The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-27
Republicans Will Have a Hard
 Road to Travel
TIE CURRENCY AND CUBA
Will Divide the Time of Congress and Democrats Will Have the Max ing of a Prosldent-Mr.
 Cannon Is Potent.
RY wATTERsoN sTEALEY.

BY WA IERSON SI HALEY.
 Washington. July 2e.-tspeeial)-A re- cent interview with Representative Can non of Illinois, the next speaker of the house of representatives. declaring against any currency legislation during the next congress, and then modified so as to read unless the majority wants it. combined with the next speakers visit to the President in Oyster Bay this week to discuss financial legislation, has led to considerable gossip over the extra session of congress which is to meet ac- cording to the present arrangement on November g.
 This extra session is to be called for the purpose of giving the house an oppor- tunity to express itself on the Cuban treaty, which was ratified by the senate before adjournment this year. The sen ate leaders generally take the view that the house has nothing to do with treat ies. This view is stoutly opposed, how ever, by some of the ablest members of the senate, and naturally by nearly everyone on the house side, since this particular treaty has the effect of reduc- ing revenue. Hence it was agreed that a joint resolution ratifying the treaty should be presented.
 Now gossip to the effect that financial legislation is to be pushed at the extra session and divide time with Cuban re- ciprocity.
 Hard Road for Republicans.
 The republican party has hard road to travel from November 9 until an ad- journment is reached next summer. From the present outlook the democratic leaders have the making of President Under the leadership of Senator German the party in the senate can De depended upon to grasp every opportunity and take every advantage of it. If the house democratic leaders will go over on the senate side once In a while during the coming congress and be guided by the example of the democratic minority in the upper branch of congress they will be likely to learn something Represen- tative Williams of Mississippi, who will lead the house democrats, is fortunate ly about as good material as could be found in the present organization. He will make no mistakes himself. His suc> cess will depend upon his ability to en- force discipline in his own party. He has bg task before him, but not one as big as that confronting the republi- can congressional leaders.
  of the President to the extra session will not deal with finance, but will confine it. self to a discussion of the importance of ratifying the treaty with Cuba. The regu- lar message which follows a month later will likely take up the subject of finance and the recommenda tions as will be reach ed by conferences during the extra ses- sion by the republican leaders ] Senator Aldfich is expected to introduce his bill presented during the dying days of the last congress in much the same form. It will serve as a basis for debate. 1nei- dentally If the debate over Cuban recipro- city grows too warm and the senate branches out into a tariff discussion as is very likely the Aldrich bill will furnish something else to talk about
 Talk of Finance.
 In fact, republicans just at present have a great deal more to say about financial legislation than Cuban reciprocity when the extra session is discussed with them The object of this is very plain. They believe finance to be the vulnerable point of the democracy, and would like nothing better than to kep both bodies grinding on this subject until final adjournment is reached, thus using 1t as a foil for tariff discussion.
 Republican leaders are afraid and very properly so, that the tariff legislation necessary to open up discussion of the tariff question in the senate on broad lines and that there Is tariff revision strength enough to secure the adoption of amend ments effectlng the tariff schedule In It's general application or, what is just as bad, from a political standpoint for the republicans, record votes in favor of the present excessive tariff schedules.
 As for the house 1t will be no difficult matter to force through without amend ment or tariff discussion any measure rel alive to the Cuban tariff that the republi- cans may agree upon. Speaker Cannon and his rules will attend to that, and yet MT Cannon Is one of the loudest com plainers over the so-called arrogrance of the senate. At the close of the last ses- sion being unable to stand longer with out protest the mutilation of his appro- priation bills by the senate he made few remarks which called for bitter criticism on the senate side. He said among other things that the senate must change its methods of procedure or our body, backed by the people, will compel that change, or else the house close to the people, shall become mere tender, a mere bender of the pregnant hinges of the knee to sub init to what any one member of another body may demand of this body as price of legislation"
 House is Arrogant.
 The senate has never treated the house with half as much arrogance as the speaker of the house and his committee on rules treats the minority. and very often a majority which is too cowardly to overturn rules which oppress It. MT. Cannon has very little cause to criticize the senate by comparison. The very fact that he is known to oppose currency legislation makes it highly improbable that the next session Will do anything more about the subject than defeat It. MT. Cannon knows more about the senti- ment of the republicans in the house than any other member. He realizes that his views indorsed by major fty of them and that the party is not at all united on the subject. In fact, at the close of the last congress the minority party was in much better position on this subject than the majority party, which was hopelessly divided. the propo- sItion put forth by the latter not having