The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-02-05
important Talk.

iiiSFitobiS anu plopClAS
any utterance of Mr.. Speaker Cannon
carries much weight and attracts great
interest. This grows out of both his
attractive personality and his high po
sition. The speaker is easily the second
most powerful parsonage in the land
Sometimes I think he is first. At any
rate he speaks as one having authority
Lately at the Washington meeting of
the national board of trade the speaker
delivered an address. He said inter
ALA:
This is the short session of congress
We are to agree on legislation that will
devote S65O.000.000 to the public service
Should the throttie>be slightly lifted there
might be easily $1O0. 900 900 more, and even
then there would be many sections crying
More, more.' There are certain things
that must be provided. We must main
tain the army and the navy that we have
The postofiee appropriation has increased
since Mr.. McKinley's first Inaugural tion
from $50. 900 900 to S1S0, o0o. 000 And after all
the regular appropriations there may still
be left $40 600, 600 for deficiency.
Other things are desirable, but they
shall have to wait. Rather than increase
taxation / believe in expanding expendi-
lures little less rapidly than FOR the past
six years.
The consensus OF opinion is that we had
better wait for revenue legislation at least
year longer without undertaking to re-
wise the revenue laws. 1t is difficult
thing to frame a tariff bill, for it is a
question Of hearing each one of the repre-
sentatiyes who comes with the plan of
what his constituents want and making 1t
so that q majority of those SO interested
xxysn I,nI{o
pretty good revenue law, both for revenue
and for customs. We need the money.
Ten years ago good law was framed,
and the making Of it halted business AS
a result the congress of the United States
will wait a long while before it runs the
risk of doing the same thing. There is
talk OF monopoly. but IL SO 1t will come
under the laws Of the land, and we shall
march on.
am neither prophet nor the son of a
prophet, but / believe that congress will
make. wise appropriations and that when
1t adiourns March 1t will be to give the
people of the country rest until next De-
cember.
Lord Bacon speaks of certain pas
sages In literature which are to be ':di-
gested. Certainly the foregoing, ex-
cept from the speakers postprandial
effort, is Of that character.
In the first place, he states frankly
the minimum Of annual appropriations
and illustrates the hazard Of opening
the throttle. Then he breaches the
wholesome doctrine OF going slow. He
places himself In opposition to more
taxes and to tariff revision for at least
a year. The speaker does not do JUS
tice to his powers OF vaticination when
he disclaims being prophet or the
son OF prophet. He Is too modest.
for everybody knows that he was not
talking at random when he spoke of
congress giving the country a rest until
December.
All those things are important, but
the most important statement in the
foregoing extract from the speakers
speech Is this: Ten years ago good
law was framed" He means the VIII
son tariff bill. Mr.. Cannon deserves
the thanks Of the country for making
that statement. It was a good law
as passed-that is, good when measur-
ed BY the Mckinley and Dingley bills.
Had the income tax feature not been
knocked out by. the supreme court. the
Wilson bill would have raised ample
revenues to run the government eco.
nomically administered and would
have been on the statute book yet. To
do Mr.. Speaker Cannon absolute JUS
tice. his entire sentence should be
quoted, and here it is. Ten years ago
a good law was framed. and the max
ing OF it halted business. : OF course
the speaker is mistaken about the max
ing Of the Wilson bill haIting business,
but that's neither here nor there. On
that statement he bases this further
statement As a result the congress
OF the United States will wait long
while before 1t runs the risk Of doing
the same thing That sentence means.
50 far as the speaker is concerned, in