The daily sentinel., 1905-12-28
SPEAKER CANON oPToNnsTIC
OVER COUNTRY'S CONDITION.


Washington, Dec 2S.-speker Can
on was one of the callers at the White
House today. He desired simply to
pay his Christmas greetings to the
president, but was obliged to defer
them, as the president had gone to
the country for a long horseback ride.
The speaker was in excellent spirits
and talked with his newspaper friends
in a characteristic way.
They say things are not now like
they were in the old days; that we
are becoming aristocratic; that there
is no longer honesty in legislative
bodies; that there is no longer ability
at the bar; that we are liable to be
come a monarchy; that some strong
man is liable to rise up and dominate
everybody.
But l say that there is no fair
minded man who studies the his
tory of this county from the days
of its foundation down to the pres
emit time, and who deduces the differ
ence between 5000 600 people and
SO.0OO,0OO. who considers the teIe-
graph, telephone and the railroads,
who will not say we are markedly
better physically and morally than
our grandfathers.
"Then you believe the house of
representatives is just as representa-
tive as it was in years gone by"
yes, yes, indeed" the speaker re
piled. THE house is Just as repre-
sentative a body now as it was when
this country had only 100000 peo-
Pile. If you listen to all that is said
you might believe the country is fast
going to the devil. is fast becoming
monarchy and will cease soon to be
republic. Why. l heard that same
kind of talk when l was boy, when
we used to gather at camp meetings
days You hear the same things
now; that the country is retrograd-
ing; that everybody is corrupt and
dishonest, and that there is wholesale
immortality. l do not hesitate to as
sert that this country is better to-
day that it ever has been in its his
tory; that the people are better
more honest. more moral and less
disposed to yield to temptations that
are put in front of honest men at
every turn.
" The people are just as mighty
now IN the matter of elections as ever
before. and just as discriminating as
to whether a man has done his duty.
No man ever gets so big that he can
not easily be wiped off the political
map. And how quickly the people
do it, too. They settle a man so
quickly that he is soon forgotten.
II venture the prediction that few
of the hest men in the country could
sit down today and give off hand the
names of 100 men who have helped
to make history in the house of rep
resentatives. The others were defeat
ed and forgotten and that was the
end. There was William J. Brown,
" no put through the house the APP
preparation of 100000 to build the
first Telegraph line between Washing
ton and Baltimore. He did the world
an immense service, yet at the next
election afterwards he received hard
" enough votes to count. The OPP
position put up man who ridiculed
the idea of sending messages by
lightning and he beat Brown thou
sands of votes So it is today al
though mans services now are so
easily condoned.
undoubtedly we are far better
off than our forefathers. The millen-
ium is not here. it is true. and things
will not be a bit interesting until
everything becomes perfect. We are
doing better. though"