The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-05-20
RATHER Be SPEAKER
Than PRESIDENT
That Is Uncle Joe CannOn's Sat-
isfactiOn With His Pres
ent Job.
HE is GETTING ANCIENT:
SEVENTY YEARS OF AGE
Move for Federal Court Juris-
diction in the Congress
siOnal Elections.
Correspondence to Tho Tribune,

:
was a declaration from Joseph G. Can
non to tho effect that he woud rather be
| Speaker than President and that ho was
| perfectly satisfied with his present status
SO far, SO good But the enthusiastic
| friends of Uncle Joe arc going right along
| booming him for the next nomination Tho
| House Of Representatives Is for him al
most to man. In fact. no is no doubt
! the first choice of men OF both parties in
the House. with SO few exceptions as to
almost amount to nothing. We all re-
member when William Alden Smith. the
exuberant statesman from Grand Rapids,
| Mich, nominated Speaker Cannon for
| President. y great many people were
| disposed TO regard the whole proceeding
in the nature OF a joke. 1t Is tar from
joke now, and 1t may be that William
| Alden Will prove to be the original Can
non man. Or course. the original does
not become important until there Is really
some prospect OF the man who has been
mentioned early, Is q serious proposition
| before tho nominating convention We
have hoard the story OF how ddspleased
| the Speaker was when Mr.. Alden made
his speech. 1t runs something like this
| The Michigan man was making a speech
| about nothing In particular. but he want
cd to say something nice about Cannon,
| whose policy he had been opposing, and
| In his praise he said that Cannon was tho
man best fitted for the Presidency. and
| that tho people would take great pleas
| ure In eloyatlng him to that exalted posi-
| tion- AS this was just before Roosevelt
was nominated two years ago, the state
publicans were astonished Then Smith
went on to say that Cannon should be the
nominee in 1903. That relieved the ten
J sion. There was no harm in that and no
Interference with the already arranged
| Roosevelt programme, 30 the House broke
| forth In thunders OF applause.
| The Speaker had been engaged upon
something at his desk and when no found
| the House cheering and clapping hands he
| looked about
WHAT'S up7 what's all this about 7''
| he asked, according to the yeracious
| chronicler.
You have just been nominated for
| President, Mr. Speaker and the House is
| cheering the suggestion" said the man
| near the Speaker.
Tho Speaker frowned and raped sharp
| ly with his gavel." according to the V. c,
| and again there was ernonstraton-'
1t was also recorded that the Speakers
anger disappeared when he was Informed
| that the nomination was after -four years
moro OF Roosevelt"
That WIS two hears Years agS ag. sSme no;, people
fact, they formed Joe Cannon Cabinet
and made William Alden Secretary OF
State number of other officers were
selected and there was great deal of
sport made OF the suggestion There were
jokes about the time when Uncle joe
would be President, and William Alden
premier, and big offices were portioned to
many members of the House. Tho clerks
and newspaper men took the matter up
and everybody in tho joke had a place,
Whore be these funrnakers now?" And
William Alden, he who boasts not Of be-
ing either prophet or the son of a pro-
phet, but who had an Idea exploited 1t,
fellows pushing tho boom along. and doz-
en- men looking forward to the Speaker
ship, II Cannon should be promoted he
smiles complacently and reads the news
from Michigan regarding the Senatorship,
And all over this broad land OF ours there
are many people who arc saying the Re
a-f,y lnhf do fhan To
RTpNs"T Pun sTncie S Joe" even il he viii be p
years old when tho convention assemblies.
What to Do With Taft.
While discussing the subject OF Pres-
dental possibilities 1t might not be amiss
TO cay right hero that Secretary Taft's
future has not been settled and will not
be as far as the Supreme court Is con-
oerned until next December. AT that time
The President has offered the position TO
Secretary Taft, but the Secretary has
hesitated. In fact, he has not decided
He doesn't really know what he is going
to do In this uncertainty 1t Is O good
guess that he will not go on tho bench
In that case, he will be In the running
when the delegates are chosen, two years
from from now Possibly ho will have tho
warm support OF tho administration. At
AL events tho Presidential ,fsd had1diGaR Tor
know what Is to become OF Secretary
Taft. When he Is out OF the way there
ee now Sas TS5 bea{ man MsaX sax
that TAFT would not like to be President
you tell him to report that statement to
the marines or to the deaf asylum
How They Stick.
1t beats all how, a squad of representa-
tives who made their first appearance In
the House in the Fifty third Congress
hang on. Fifteen of them were reelected
to the Fifty y-ntnth ConSrSss Tss, and fourteen
Cooper, Wis; Cousins, Iowa; Curtis,
s Ksn t SaId1s5 M s Gs r. u MAfs MGda b
Mass; McCieary, Mlnn.; Mahon, Pc;
Tawney, Mimi; Wanger, Pa. and Will
Jams. Miss: Swanson OF virginia vas re-
so IL leaves fourteen Fifty thirders" as
they are sometimes called. They have got
to the front p[e1sy ~e c3ng so9 espefay e6aIlHy IN
OF Foreign Affairs; Babcock is chairman
of District OF Columbia and has conducted !
sba,r%sn sx Of tho RepuSiean coPsrsssona
Committee; Bartholdt Is chairman OF |
Public Buildings and Grounds, and one |
Peace movement Cooper is chairman of |
Insular Affairs; Cousins Is chairman Of a |
minor committee and member OF Foreign |
Atfnire and Naval AGairs; Curtis Is a
member OF Ways and Means and Indian |
Affairs, and his friends say he has a seat |
in the United States Senate "cinched;"
Gardiner Is chairman of Labor ana mem |
Der OF Postoffices and Post Roads; Gil |
lett Is chairman Of Civil Service and !
member or Appropriations, Ioudenslagcr |
IS chairman OF Pensions and member of |
Naval Affairs. Mccall Is a member OF |
Ways and Means, and Library and La |
Dor; McCleary is chairman OF Library and |
member OF Ways and Means: Mahon Is |
chairman OF Appropriations: Wanger is |
chairman of minor committee and |
member Of Interstate and Foreign Com |
merce; Williams is a member OF Ways |
and Means, Rules and leader OF the mi |
norlty. All of which shows that tho |
Fifty -thirders" are not among tho |
numbered. but unknown men OF the |
House.
A Joke by Fairbanks.
One day during the long debate on the |
railroad rate bill In the Senate. Vice.
President Fairbanks called up 10 the desk |
one OF the newspaper mon who reports |
the proceedings OF the Senate and said.
Tom, there Is little item OF news In |
the Senate which I wish you would men, |
ton"
Certainly. Mr.. President" said |