Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-15
JUST LET THEM
KICK AND BRAY
CANNON PAYS COMPLIMENTS TO
: KIcKERs IN ILLINOIS COM.
IS W MlTTEE MEETING
Speaker Says They Do Not Suggest
Any RemedIes-DeaIs With the Van
Ity of Reformers Who Think They
Could Do Better Than Is Now Done.

chicago, Sept 14.-Speaker Joseph
Cannon rapped the knuckles of the up.
lift. including the undertaking branch,
and touched up William Jennings Bry-
an yesterday afternoon in speech
to the members of the republican cen.
trail committee of Illinois assembled
at the Great Northern hotel for the
biennial election of officers.
The reform forces, to whom the
speaker gave most of his attention.
were classified by his as "the kickers,"
and he gave them additional cause to
charge him with disrespect for their
efforts by comparing them to a cele.
brated mule, concerning which it
never was known whether he was
braying because he was kicking or kick,
ing because he was braying"
Furthermore, he said that, inasmuch
as their object seemed to be the imme,
diate reformation of the entire world,
they were hopelessly beyond argu.
ment, therefore the best course for
sensible man to pursue with regard
to them was to "leave them alone"
Chairman Gives Him the Floor.
AS he made his appearance In the
doorway with a mans size cigar tilted
up from a corner Of his mouth, West
said:
"Mr. Speaker, the chairman Of this
committee, who now has the gavel,
gives you the floor"
Cannon surveyed him and the com.
mittee for moment, removed his
cigar, and replied:
"Now that I've got it, the question
is what am going to do with it?"
SE'rOr1 wh of unu'1o do,o Io
fore" said the gallant Mr. West, 1--WE
know what you're going to do with 1t
now"
Thereupon the committeeman yell.
ed: Speech" and the speaker open.
ed up. He started off by telling the
committee that he was not able to give
them any advice as to methods of run
ming the Illinois campaign, that they
knew more about 1t than he did, but
this served as an introduction to his
| remarks about tl@ 'slkickels. y. -. --4
| Vanity Of the Reformers.
"We have had years of uninter-
rupted prosperity under the manage
ment of the republican party" he said,
"but in spite of this there are here
and there among our $4,000 900 of peo-
pie kickers whose vanity leads them
to believe they could manage things
much better if they had the chance.
They don't suggest any remedies,
but they just kick and of course our
friends the enemy give them encour-
agement and assistance. There always
are kickers, but just now their num-
bers have increased greatly and they
are raising great clamor.
| drThair Intentions coop, 4o ha %o ro-
form the whole earth at once and
make it over different, and since no
one but the saints can tackle such a
job there doesn't seem to be anything
for sensible, reasonable man to dc
but just leave them alone and let them
kick.
"They remind me of a mule you
may have heard about-there are no
reporters here are there?"
Cites Mule as Illustration.
Several committeeman who were
afraid they might miss something, fib
bed about it, and said there were none
1--WE used to have mule" said the
reassured speaker, "and when we used
to put him in the log barn and gave
him full feed of oats, as soon as he
had eaten the oats he'd begin to kick
and bray. We never could figure out
whether he was braying because he
was kicking or kicking because he was
braying. But all we did was to keen
out Of the barn and let him kick and
bray all he wanted to-
That's all you can do with the kick.
ers-let them alone. They are beyond
reasoning with.
"This is a mighty important cam.
paign for the republican party and
we've got enough to take up all our
attention with things that are going
to happen right now without bothering
about things that are going to happen
two years from now"