Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-05-13
HOUSE COMES
into own
Speaker Cannen's Friends Re.
.ioice Over Success Of Off.
cial in Wrestling Power
From the Senate
The Old STATUS
House More Influential in Shap-
ing Legislation Than 1t Has
Been For Years

Wup SASNNSh oPSahNA vi ihC 11ouoC NJ
Representatives he announced that
the highest ambition of his life had
been gratified.
With his election to the Speaker
ship, however, there vas inspired In
the breast of Uncle Joe" a new ans
bition. He became ambitious to re-
store the House to the position of
power and influence it once occupied
in the question Of government, in the
days before so many of its privileges
and prerogatives had been usurped sby
the Senate.
Mr.. Cannon's friends and admirers
contend that he succeeded to a re-
markable degree during the session
Of Congress just closed in gratifying
this second Of his great ambitions.
The House has welded a greater in
~fluence, they declare. than 1t had
done at any session of recent years.
A fact that occasioned much com.
ment, and which is very gratifying to
Mr.. Cannon and his fellow House
members is that interest conferred al
most absolutely in the HOUSE during
the closing days Of the session The
public and the press of ~hes40untry
paid svery little attention to the Senate
and the things it was doing. While
no particular credit is claimed for
this as a part of MI. Cannon's policy,
it is pointed to as an evidence that In
terest has in a great measure shifted
from the upper to the lower.
Victory on Canal Bill.
The thing upon which the House
membership is pluming itself is that
on so many important matters Of
legislation the House had its way,
despite opposition of the Senate. NThe
houses most strikink victory was over
legislation providing a form Of gov
eminent for the Panama Canal zone.
The Senate passed a bill providing
an elaborate scheme of government,
which It insisted the House must ac-
cept. In this the Senate had the sup
port of the executive department, the
Senate measure being favored by The
administration.
But the House would have none Of
IL iii the House Committee on Inter-
state and Foreign Commerce, OF which
Mr.. Hepburn, Of Iowa. Is chairman,
the Senate project was cut out bodily,
and in its stead vas reported The sim
pie enactment of 1909, drafted BY
Thomas jefferson TO provide a tempo
rary government for the Louisiana
Purchase, and the substitute was ar.
cepted by the House. The Senate
took strong ground against the House
subs ftute. Senate leaders declared
they never would yield, and that un-
less the House accepted the Senate
provision for governing the canal
zone, Congress would be kept in SEES
sion all summer The House confer.
ees appealed 10 Speaker Cannon to
know what they should do. He n
wered in two words. Stand pat he
said; and the House conferees stood
pat, The Senate accepted the House
substitute, and adjournment was NOT
delayed an hour.
The rivers and harLurs bill was The
vehicle on which the House rode to
its second most decisive victory.
The House passed d simple little mea.
sure appropriatins s3,0O0.0OO TO keep
open existing channels aud harbors.
|, was The House policy that no new
work or no new surveys should be
authorized.
Many Senate Amendments.
The senate added iiity Or more par.
agraphs TO the bill, authorizing 4 large
number OF new surveys. II was decid.
ed hy the house | aders that the bill
should submit to the senate amend.
ments. The house disagreed 70 the
senate amendments, but declined 10
ask for a conference. II consented
for a conference when the senate ask.
cd for one. and in conference all but
two Of the senate amendments went
out. Not n new survey was author.
lied.
In conference on the great supply
bills the house Jared much better
than i has in former years. The In.
creases on the bills made in the sen.
ate were as large as ever, but in con-
ference the senate managers receded
from a larger proportion OF the sen.