The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-01-18

eyes Of the stranger may wander "a n
striking figure near him. lie has u
ruddy complexion, regular features.
md turquoise eyes. Locks OF irOn-gruy
hair curl upon his forcheud and u short
curling beard covers his chm THIS
gentleman is broati-shouidcrtHi. hus
thick hard muscles. and Is inclined w
portlncss. lie Is Lewis T. puyson Of
Pontiac, ILL.,. one Of the orat0rs Of the
House. The Congressional Record con.
tains. hundreds, IL not thousands. of
columns Of his speeches lie speaks
nucntly and upon almost any gwen
subject without preparation lie II
great reader. and IL thinker rs we'll
lie is chairman of the committee on
public lands. Serving his tenth year
in Congress. no man better understands
railroad grants. and what is due u the
Government from the companies who
ucnt of the copyright bill. Ills per-
sonnlity was felt in The tight for free
coinage. lie spoke for it but did not
vote for it. One Of the most entertain
ing scenes in the House in the
lust session was that in which Judge
Turner, Of Georgia. called Judge I'ayson
to account for stratltlling the silver
question With all his adroitncAs and
exquisite parry and thrust. the Illinois
member did not escape Ills fight eX-
cited the admiration OF the House. but
the Georgian drew blood Many-a- time
and-oft, however. has Judge I'ryson
crossed rapicrs with the best drbaters
on the floor. and been victorious lie
is man loved by his friends and feared
by his enemies.
II the stranger remains in the gallery
long enough he will see u brawny gentle
man with blue eyes, thin. light hair
and Grizzlcd beard take the floor This
is sure TO happen If an appropriation
bill is under consideration. lie wears
no mustache. His voice is resonant and
his gestures trcmulous and eccentric
lie wears turn-down collar. black
tie and plain clothes There is no non.
sense about him. lie talks rs though
spurrcd by the intensity OF his convic.
tons For many years he has Mcn Il
member of the committee on oppropria.
tions. lie drew his knowledge of the
needs and expenditures of the Govern.
mcnt from the tutelnge OF Samuel j
Randall. Like Randall. he has plead
for economy. Like that great leader he
has frequently fought his own party us
sociates to prevent cxtravaGant cxprn.
diturcs. There is not much of the milk of
human kindness about him where new
members arc concerned No man. how
ever. can be more gracious To old asso-
ciatcs. even if political antagonists lie
understands the Legislative geology Of
the House with nil its various strata lie
Gun tell how large appropriations have
grown from small ones nnd can give the
why's and whercfores for such item IN
such bills. lie can take exceptions and
raise objections like Il philadelphia law.
yer and rise to questions of privilege
like trout to Il fly lie talks
much. but men listen TO him when he
talks. This gentleman is Hon. los
cpA &. Cannon, of Dnnvillc. III lie is
native Tarhecl. is serving his ninth
term Us Representative from the black
belt of Illinois AS chairman OF the
committee on appropriations he hus
stood foremost in the eyes of the coun
try since Thomas Is Reed became mas
ter Of the House. Although
faithful lieutenant of the Gar"
on the floor of the House and
in committee. he is by no means "A
docilc servant Cannon strongly repro
batcd BILLY Mason's tilibustering ON the
Congcr bill. 1t was through the OK
preston Of his Indignation that his TN.
fortunate uttcrancc was made in re.
sponsc to Mr.. McAdoo Cannon is one
of the triurviratc committee ON rules
Here also he has been governed by his
convictions. II report is true ne has
barred the way To more than one spr-
cial order that would have throttled the
House i'll the interest of some measure
which he deemed obnoxious His sup
port Of the force bill and the Mckinley
bill. however. was very determined
His craftsmanship here was extreme
The same with the election cuses In
deed in these eases his bearing. Mt
times. was arrogant and extremely irr,-
tating to the minority No one. how.
ever. has over questioned his honesty
and devotion 10 what he considers TO
be to the interests Of the country
Away back Of Cannon the stranger
will note IL clean-shnven man with sal.
low complexion. piercing gray cych and
straight. black hair. iIc is Il stulrantl
twist fellow. big Drained and muscular
He speaks often and TO the point Ills
rapidity of utterance tests the skill OF
the stcnographers- lie is bishop W
Perkins and he comes from the plains
Of Kansas lie is chairman of the com
mittcc on Indian affairs Persist,
emily nc calls the attention of the IIouse
To Indian affairs. II is an unthanlfui
task. There seema to Ia little hympa.
thy there for the n bOrjrinaS M t,,pv
conflicting interests are struggling for
precedence that Indian matters hardly
get fair hearing Time and time