''tyn in
The Commoner.
gEPTEMBER II, lipt
The Way to Get Rid of Cannonism is to Get Rid of Cannon
4:
Following is 0119 plank from the demo
cratic national platform:
The house of representatives was designed
by the fathers of the constitution to be the pop
ular branch of our government, responsive to
the public will.
Tho house of representatives, as controlled
in recent yeaTs by the republican party, has
ceased to bo a deliberate and legislative body,
responsive to the" will of a majority of its mem
bers, but has come under tho absolute domina
tion of the speaker, who has entire control of
its deliberations, and powers of legislation.
We have observed with amazement the
popular branch of our federal government help
less to obtain either the consideration or enact
ment of measures desired by a majority of its
members.
Legislative government becomes a failure
when ono member, in the person of tho speaker,
Is more powerful than the entire body.
We demand that the house of representa
tives shall again become a deliberate body, con
trolled by a majority of the people's representa
tives and not by the speaker, and we pledge our
gelves to adopt such rules and regulations of
its members to direct its deliberations and con
trol legislation.
00'
THE" SHADOW OF JOB CANNON
Following are extracts from an editorial
that appeared in the July 16, 1-908, issue of the
Odebolt (la.) Chronicle (Rep.):
"Is Joe Cannon to be conceded the speaker
ship in the event of the republicans carrying
the house at the coming election?
'"This is a pertinent question. Upon the
reply, or failure to reply, hang enough votes
to determine tho election of a president.
"Let us treat Cannon charitably, if you will,
as charitably as hifr best friends would treat
him, and what must be said of him?
"He Is the most inveterate foe of Roosevelt
policies in public life; and no man In either
house Is so" detested by. republicans Who have
followed Roosevelt's leadership and who sup
ported Taft for nomination because they looked
to him to carry on the work begun by Roosevelt.
"What happened during the last session
of congress? Under an abominable system which
began with Tom Reed, and was later reduced to
a science by Cannon, the speaker of the house
played the part of an autocrat. Nero's fiat was
never more absolute than Cannon's decision for
or against legislation. When Roosevelt recom
mended legislation with the approval of nine
tenths of the voters of this country Cannon tilted
liis cigar and tersely announced that he opposed
it and therefore it could not be considered.
When it was absolutely certain that a majority
of the members of both parties in the house
and senate desired the passage of a bill abolish
ing duties on wood pulp and printing paper,
Cannon and his creatures on the committee on
rules the republican nominee for vice president
among them defiantly announced that they
cared nothing for the opinion of the public; that
no measure affecting a schedule of the DIngley
bill should come to vote and none did.
"Everyone knows that Cannon tied the
hands of the president and defeated every re
form measure proposed at the last session of
congress."
A CONGRESSMAN'S FIRST SPEECH
The August number of the American Mag
azine prints an article entitled "A Congressman's
First Speech." Thia. article was written by Vic
tor Murdock', republican representative in con
gress from the Eighth Kansas district. An In
troductory to the Murdock article is written by
Mr. Murdock's friend, William Allen White. Mr.
White's article throws a strong light upon
Cannonism. Mr. White's article follows:
Victor Murdock went to congress in his
early thirties, five years ago,-determined to he
a free man. His first public act of any impor
tance was to bring to the attention of congress
the fact that the American railroads were get
ting five million dollars a year from the govern
ment by a false system of railroad mail weigh
ing. Congress refused to act. Murdock, who
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CANNON AND CANNONISM
The following editorial appeared in
Collier's Weekly of September G:
From the Danville district of Illinois
will come returns which the whole
country will scan eagerly on tho night of
November 3. Will there come tho news
of a great victory for progress and In
telligence, or the old story of habit, local
pull, and stupid ruts? "In Joseph G.
Cannon of Illinois," writes William
Hard, "the United States now possesses
the most stationary political object ever
exhibited within its boundaries." The
speaker observed the movement for pure
food and clean meat with disgust Ho
was hostile to Senator LaFollette's bill
endeavoring to give a more human life
to railway employes. He was a bitter
defender of the spoils svstem. and no
idea of modern moralltv in politics has
ever penetrated his obdurate' Intellect.
He foutrht the resumption of specie pay
ments formerly, as he fiehts tho Appala
chian bill today. Tn small and big things
It is the same. He fought the great and
Immeasurably valuable reclamation bill,
as ho fights any decent bit of architec
ture or any little public park.
This Is the speaker v,ho appoints as
chairman of the public lands committee
a man who is eager to help all individ
uals and corporations exploit those lands.
It matters not what it may he: all Im
provements look eqnallv bad to him. Ho
paeks committees against them and thus
buries them. Ts it not a disgrace to a
so-called self-governing nation, whlh
wishes to be Intelligent and free, whlrh
wishes to progress, that a thick-spirited
old politician should be able to say
"No!,f to the best and strongest pur
poses of tho nation? Tf we were offered
the privilege of eliminating Aldrih,
Rockefeller, or Cannon from influence
in America, without hesitation we
should choose Cannon as the most
dannrerous of the three.
If onlv the men of "Danville would
vote as independent human beings, and
not respond, sheepljko and doolie, to the
habits of the party and the diFtriK! We
fear Mr. Cannon will be re-elated, and
yet, when we remember the disgraceful
way In which a venal Illinois legislature
passed the Allen bill for the benefit of
Yerkes, and the hold on the Danville
council, which enabled the Cannon broth
ers to setee part of the public pie before
that scandnlous law could be repealed,
we almost believe the new wave of po
litical enlightenment may strike Dan
ville, and cause a glorious victory for the
onward march.
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was refused the right to vote on the subject,
appealed from the decision of the chair to the
house; he was tho only republican who stood
up to be counted. The steal which was open
and palpable was so gross that the president,
after waiting In vain for congress to act on Mur
dock's proposition, abolished the rule under
which the steal was made tho day that con
gress adjourned. Murdock. thus Incurred tho
enmity of the house organization, but he found
favor with the president. Last spring Murdock
led the flgh for & detailed consideration of the
postal approprktion bill in the house. He said
in tho course of his speech:
"This bill carries two hundred millions.
There are twenty minutes allowed for its analy
sis. That is dellberaton at the rate of ten mil
lions a minute." Mr. Murdock then denounced
the extravagance of congress In dealing with
the railroads. '
"During the past-thirty-four years," he as
serted, "by reason of congressional blindness
and departmental sllonco wo have paid the rail
roads on miscalculations sixty million dollars.
Still congress refuses to adopt business methods
in dealing with the railroads."
This angered the organisation again. Mur
dock also stood against the "organization" in
its attempt to garrot the democratic minority,
Thrco times tho clerk called Murdock's name
when this rule came to a vote, and thrco times
did Murdock tho only republican roply "np."
Ho could not be bulldozed, and when signatures
were needed to a potitlon to tho republican cau
cus for an Insurgent movomont, Murdock's name
always went down.
THE GREAT OBSTItUCTOK
Tho Chicago Trlbuno (rep.) during the
recent session of congress prlntod this edi
torial: "Tho people of Illinois aro loath to
credit tho report from Washington that Speaker
Cannon gratuitously Is playing the role of the
Great Obstructor. As speaker of the house It
is to be presumed that his first obligation is to
tho public and that ho Bhould respond to the
wish os of tho majority of tho house and espe
cially to tho wishes of tho majority of his own
party. Is it truo that ho was opposed to an
adequate appropriation for tho interstate com
merce commission? Is It truo that ho approves
tho emasculation of tho secret service which
will make it impossible for tho government to
continue Its prosecution of land thlovos and Its
investigations of violations of tho Shorman law?
Is It truo that ho opposes personally tho presi
dent's recommendation for tho repeal of tho
tariff on wood pulp and paper? Tho action of
tho house will make plain the role of tho
speaker. Tho legislation passed at this session
will Indicate clearly whothor he Is alive to the
interests of his constituents or has permitted
himself to bo hypnotized by thoso enemies of
the president whoso chief purpose is to defeat
legislation recommended by him."
But don't forget that tho speaker would
have to respond to tho wishes of, tho republican
majority In tho houso if the republican mem
bers wore not willing that the obstruction tactics
should be continued or wore too cowardly to
register their protest. It will bo romomborcd
that John Sharp Williams asked for only thirty
republicans to step out and join with tho demo
crats In doing servlco for tho people, but the
thirty were not forthcoming. Hold tho speakor
responsible for his sins, but don't forget that
the republican party Is responsible also.
. i
DICTATES LEGISLATION
,! Honorable L. White Busby Is tho private
secretary of Speaker Cannon. In a magazine
article, discussing tho powers of the speaker,
Mr. Busby relates tho circumstances of a bill
having been prepared, and three-fourths of the
members of tho house having signed a request
to the speaker, asking that tho rules committee,
of which ho Is chairman, bring in a special rule
for the consideration of tho bill. The speaker
refused the request. The chairman of the com-,
mittee pleaded and urged. Continuing, Mr.
Busby says:
"As a final stroke tho chairman said: 'Then,
Mr. Speaker, this bill is to fail by the will of
ono man who Is In tho chair by votes. We have
no redress from this one-man power.' 'Yes, you
have,' replied the speaker. 'You have a way to
pass your bill. You place me In the chair to
shoulder the responsibility of tho legislation
here enacted. In my view, I can not assume
tho responsibility for this bill. You can elect
a new speaker today and pass your bill if ypu
can find one who will accept that responsibility;
"but if you leave me in the chair that bill will
not become a Jaw.' " From Speech by Hon,
John W. Kern.
THE' COMMONER FUND .
On September 3 The Commoner sent to
Treasurer Haskell of the democratic national
committee a check for $2,000, representing the
profits of The Commoner from July 24, to Sep
tember 1.
The Way to Get Rid of Cannon is to Elect a Democratic House
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