The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-01-31

when it controlled all the appropriations.
There grew up feeling in the House
and the country that the great chair,
man used his power too despotically, and
without proper regard for the expanding
wants and interests of the nation. So
several of the bills including those for
| the army. the navy, Indians, and diplo-
matte and consular service were taken
| from the appropriations committee and
charge the several subjects. But there
yet erelnains to the appropriations COM
mittee the distribution of over half of the
Ave hundred millions required to pay the
expenses of the United States govern
ment for year. sfs
When the Speaker appointed Mr.. JOS
| eph g. Cannon of Illinois, chairman of
this committee, he put under his care
| the expenditures of from two hundred
and fifty millions to three hundred mil
lions of dollars yearly. For, while the
ways and means committee consists of
seventeen members, each of whom has as
much voice as the chairman, yet practi-
cally the committee is made up to sup
port the views which the chairman holds
SO that the chairman is virtually clothed
with the responsibility of the committee
| Mr. Cannon is now sixty years of age,
and has passed twenty years Of his life
in the House Of Representatives. He is
a lawyer by profession, and at the age
Of twenty-five years was elected states
attorney of Illinois, serving from 1851
to 1858. He is not, however, a native OF
that state, having been born at Guilford,
North Carolina.
| For man who intends to do his duty,
the chairmanship of the appropriations
committee is not wholly an enviable posi-
tlon. He must stand in the gap between
those who pay the taxes and those who
use them. AS the District of Columbia is
largely. Inhabited by people who use
taxes, he is often locally known as "Old
4 CanDon, and figures as a bugbear. Per
i maps nothing is more expressive of Mr..
ICannon's character than the fact
that these things do not trouble him at
4 all. He delights to stand up against the
4 1fmportunities and the plausabilities OF
4 those who wish by influence and persis-
i tence to get public money which they are
not entitled to, at the the expense OF
the great mass of tax payers who are not
lpresent and do no realize that their in
terests are concerned. "I dislike to be
llungracious, is favorite expression OF
his when he encounters some very infiu-
enblal ana respectable imposition upon
the government, but the public treasury
should not bear this expense
He is equally courageous IL cases where
things right in themselves come up in
such a way as to form dangerous and
harmful precedents. An instance occur
red the other day in the House. An
effort was being made to engraft upon
an appropriation bill a provision to favor
a certain very worthy class of pensioners
who complain that they are being dis
eliminated against by the present COM
missioner. The sentiment of the House
was unquestionably in favor Of the sec
tion, although it was plainly against the
spirit of the wise and necessary rule OF
the House which prohibits legislation on
an appropriation bill. Mr.. Dingley was
in the chair, and there was no doubt that
he would rule in favor of the integrity
of the rule, and against the section; but
his position was getting little effective
support on the floor until Mr.. Cannon
| arose. He took squarely position
against such provision OF, a pension
bill, although his sympathies were all
/ with it. He and his points of order are
justly feared by all who wish to get their
| little schemes through on the backs OF
appropriation bills; yet just appeal to
4 Mr.. Cannon Is sympathies always meets
/ with a ready response. as in a recent cass