The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-08-14

will be found complaining o this
collection Of reforms, any one of wlIch
Cor all of which put together, surely)
may well turn out to- be historic. In
other words, all of the rest of us are
pretty we'll pleased with what the Adj
mfnistratfon and Congress have done:.
and referring again to Uncle joe
Cannon. the Speaker of the House, 1T
would be very hard If any n wished
to dlssocfated him and his great, i'm
portant politics and MS acknowledged
craftsmanship from the accomplish
ment of these great things. The
Speaker likes to say that there are in
an average House of Representatives.,
as among the public everywhere, many
men of many minds. we hear that
there are conflicting interests at the
Capital. We know that there are con
ficting cranky notions, and we 0
der whether the average man will ever
fully appreciate that the chief BUSH
ness of a Speaker is not to preside
over the sessions Of a bear garden,
not, indeed. to know everything about
parliamentary practice, but to have
influence. and to know how to use
it, and not to be afraid to use it; to edit
legislation and not to spare the blue
pencil; to balance considerations of
craftsmanship and of politics back
and forth and see just what kind of
equilibrium they themselves will re-
store for themselves; and then to gath
err his friends about him and not TO
hesitate to take the consequences.
The people (that is, the public, not
the pee-pul Of William sulzer), are be
ginning to think, unless we are very
much mistaken, (and that is quite con-
ceivahle}, that they had better have
this question out; this question,
whether organized labor is to run the
government in its administrative and
legislative departments and to change
our system Of jurisprudence, so that
in reality it viii soon be running the
courts; whether all this is really com
ing or not; whether the other theory
and practice, Chat of real democracy
involving the greatest aUod for the
greatest number) is going to go;
whether it is not a fortunate circum-
stance, after all. that the same man.
namely, the Speaker of the House,,
who has recognized that o cannot
do everything, or very much. o all.
the special cranks all at once, is 60
ing to be oblEterated from Danville
and vermillIon County and the Eigh.
teen Congressional district of Illinois,
after doing what he has believed to
be the commonest duty OF statesman.
ship and Of big politics; whether the
public wants the i~niunctIve power to
be taken away from the Federal Courts
in labor disputes, OF any disputes,
whether it wants the ctght-hour day
legisIated into the factories of the
country. and into all other places NJ
employment, and into the free individ-
ual concerns Of every individual work.
ing man; whether rate bills, and food.
Inspections, and pure food, and free
Industrial alcohol are not something
after all; whether public men, of any
station or any party, are not after all.
to be intrusted freely with a liberty
of action without which the wise in
Legislation cannot be obtained? 1t will
be a better time now than ever alter.
wards to see, In this Eighteenth dis.
trict OF Illinois or any other district,
whether that kind Of proposition is go
ing to go down or not. We ourselves
believe that II the Speaker represent:
ed a party OF one and had done what
he has done, the great public would
see him through Overwhelmingly aud
that because Of what he Is and what
and what thsy have done viii siso Be
the Tests hica irresperdYe oGspar