Intended to do. He reorganized the Committee on Post-offices Post-offices and Post Roads, because of the postofflce scandals, and selected for members of that committee men who could not be embarrassed by past recommendations In their Investigations of the scandal. He reorganized the Committee on Labor to make It a strong working committee, to deal seriously seri-ously and fearlessly with legislation referred to thnt commltte. He had to disappoint some of his best friends in their ambition, but he did this openly and without apology. He made up his committees not with a view to personal friendship, friend-ship, ,or personal ambition, but for the purpose of strengthening the organization or-ganization of tho House os best ho could, nccording to his judgment. There were some heavt-burnings, but no reason for complaint, and the men who were most disappointed remained the Speaker's most loyal and enthusiastic enthusi-astic supporters in every contest before the House. Acted for the Majority. In dealing with members under the rules of the House, the Speaker claimed no unusual prerogative. He acted for the majority at all times, and consulted the majority In the Republican caucus. He believed Implicitly in majority rule, as the majority Is made up of the party responsible for the organization of the House, and for legislation. He did not, therefore, consider it his duty to bow to a majority when made up from both sides of the House, unless it acted under un-der the rules and beyond his power. He, therefore, did not heed the demand for a rule to consider the Statehood bill until tho question was submitted to a Republican caucus to determine where the" responsible party majority stood. He took the same action regarding other proposed measures that were to come before the House. Mr. Cannon did not give the Speaker's recognition on the theory that It was a favor, but as a right. The old practice prac-tice of keeping a record of recognitions on private bills was abandoned. He never reminded a member that he had already been recognized once or twlco for unanimous consent. In every case lie examined the bill for which unanimous unani-mous consent was requested, and If It appeared all right, he gave the recognition recogni-tion as a matter of course. Pie drew the line that no bill should be considered consid-ered which involved a charge against the .treasury, and ha would not change that ruling at tire rccfuest of any one, not even the President of the United States. He held that a bill passed by unanimous consent meant a bill passed by the Speaker, and he Insisted that such bills should be mere matters of form, giving the necessary consent of Congress without changing existing law, or Involving an obligation on tho treasury. There are hundreds of such bills passed every Congress, and Mr. Cannon, when satisfied they were within with-in the rule, gave prompt recognition to the members proposing them, without with-out keeping any account of treating these recognitions as favors from the chair. This appears only just and right, but It had so long been treated as a favor to grant such recognitions that the change stamped Speaker Cannon as one who would not exaggerate the Importance Im-portance of his office by the use of petty prerogative, and it added to that universal uni-versal confidence which was voiced by the minority leader In the closing hour of the Fifty-eighth Congress. Accepted the Responsibility. "A man's a man for a' that" has been Mr. Cannon's motto throughout his public life, and he observed that rule while Speaker more punctiliously than ever before. He was Speaker, for the time being clothed with great authority, author-ity, but he was also a member of thj House, and all were his equals In everything except the responsibility for the "action of the majority. That responsibility re-sponsibility was his, and he held It as binding on himself to guard against abuse of it. He had good fellowship for all, but he could say "no" as promptly, as good-naturedly, and to party leader and political opponent, with equal grace and as easily as he could say "yes." He was the same in his dealings with the public. The Speaker's room' was not a holy of holies, and the door did not swing at a given signal, recognizing recogniz-ing political or social Influence. The latchstring was out to all. No man or woman was denied admission to his presence because of lack of Influence. The only bar to an audience with the Speaker was a previous engagement, a conference already in progress, or the urgent business of tho House. The Speaker knew of only one way to decide the delicate question as to who had real business with him, and that was to hear what his caller had to say. He then determined de-termined whether It was a mutter for his attention or not. That policy was sometimes embarrassing embar-rassing and sacrificed much of the Speaker's time to those who had no right to it, but it was Mr. Cannon's way, and no one could protect him at all times from Imposition. He patiently patient-ly listened to poor women who desired him to pass special pension laws for them, to men who had great schemes for Government aid, and to those who wished him to have the President appoint ap-point them to office. None of these people had any business to present to the Speaker, and after he had heard thorn he could promptly say "No." Rut he would not say that word to any man or woman until he had heard enough to be certain that he Was right in his denial. de-nial. Many people abused this privilege of appealing to the Speaker, but ho would not change the rule of an open door, because of the abuses. He preferred pre-ferred that he should err in "sacrificing his time' rather than in denying a hearing hear-ing which wa3 entitled to be heard. , In only cno Instance did the Speaker turn away an. Impostor with harshness. That was an alleged labor representative, representa-tive, who used threats as to what labor would do If his petition were not granted. grant-ed. That threat brought the Speaker from his chair with an Indignant motion mo-tion to the door and an order that that man should never enter his presence again to disgrace honest labor or any labor organization by such methods. And the labor organizations all repudiated repudi-ated that man and thanked the Speaker for the tribute ho paid to honest labor In expelling the man from his room. Speaker Cannon's leadership has been, as one happily expressed It, by the golden cords of affection, as well as by tho Iron chains of conviction. His associates asso-ciates on both sides of the House had a sincere nffeetion for the man, and this was manifest long before he became Speaker. They also had an absolute confidence in him as a leader of great legislative experience, and this made it easier for him to lead them by conviction. convic-tion. His first term as Speaker was therefore unique, and In some ways unprecedented. un-precedented. Ills leadership was, like that of Blaine and Reed, for his party rathtr than for himself. Ho had little pride In his own personal opinion, and he had absolutely no desire for personal triumph. His responsibility as Speaker was the responsibility of the majority party, which clothed him with great authority, and, while holding to his opinions as to how that responsibility should be met, he sought to convince his followers by plain matter-of-fact argument rather than by Ironclad rule of procedure, or by the assumption of any prerogative of his office. When tho majority was divided as to policy he went as one of them Into the caucus, to there settle'the line of action, and in the caucus he was only one of the majority. ma-jority. Welcomed nt "White House. Speaker Cannon has held his office In as high esteem ns any of his predecessors, predeces-sors, and while not accepting direction frum any other source than the responsible respon-sible majority of the House, he had held the most cordial relations with the Executive. Ex-ecutive. He has recognized the President Presi-dent as the party leader and the one official authorized to recommend legislation, legis-lation, and he has freely conferred with the President as to the best way to meet his recommendations or to give his reasons why such recommendations could not be followed. No President and Speaker ever held more cordial, confidential relations than President Roosevelt and Speaker Cannon. They have a mutual respect. for the personal qualities of leadership In each other, as well as a mutual respect for the powers and responsibilities of the offices they hold. The President often called the Speaker Speak-er Into conference before making public recommendations, and on several occasions occa-sions he withheld recommendations after these conferences, presumably convinced by the Speaker that they were 111-timed and could not be realized In legislation. There were at times reports re-ports current of disagreement between the President and the Speaker, but these were never more than the frank and manly expressed differences of opinion of the two men as to the wisdom wis-dom of suggestions for recommendations recommenda-tions from the one, for legislative action ac-tion by the other. It was by such frank and open confidence that the President and the Speaker maintained a healthy state of harmony between the executive execu-tive and legislative departments of the Government at a time when open disagreement dis-agreement and rupture seemed imminent. immi-nent. Got Along With Senate. The same spirit was shown toward the Senate. Mr. Cannon, as a member, had said harsh things regarding the methods of the Senate in dealing with the House, but as Speaker he Invited the most cordial confidence and co-op-oratlon with the Senate leaders, and as a result thejf worked together more harmoniously har-moniously than for many years In tho past. Mr. Cannon looked upon the Speakership Speaker-ship as an official station second only to that of the Presidency, and no argument argu-ment or persuasion could induce him to accept the nomination of his party for Vice-President. He felt that his life-work life-work had been In the House, and that he so understood that work that he could with credit to himself and the country continue to administer the office of-fice of Speaker. He refused absolutely to be considered as a possible candidate for Vice-President, and stopped the movement for his nomination by the public announcement that he would decline. de-cline. Mr. Cannon's democratic relations with all classes of people were not changed InMhe least by his elevation to the Speakership. Out of the Speaker's Speak-er's chair he was plain Mr. Cannon from Illinois. He exacted no social recognitions of his office from the public pub-lic at large, but he held the House of Representatives In such respect that he expected other officials to recognize the office he held in all official functions. There have been reports of sensitiveness sensitive-ness on his part, and refusal to attend official functions because of the place assigned him. These reports were without with-out warrant In fact, for while he was Speaker of the Fifty-eighth Congress neither President nor Cablnqt official, nor Senators ever failed to give the Speaker the recognition due to the office of-fice as second In the United States. In official etiquette his rank was next to that of the Vice-President, and when there was no Vice-President, next to that of the President himself, And that rank was universally recognized. Copyright. 1D05. by S. S. Cllnc. |
