The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1906-01-03
IN THE GOOD OLD TIMES

l Va " sSo~
and other illegal acts, and the expo
sures Of crookedness among several
other public officials, it 10 interesting
to learn from such high authority az
Speaker Cannon, of the house OF rep
r~esentatives, that the so.called ''good
old times" were no better than those
of the present day. In fact, he init
mates that q great improvement has
taken place, and that there Is cause
for general satisfaction rather than
regret over q comparison between the
conditions of fifty years ago and to-
day.
In q press dispatch recently sen out
from Washington, relating an inter.
view with "Uncle" Joe Cannon, the
latter is credited with this optimistic
view of the situation:
"They say things are not now like
they were In the old days; that we are
becoming aristocratic; that there is
no longer honesty; that there is no
ability at the bar; that some strong
mar is liable to rise up and dominate
everything. But I say there is no
mar who studies the history of this
country from the days Of its founda-
ton down to the present time and who
deduces the difference.between 5000, 900
Of people and 80, 00O, 900, who considers
the telegraph, telephone and the rail.
roads, who will not say we are
markedly better physically, mentally
and morally that our grandfathers, or
even our fathers"
"Then you believe the house Of rep.
resenta,ives is just as representative
as in years gone by?"
eyes. yes, indeed" the speaker re.
piled. "The house Is just as repre-.
sentative a body now az it was when
this country had only 10000, 600 peo-
Pile. If you listen to all that is said,
you might believe the country is fast
going to the devil. is fast becoming a
monarchy and will cease soon to be q
republic. Why, l heard that same
kind of talk when I was a boy, when
We used to gather at camp meetings.
They used to tell US that things were
not what they were in the good old
You hear the same things now;
the country Is retrograding; that
10 corrupt and dishonest,
and that there Is wholesale immoral.
l do not hesitate to assert that
this country is better today than 1t
aver was.
1.-THE people r just as mighty as
ever before and just as discriminating
as to whether q man has done his
duty. No man " gets so big that
he cannot easily be wiped off the po.
litical map.
"They settle . man so quickly that
he ia 500 forgotten.
II venture the prediction that few of
the best men in the country could sit
down today and give offhand the names
of 100 men who have helped to make
history in the house of representatives.
The others we're defeated and forgot.
ten and that was the end. There was
w. j. Brown, who put through the
house an appropriation Of $4,000 to
build the first telegraph line between
w a%shington and Baltimore. He did
the world an immense service and at
the first election he received after.
wards barely enough votes to count.
The opposition put up q man who
ridiculed the idea Of sending messages
by lightning and he beat Brown thous.
ands Of votes. So It il today although
a mans services now are not so easily
condoned.
"Undoubtedly We are better of than
our forefathers were. The millennium
Is not here, it Is true, and things will
not be o bit interesting until every
thing becomes perfect. We are doing
better, though"