Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-12-05
Which Which Role Role Will the Speaker Play
IN This Congress2
AMOS CUM NJ INGsI ON OUTLOOK
Kee"lI.n nm Animated rish. Over ,h..
Isnies I'm the Inst Congress ana
soes Indications OF Lively zine.
I'm Thi--lr. Hepburn. Erorts "a
Pass The Nicnraugua tnnal H.ii
ana lilsRoyy with Mr. Cnnnon.
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The swirl OF legislation is on. It's
waters are cold, but the surface is
never frozen. The stream is deep and
swift. and many good man is sure
pneumonia turks in the canyons, and
there are deadly fevers in the marshes
There will be more than one victim
ere the close of the long session.
Freshets in politics are like freshets
elsewhere. AT times the snow in the
mountains melts with fearful rapidity
beneath the hot sun of popular opinion,
and the inunda ton Of valleys far away
catches many n good farmer unprepar-
ed and unprotected; but the new SOIL
the silt from the mountaIns-is usually
extremely fertile, and with judicious
cultivation returns far more than an
| average crop.
Something of this kind occurred over
year ago, when a majority of fifty-six
in the House was reduced to thiteen.
And something of like kind is liable to
| occur next fall. 1t all depends upon the
swirl of legislation.
| The mortality caused by the last
freshet is almost appalling. 1t left it's
mark In every aisle of the House of
Representatives 1t not only swept
away the elegant and debonnaire Lew
| is, of Washington, but 1t also carried
away the sapient and irdescent Jerry
simpson. of Kansas. Tall and stately
howard. OF Alabama, disappears, and
| with him that unique stub-and-twist
statesman of Illinois, Buck Hinrichson
Judge Mcguire. of California, has gone
! out with the waters, and taken with
MIN that opaleScent intellectual gem,
T,11
me drowning cries of the irrepressible
Levin Irving Handy, Of Delaware,
were heard. while the natty and ex-
quisite Bennett, of Brooklyn, went un-
der without word. Fiery Brumm, of
Pennsylvania, tloated down the stream
protesting vigorously, and was followed
by that pink of political perfection,
Rowland Blennerhasset Mahany. The
dapper little Quigg and that metroDoI-
itan ramrod in politics, ]. Murray
Mitchell, were also overwhelmed by the
angry waters. And we miss, James ].
Belden, James A. Connolly, Hugh r..
Belknap, Jehu Baker, Henry U. John
son, Thomas Updegraff, George D.
Perkins, Walter Evans, William e.
Barrett, Albert M. Todd, Charles S.
Hartman. and scores of others who
were climbing the slippery ladder of
fame. Truly it was a remarka BILE
freshet.
NEW REGIME AT HAND.
Everything indicates lively session.
There are several important election
cases on the docket. \ committee an
pointed at the last Congress is sure 10
Dring in n financial bill. The Mica
ragua canal project will, undoubtedly.
come TO vote. and our status with re-
gard to Cuba. Porto Rico and the Phil
lppine Islands be clearly outlined. The
old members OF the House are passing
away, and. new regime is at hand.
Since the last Congress convened Will
liam S. Holman, Nelson Dingley.. Seth
Milliken. Daniel Ermentrout, and
Richard P. Bland have died. Thomas
Is. Reed, Joseph u. Sayers, Benton Nc
Millin, Alexander M. Dockery, and
other veterans have retired. New men
are at the front. The first struggle will
be over the rules. This fight cropped
up at the beginning OF the last Con-
gress. The rules OF the previous Con-
gress were adopted under a promise
that new rules would be reported in
thirty days. This promise was not
kept. The old rules held until the final
adjournment. The new regime, it is
safe to say. will not accept the rules of
the old. Indeed it is more than init
mated that MIR. Hepburn, of Iowa, will
lead fight for radical change. 1t is
asserted that proposition will be made
to increase the number of the members
OF the Committee on Rules to fifteen.
Others say that an effort to take the
appointment of the committees away
from the Speaker will be made. The
whole matter may be settled in caucus,
but if so, it will be n lively caucus
In the last House, all agreed that the
Speaker was the master Of the House;
in this House he may become it's SER
want How far Mr.. Hepburn Will go is
matter OF speculation. He has great
ability and wonderful flow of Ian
suage; Is unrivaled in discussion. and
has facts and figures ever mt his COM
mand Aside from this. he is keen and
sarcastic, and is blessed with n tena-
cious memory. The record of the last
Congress shows that MIR. Hepburn re-
sented the treatment received by him
at the beginning of the extra session.
Joseph g. Cannon was chairman of the
Committee on Appropriations. and Mr..
Hepburn chairman of the Committee on
Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
There were many tilts between them.
HEPBURN AND THE CANAL BILL
The fight came to head in Febru-
airy last, when Mr. Cannon was eX-
pounding the sundry civil bill. 1t was
suspected that Mr.. Hepburn meant to
offer the Nicaragua canal bill as an
amendment. Mr.. Cannon observed that
1t was impossible at this time to give
fair consideration to such a measure.
Gen. Grosvenot. of Ohio, suggested that
Cannon was assuming that the Com
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Com
merce had been derelict in its duty.
when he said: 1--WE are unenlightened
upon so important a question
THE gentleman from Ohio" naively
retorted Mr.. Cannon, cannot torture
any remark that I make Into "a rehec-
ton upon that great committee pre-