Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-06-01
JOKING WITH CANNON
How the Speaker Amuses Will
liams and Keeps House Quiet.
WHEN he is COUNTING A QUORUM

| Minority Leader Says That Is why
He Requests 1t So Often and Re-
SCENTS InsinuatiOns That the Count
| Is Not Correct-TeIIs "A story to IL
lustrate the Point.
| The disposition which Minority Lead.
CT John Sharp Williams fancies he sees
in some newspapers to make merry
over the counting of a quorum in the
house of representatives by the speak
! er, made necessary by his frequent de-
mands for the presence Of quorum,
induced that gentleman to occupy the
time and attention of the house the
other day with a brief defense Of
Speaker Cannon's method and his own
policy, says a Washington dispatch to
the New York Sun.
He read an editorial article describ-
ing one of the numerous incidents
which have amused the members and
commented:
There has not been a time when
The speaker had counted a quorum that
have not been aware that there was
q quorum In the house at the time.
do not want the idea to go abroad, in
justice to myself, that If the speaker
should undertake to announce a quo
rum when none was present 1t would
strike me as a humorous proceeding,
nor do 1 want the idea to go abroad
that the man who has served the coun-
try so long and faithfully and so hon
estIy will undertake to announce a
quorum If it were not present.
I'VE have our laughs and our jokes
about counting Quorums, and we spe-
cially have our laugh about the manner
in which the speaker jerks his gavel
while he is doing Ii. but | do not be-
Iieve for one moment, and | know that
nobody else believes for one moment,
that he would violate the sacred. fun
damental and constitutional require
ment of the manner in which we must
carry on our government or that he
would regard that violation as a mat
ter of humor, and / want nobody to be-
lieve that he would.
I'VE have our fun in the house, and
we ought to have It, We are grown
up boys. as all men are. Sometimes
am reminded when the speaker counts
a quorum, in his characteristic way of
doing it, of n story heard not long ago
about Il lady, man with a watch and
u small child. In calling for count
I am afraid sometimes 1 am actuated
by pretty much the same motives as
was this lady. who repeatedly asked
the man the time of day The child
with her was crying, and the man
they were all IN the railroad station
had a watch. He had Il spasmodic.
convulsive sort of way of moving his
nl,;l Il
it at work he stopped crying, fell into
a good humor and began to laugh.
1.-The lady discovered this method of
keeping the child quiet. In a few min
uteS the little fellow was crying again,
and the lady went back TO the man and
said, Mister, l beg your pardon, but
will you tell me the time AGAIN. Be
ing courteous man, he told her again.
The third time she came and then u
fourth, after short intervals. The fifth
time the man said: Madam. it seems
to me that you ought to remember the
time five minutes. | do not object to
telling you, but why are you so anx
ious to get the time every five or ten
minutes?'
"She said, Mister, / am not asking
because 1 want TO know the time, but
the movements of your countenance |
amuse my baby. so that it is about the |
only thing that keeps him quiet
$50 sometimes l expect l want a |
quorum counted because the move |
ments of the speakers gavel amuse |
me and keep the house quiet and puts |
everybody in a good humor. But 1 |
want the country to understand that |
nobody in the house of representatives
is laughing at or making joke of the
of the fundamental law
of the republic of the United States"