The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-05-13
CANNON WITH HIS
COAT OFF AND On
Glimpses of Uncle Joe, Speaker
of the House.
BELOVED BY BOTH PARTIES.

BELOVED BY BOTH PARTIES.
Best Remembered as "WatchdOg of =.
the Treasury"-Glints of Old Time
Chair-How He Fought For Prestige
Of the House.
Uncle Joe Cannon has been having
his picture painted, an operation
which all good speakers must undergo,
says a Washington dispatch to the
New York Times. He has submitted
to it with stoical resignation, know
ing that it is part of the job he holds
The various artists have done b
they conceive to be their duty In such
cases. They have undertaken to pre-
sent the speaker in a favorable llght
to posterity. 1t is for posterlty's sake
that each new speaker undergoes this
course Of artistic sprouts. He mas 10
contribute an oil painting OF himself
to the gallery of speakers and to leave
his photograph for future historians.
And these photographers have per-
formed their labors conscientiously.
They have e~ndeavored to give hin a
stern and statesmanlike look, as OF
one whose mind is engrossed with
matters of deep public import; they
have wiped the half humorous CLINT
out of his eye, and they nave toned
down into lines of severity he curl
GUS crease at his mouth which gives
him the appearance of always smiling.
They have done their duty as they see
it, and in years to come a
place face will look from the pages
of history instead of the most strik-
ing and unforgettable face in all the
Fifty-eighth congress-. 1t will be the
face Of an imaginary Speaker Cannon,
the Speaker Cannon who ought to
have been, not the face of Uncle Joe.
1t has been the duty Of everybody
connected with Mr.. Cannoh's official
duties to metamorphose him from
Uncle Joe into the speaker, and they
have worked indefatigably at it. This
picture making is merely an example
of il. but the work has been a failure,
for the uncomfortable Uncle-Joeness OF
him rises and protrudes as o as their
labors are done, as a pompadour head
. of hair rises obstinately the moment
you take your hand off it.
. OF course his personality is less OBJ
trusively in evidence han it was when
, he was on the floor. He cannot make
speeches now; neither can he preside a
great deal of the time. The popular no
: ton of the speakership is that that 9th.
. Ger is continually in the chair, presid;
, ing over the work Of congress. AS q
> matter of fact, when the big bills are
being debated the speaker is not in tn
chair more thar half an hour a day.
So the speaker is seen but little in tn
house: his work is not that of an &C
tive participant. 1t IL lone behind thu
/ scenes. He is the head Of the house
Il the general director of legislation, thu
!, man who determines in advance wha
, shall be done and has charge of thu
=: way to do it. And hence it is tina
while Cannon is Uncle Joe as mucl
as ever, the fighting, rough and read.
Uncle Joe of parliamentary catch-as
= catch-can is a fading tradition, growing
DINNER all the while.
j. The Uncle Joe who for so man.
years was chairman Of the appropr1a
D tons committee, the official watchdog
. Of the treasury, was a sight worth see
y ing when a debate was on. His dellv
- cry was sla.shing, sledge-hammery, fu.
:, Of fire and fury. When he got tho
! oughly interested in his subject tn
n fact was made known in an infall1bl
way. On such occasions he would tax
off his coat and throw it on his desl
Provoked by opposition and gettin
" warmed to his subject, his waistcoa
. would follow his coat, and If the occs
sion was of sufficient moment to wa
:. rant it off would come collar and necl
: tie.
l. Thus stripped for action Uncle Jo
= would nov up and down the aisles !
y long strides, waving his fists in the a
y and pouring forth a continual food {
~ sarcasm, invective and denunciation
. q rate that taxed the st~enographer
He would roll up his shirt sleeves
give him greater freedom, and his bon
fists would fly around in the heat {
his wrath so that the ducking heads {
congressman, lodging to avoid a pune
in the eye, marked his dashes up ar
w down the aisles.
: If some unlucky opponent Interrupt
;'1 ed, Cannon would stride up and dow
NJ the aisle, jerking his shirt sleeve
DC arms about in a fury of impatience. 4
1T the last word left the questionel
on mouth a gigantic roar Of ooh, M
C%hairman!" would burst from Cannt
ole1 MS if his pent up feelings had torn tn
Die torrent of sound from his bosom, al
to behind it would come such a flood
ed sarcasm, couched in homely languai
m. and mingled with soundest sense, til
on tho in+orr,nter wilted under a lau.