St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-21
seek TO De- SPEAKER.
Several Repub leans Who
Want to Weld the Gavel
in the House.
Reed and Mckinley Seem to
Have the Best Of It Up to
Date.
Chances OF Ben B uttePWor tn,
julius Caesar Burrows and
Joe Cannon.
A Well-Told Story of the
Characteristics OF the
Candidates.

Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2O-As members
elect to the Fifty-frSt congress reach
the city, gossip respecting the OrganiZa-
ton of the next house of representa-.
tives naturally increases. The cOnsen-
suS of opinion among members-elect
now here indicates that the speakership
will go either to Maine (AIr. Reed or
Ohio (Mr. Mckinley. Messrs. Burrows
(Michigan) and Cannon QllinOiS) are
both on the ground, however, and, it is
said. will at least make the contest in
teresting before balloting begins. At
this writing it would be a very difficult
undertaking to pick out the stronger
candidate from the first two named.
Maj. John N. Carson, of the Philadel-
phia Ledger, appears to have already
practically captured the clerkShip of
the next house. In his modest way.
Maj. Carson has been working all sum-
mer, and it is claimed by his friends
that he has pledges sufficient to elect
him on the first ballot. Col. Swords
appears to have no rival for the position
of Sc rgeant-at-armS. while there are
several candidates for the Offices of
doorkeeper and postmaster. The fact
that the speaker of the next house will
be the first Republican to sit in the
chair of the presiding officer for long
years, the meagernesS of the party ma
jOrity in the body, the certainty that all
the sessions Of this congress will be
series of bitter fights, with almost no
'0SSibility of the enactment of any
9g that can be called party legisla-
t. ri, makes the election of the coming
speaker an occurrence of far more than
ordinary interest. The candidates are
ALL IN TIE FIELD
and have been for some time. 1t is
hardly within the possibilities that any
other than one of the known candidates
will be elected. There is bare chance
that at the last moment the caucl S
might switch off and take Ben Butter
worth as a compromise if the confessed
candidates should show something near
equal strength and continue to held
tenaciOusly to their support; and such
a result would be hailed with delight by
many members of congress and by a
mass of those who are accustomed to
listen to the debates: for Ben. with all
his we'll known Obstinacy in
maintaining wrong view of
question, as well as the right,
is given credit for great frankness and
sincerity, and his friendliness and
readiness and ability make him hosts
of friends. Butterworth is a man of
physique and large brain, very indus
trious, and has partially broken his
health with hard work. He has a pleas
ant home out in lie DTOit Park. SUI
burban subdivision of the city which
tries to make its own laws and elect its
own king, and admits no one within its
sacred precincts without unanimous
vote. But there is nothing aristOcratlc
about ButterwOTth. He is plain man,
wears plain clothes, puts on no lugs
He talks straight to the point, and
HATES VERBOsITY
good deal worse thanhe hates Satan,
for he h as a supreme liking for ShTewd-
ness. even if it be intermiXed with a
deal of wickedness. He is a slasher in
debate, cuts quick and deep, takes a
hard blow with equanimity, but gives a
harder one back almost without fail,
and yet is very courteous. He is spe-
cIally polite to the poor fellow whom he
is skinning alive. lie speaks rapidly
and loudly in tone which of itself is
penetrating. and has the advantage of
being heard above the uprOar of the
house when his opponents words can
not be distinguished. He would make
an excellent speaker, as. indeed, would
any of the gentlemen in the field.
Why is it that some men are always
spoken of by their first names and
others never? Everybody says "Ben"
Butterworth and Tom Reed and
"Joe7' Cannon. but nobody ever says
"Jule" Burrows or Billy Mckinley.
They don't even call Mckinley Mac"
1t is not that they respect Burrows or
Mckinley more than the others. The
fact that Mckinley is very serious in
temper and just bit stiff may account
for the lack of familiarity in his case.
but then Burrows Is one of the friend
lieSt and jOllieSt of fellows, and yet no.
body does him the honor to address him
by his natural nickname" To say
nothing of his intellect,
TOM REED
is the biggest man physically of the
house He will outweigh the biggest
other man by twenty-five pounds, at the
very least. When he walks he lumberS
along with exactly the grace of an ele-
phant. He talks heavily also, but in a
voice more like the rasping notes of the
katydid, many times eXaggera ted. than
like the trumpeting of an elephant. His
voice and action are not those of an ora
tor. He is rather conversational In his
style like some of the debaterS one hears
in the house of commons. His retOrts
do not come quick as fash, like those
of Butterworth, but slowly, as though
he so enjoys making mincemeat of his
hot In 70 70
long the operation as long as posi-
ble. One of the funniest scenes in
congress used to be a tilt between Reed
and Cox. The latter would get in some
fine licks, but it always reminded the
spectators of fight between a bantam
and a tremendous Shanghai. Reed
knows good deal of everything. He
| is an OmnivOrOus reader. but especially
revels in ZOla and Daudet in the Origi-
nal. He purSueS his studies in French
| regularly and reads all the classics, yet,
| strange to say, you would hardly recOg-
niZe his classical education in his choice
of English in speaking or writing. He is
thoroughly up in parliamentary tactics.
and in this respect would undoubtedly
show himself the superior of any of the
other candidates. He not only knows
all the points and rules, but is awfully
cute in their application.
BURROWS Is THE HANDSOME MAN
of the uuartette of candidates in the
field. ThOt is because he is native of
Pennsylvania. He saw daylight first in
the little village of Northeast, in Erie
| county. He is, perhaps, the smo0thest
and most pleasing speaker Of the lot,
! having a good voice and the knack Of
choosing pleasing words. He prepares
/ his speeches carefully. His speech
On the tariff last session is looked on by