The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1905-01-27
SPEAKER CANNON
Rules House Without Using
Harsh Measures.
He and Reed, the Two Speakers
of a Quarter Century--Their
Methods Differ.

bent and wearing chinn whlskers
tinged with gray, sits in the presid-
ing officers chair of the House, or
moves around quietly among the
members on the floor. He walks on
tiptoe, and seldom speaks above a
whisper. This man is Speaker Can
non, at present probably. ..thel most
potential figure in American politics,
the denominating force of Congress,
who makes and unmakes laws al
most at his will. The position of
Speaker has always been one of
great and commanding influence.
Daniel Webster once said that even
mediocre man became great, in
the eyes of the people, when he fill
ed the chair.
REED AND CANNON.
During the last quarter of a cer-
fury there have been two really no
table speakers, Thomas B. Reed and
Joseph G. Cannon. The others have
all been good men, generally men of
great ability, but they did not meas
ure up to the standard of these dis
tinpuished exponents of American
craftsmanship. Reed swayed the
House as the wind sways the grass
in field. He gave orders, and they
were obeyed. The members who
questioned him felt the sting of the
party lash, and generally were left
at home the next session. He was
charged with being tyrannical, and
he was, but his tyranny was Of the
kind which made for good laws and
good government. Cannon is equal
" the boss, but less the .tyrant. He
CONTROLS in different way, but con-
trolls none the less effectively.
Reed was feared, Cannon is loved.
Young men idolize him. He is look
ed up to and revered. There is
nothing of the New Englond aristo-
crat about Cannon. He is of the
earth, earthly, and of the world,
worldly. He speaks in homely phra-
yes, and occasionally interjects an
extra word into his speech to
make it effective. He is full of an
ecdotes, and illustrates points by the
telling of pat story. He is in all
ways a good American, with whole
some American ways.
The power of the Speaker to shape
the ways of legislation has never
been more forcefully shown than
last week, when he swayed the House
and turned what threatened to be
an overwhelming sentiment in ia
vor of an extra session and revis-
ion of the tariff into an overwhelm-
ing sentiment the other way.
He did this in the face of the OPP
petition of number of leaders up
on the Republican side. Moreover,
he did it easily. A few of his clos
est friends were called into consul
tation. There is no need of an ex-
ira session, said the Speaker. mo
one is crying for tariff revision ex-
-cept a few who would be benefited.
1t would disturb the business condi-
tons of the country, and hard times
would result. defended the tariff
wherever Nv ent last fall, and every
where | found people satisfied and
.contented. The mere suggestion of
a tariff change is having its effect
upon the country. Let us show that
the House is not in sympathy with
the move. Get busy"
His friends got busy, and in twen-
ty-four hours a large majority of
the Republican members had signed
protest against an extra session,
and a revision of the Dingley bill
until at least the next regular ses-
sion of Congress.
Cannon may have been wrong or
right in his contention that nothing
should be done to lessen the duties
of protection. People disagree as
to this and disagree widely, but it il
illustrates his power and shows what
a commanding figure he is. Reed
could have done the same thing, but
he would not have done it so quiet
ly or so automatically. There would
have been more injured feelings left
behind. The whip would have been
cracked and the sting Of the lash
felt.
Cannon is a determined man. He