Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-06-23
Champ
Letter E
Especial washington naes,sl

~- n D ~
Especial Washington Asesarl
pm England they may not paa -
expression soft snap" but they
have the thing itself. The speak
ership of the house Of commons
Is most decidedly of that nature. The
incumbent holds on TIL he dies or re-
signs No matter II the political con-
plexion Of the house changes, the
speaker continues to WELD the gavel
and draw the salary, which is $4,000
per annum. If he chooses to resign,
he is entitled to a peerage and to a
pension Of $4,000 year. Mr.. Gully,
who has just resigned to accept the
peerage and pension. has been speaker
for many years and appears to have
been as successful In that line as his
grandfather was In pugilism. Here
our speaker holds for two years on a
salary Of $4,000 and retires on no PEN
sion. OF course, when the political
complexion Of the house changes, q
new speaker is elected. In England the
speakers duties seem to be wholly
judicial. With us his duties are large
ly political, very slightly judicial. Yet
we have as speaker men who are fully
equal mentally to the English speakers.
Some of the men who have presided
over the American house of representa-
tves have been Of the first rank. One
president, James K. Polk, and several
unsuccessful candidates for the presi-
dency, among them Henry Clay, James
G. Blaine and Thomas Bracket Reed,
have filled the chair at Washington.
One vice president, Schuyler Colfax,
| was an ex-speaker. Two speakers, Ga
lusha A. Grow and J. Warren Kiefer,
were defeated for reelection to con-
gress. Grow re-entered the house after
an absence Of thirty-four years, and
now Kiefer returns after an enforced
retirement Of quarter Of q century.
The speaker Of the American commons
has far more power than his English
prototype. He is easily the second Of.
ficer Of the government in point Of
power. Sometimes he seems to have
more power than the president himself
Mr.. Speaker Cannon exercises all tn
power which his position bsstows.
Astonlshsd.
One Of the most interesting Republic
ans in congress is Hon. Frank q.
Wachter Of Baltimore. Like Ypr3ck,
"he is fellow Of infinite Jest" but be
is not in joking frame of mind Just
COW. Colonel Roosevelt has Jared all
the humor out of him by proclaiming
that ne is about to appoint hon. Charles
]. BonaDarte to be secretary Of the
navy. When Wachter heard this he
was SO overwhelmed that all he could
do was to murmur, * am astonishedl'
What he said when he recovered his
speech is not recorded. Perhaps, to Dor
row an idea from Cushman OF Wash
ington. one would need asbestus paper
on which to set forth the hot language Of
Wachter when he really expressed his
inmost thoughts on this burning sub
ject, for Wachter is a fighting Rspub-
lican and has no use for mugwumps,
Indeed, he Is not the only Maryland
Republican "astonished" at the eleva-
ton Of Colonel Bonaparte. The aver
age Maryland Republican believes
with all his heart in William L, Mar
cy's dictum, ITO the victor belongs the
spolls," and he wants the spoils and
wants them right away. Now, II Colo
mel Bonaparte believes anything at all,
he believes in civil seryice-which liz
the abomination Of Maryland Republic
ans; hence their bad case Of NULL
grubs which produced the astonish-
ment Of my genial friend Wachter.
To be deprived Of the spoils or to have
them in driblets from the hands Of
Colonel Bonaparte, who was until re-
Gently Democrat, riles the souA Of
the faithful in Maryland, my Mary
land. There will be no pleasure Ia life
for them so long as Colonel Bonaperte
handles the Maryland pie VINO can
blame Wachter ct al? They have
borne the heat and burden Of the day.
They have fought tooth and nail for
Republicanism for, 10, these many
years when Maryland was hopslsssly
Democratic. They would be something
more or less than human II they did
not resent the promotion Of the man
who first and last has done them many
bad turn. Perhaps-who knowsa
Colonel Bonaparte Is an instrument In
the hands Of Providence to break ND
the Republican party in Maryland, q
contamination devoutly to be wished.
30 all good Democrats will exclaim,
ION with the dancep' When Wachtsr
and his fellow stalwarts recover from
their "astonishment' and Timber up
their linguistic guns things in: Republic
an circles are likely to sizzle some
what, but If Colonel Bonaparte fights
as we'll as did his granduncle tits by
no means certain that the, Republican
stalwarts will be able to do him ups
Anyway, 1t Is a pretty fight a. it
stands. The more one studies the Re
publican Maryland situation, the more
he admires the astuteness. of ex-UnHed
States Senator Louis Emory MeComas
IN taking himself out of the fight per
petual and into the quietude of life
position on the bench.
A Farmer Candidate.
The head of Mr.. Vice Preaident
Charles Warren Fairbanks Is level He
wants to be president. There 10 no
concealment about that desire. he is
going to spend the summer on the
farm. Il like farming" says Mr. Fair
banks, and If certain other AMBITIOUS
patriots are up to snuff they Nm con-