The Portland daily press., 1888-12-15
REED OF MAINE AND MkInlEY OF OHIO
The Real Issue In the speakershID
Contest.
overpowerIng Claims Of the Man
from Maine.
The Necessities and the Logic Of an
Important Situation.

washington Special to the Boston Adveriiser.l
The real issue. the vital struggle. Is mar
rowing down to Mckinley Of Ohio and Reed
Of Maine, the two men Of greatest national
reputation on the Republican side, the two
who deserve most at the hands Of their par
ty. 1t Is struggle that has been In the air
for months-from the day. In fact. when the
sturdy little Ohio major came back from Chi
cago with the glamour Of a national enthu-
siasm upon him. These two men came into
Congress on the same day. and In the decade
Of their service they have fought the party's
battles and their own. until they stand out
together distinctly today. the conspicuous
representatives Of the Republican idea. To
be sure the Maine leader has stood well 10
the front and has taken the hardest blows
and paid them back, but he has always had
Mckinley close at hand.
And now their ambitions clash. The bat
tie has been fought out. the enemy have been
forced back upon their supplies, and In the
hour Of victory comes the dispute TO whom
the principal laurels shall 90. There Is not
the slightest trace Of bitterness In the rival
ry between these two. They have BEEN
friends, and so they will remain to the end.
But which Is to win the prize? Tom Reed
has lncontestabiy the advantage Of position.
He Is the acknowledged leader Of the Repub-
lican side, and has been 80 time when lead
ership was not so envlable a recognition as Il
is today.
As such, he is the man TO whom the speak
ership would come, and some convincing
reason should be shown IL he Is 20 be set
aside. He has not been a failure in his
place. He has hnap Qhnaar. frvIs 40 - -
minority In the hardest kind Of an uphill
nght and he has led ii adroitly and wisely
with skill and aggressiveness, brilliancy
and courage. that has never been surpassed
70 the history of parliamentary leadership
He Is not 10 be set aside ON sectional
grounds. This Is not sectional fight 10 any
degree. In a contest Of this kind geOgraph[
,,, cal lines should have no place. But II the
Is not easy to see. say Mr.. Reeds friends,
why the presidency should 20 10 the West
and the speakershlp as well.
But Reeds candidacy Is no more an East
ern one than that OF Mckinley himself he
will go into a canvass, TO be sure, with a
solid New England delegation and three
fourths OF the vote Of the Middle States, but
the Pacific slope Is unanimous for him az the
same time, and he has made serious inroads
into the Northwest. As for Mr. Mckinley.
the bulk OF his support today Is east Of the
wabash River, in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
These are the facts Of the situation, but Il Is
sale to predict that sectionallsm will not
House. -,
\ The next aouse.u. be tiansorauslv elose
by far the closest IN which. the KeDuuiieSa
party has yet had control. and twill be es-
sential that the very strongest seutinels be
put ON guard at critical points. A peculiar
ity Of the eloseness Is this: That the speak
or will receive the brunt Of the Democratic
attack. The rules Of the House today are in
deploFable shape. They are 80 framed as
to leavethe interests Of the entire country
altogether at the mercy Of some such ire
cOncila0e as KilgOre.
A first necessity will be to alter them In
such way that legislation in which the
great body OF the Congress and the people
have an interest shall at least come In Tor
fair consideration.
There win be dlIatory motions to prevent
the adoption Of such a change, and there
may come tine In the course OF these pro-
ceedings when the presence In the chair OF a
man OF nerve and brain and an absolute
knowledge OF parliamentary law may prove
tne only assurance OF legally organized
There is only one man on the Republican
side who combines oil these qualities, and
that Is Tom Reed. His long Apprenticeship
as leader OF the minority has rendered him
0y all odds the finest parliamentarian In his
party, and heis possessed Of sufficient cOur-
-
prompt decision at critical time and back
lt up with the most eogent of reasons.
we shall have an extra session Of the
House IN March or April. That Is generally
recognized now. for although Major AeKin-
ley and Judge Kelley are reported 10 De op-
posed TO the thing, 1t Is believed that ths. pop
ular demand for effective tariff legislation Of
some kind will prove irresistible.
Besides, there are the Territories IN admit
as States question with which the Dem-
ocTatic majority Of the present House
nave signally displayed their inability
TO grapple; and it is hardly
probable that President Harrison win
care TO run the risk Of having the narrow
Republican margin reduced By death or i'll
ness. lt-may be set down as practically as
s1red that there will be- an extra session,
and that is principal business will be the
revision OF the taIih.
Here again appears the necessity for the
strongest men at the fr0nt-One In the
speakers chair, the other leading the major
lty on the. floor at the head Of ways and
means. And In spite of AFR. Acktnley's
OF Immediate tariff legislation, II j. uniVer-
sally known that no man at either end ufthe
capito! Is so thoroughly equipped for frani-
ing wise bill and defendiag its details on
With Reed for speaker THIS result Would
be assured The venerable Judge Kelley Is
anxious for the honor Of the ehaiTmanship
0f ways and means, to which he was once
SoAotO aPPvihsSu oy nAh. hfAlrfs botb ne
and considerable number 0f the keystone
delegation following in his wake are out
spoken for Mr.. Mckinley as presiding OH
Ger Of the House.
Altogether this is the situation as il looks
Today, aud II Is not surprising that the Port
and leaders friends are confident aud az
gressive.
Gov. Dingley is we'll assured that the
speakership will 60 TO Maine, and the COVER
nor Is one OF the most shrewd and careful
observers in Washington. The pros
pective storminess Of the approach
ing session will continue to tell in
Reeds favor. Only IS Republican members
OF the present House will have seats In the
next, but the attitude Of the new men will
not be long In developing. A majority In the
caucus may be no more than s3. and Il i be-
lteved that Mr.. Reed already has support as
sured whose momentum would carry his vote
today.
He unquestionably leads at the polls, and
u Is equally impossible to figure a plurality
Tor the Ohio candidate In any way II the
men who are known to favor other aspirants
remain true to their present choice. No COM
oination seems possible by which any one Of
the minor candidates can transfer his
strength unbrOken 20 another.
These are the facts as they stand today. 10
would be glaring injustice to Tom Reed II,
after his party have put him forward as their
leader In time Of need, be should now be
set aside and sent back 10 the floor with the
slight Of rejection upon him. The logic OF
the situation and sense OF justice alike de-
mand his election, aud that Is why il looks
IKE Speaker Reed OF Maine, with Mckinley
forging his way 70 the presidency at the head
OF the Republican column In the House.