The Washington times., 1908-11-27
PreSident-Elect Gets ASSur-
anCes From All Parts of
Country Pledging Aid.
TOWNSEND DOOMED
FOR CANNON'S PLACE
Uncle Joe's" Pledges So Far Not
Deemed Strong Enough to Ward
Of Possible War.
b. JAMES HAY, Jr.

HOT SPRINGS. Va. Nov. z7.-Presi-
dent-elect Tafrs mail for the past two
daYs has been an unanswerable dem
onstration that the country is behind
ham IN his night for a thorough and
sincere revision of the tariff.
Today, especially, he received dozens
OF letters from business men and mem
bers OF Congress commencing his atti-
tude. Although a majority Of these
communications come from the Middle
and Far West. a good percentage Of
them bear Eastern and Northern post
marks.
Some of them do not stop at com
mending his tariff attitude. They 50
further and suggest that the effort to
defeat Joseph G. Cannon for reelection
10 the Speakership OF the House should
be put INTO effect without loss OF time.
From the West there have come two
iutimati0ns that the opposition 10 Can
non viii be organized and united, and
from one responsible man, Judge TAFT
has learned that IN the Middle West.
Representative Charles +, Townsend Of
Jackson, Mich, Is regarded as a good
candidate for the present Speakers
place.
Whether the President-eIect Will en-
courage and countenance the defeat OF
Cannon, OF whether he will accept the
promise Of tle Speaker 10 make the
revision thorough and abide by all the
Taft policies, remains to be seen.
What Taft Demanded.
When he first let it be known that
he was determined 10 fight for sincere
revision even If it come TO the point
Of getting out for a bitter fight and
beating Cannon. he made it clear that
the only way Cannon could egcana a.
nv
dence that he would be progressive ana
a3dhQ3n his role as an OhsrrflcfIorszf -
ieslsie u9n desired by raft.
past two or three davs
l.-.,., n tnia mat ths Cannon fd-
1sLeiltA are uneasy and alarmed. and
ihaI the Speaker IS ready To rnslys =
-ti' - 'i,i oilllss aud pledge that cannot
!a5L 70 De satisfactory. In sunnorr ~
re 80 = at'tluee on the part Of Cannon yyas
tLe statement he issued ia ETashIre-t,7
thiee days ago. pledFfuR bfrnsaIs : ,e,5 ~
go ~ IiOtse 10 tariff revision which
flI5i+i,ll iI'sl'l DC absolutely sincere and psins-
Willing to Go Far.
by the politicians who have coma
mere ana BY men who have advised with
eie FIesldeht-elect, il is considered
llat Cannon's Offering Of the oIiya
DEanch OF peace IS merely an evidence
~ ~ ms being willing 10 20 further in
- - oLLeL OF pledges. As vet however
So-Bs art mas sent no Word to Wash
-ilstun lAat he Is satisfied with the can
non attitude, As was pointed ont Ia
lltse ulspaIches OF last week the Tsfr
attitude is that Speaker Cannon ar5
ms ms followers viii be on trial before
t9e country during this short session
OF Congress, and that upoD fbefr y-t7-i,.
Will depend In large measure their
political fate. l--'--
In the meantime, information regar5-
lHg the mental attitude OF the member
snip OF the House toward Cannon is
being brought and sent to Hot Springs
every day.
When Frank H Hitchcock. national
chairman, leaves here tonight. one OF
MS tasks viii be to get as accurate a
line as he can on the feeling in the
House. The friends OF Mr.. Taft, anx-
lous that his administration shall nor
be inverted or nulllhed by lack of CO.
operation in the new Congress, are
convinced that, for his own 6rotectio1.
he should be in a position 10 insure
that cooperation when the need for II
comes.
No Scheme Ready.
The suggestion made in Washington
that he would have to use the powerful
lever Of Federal patronage TO pry Mr..
Cannon ont OF the Speaker's chair Is
not entertained here. 1t is believed
among his advisers that his agreeing
10 the movement and thus vOiCing the
popular VIII can insure the organization
OF the House along the desired lines
The news that Representative Town
send IS belng doomed as a possible can
dldate, in case Burton does not run for
the Spcakership, is a good indication
of the sentiment in the West Townsend
is known TO be opposed to the Cannon
regime, and he illustrated this last ses-
sion by leading several revOlts on the
floor OF the House in a forcefuI and tell
ing manner.
He is identified with the progressive
movement by reason Of his work on the
Interstate and Foreign Commerce Com
mlJtee in framing the original railroad
rate bill- he is fearless and able. and
the addition OF his name to the list Of
possibilities, which now includes Bur
ton Of Ohio, stevens Of Minnesota, and
Walter l. Smith of Iowa, shows that the
progressive element is not overlooking
any bets in the search for a good
fighter.