The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-25
SAYS, KEEP COOL.
Uncle Joe Cannon Declares the
People Will Get
Just What They Voted for in
Tariff Revision.
10 mn CDENA II EIWlCWIW I'D
AS TO SPEAKERSHIP.
That Will Be Settled in the
Usual Orderly Way.
No Party Dares Oppose the Will
Of the Voters.

Washington. Nov 25.-Declaring
that there will be an honest revision
of the tariff and that there is no pres
ent need of ''fretting' about the
selection of a speaker of the house in
the Sixty-f1rst congress. Speaker
Cannon arrived here from his home
in Illinois for the approaching ses-
sion Of congress. He added to the
newspaper men who greeted him that
he believed the people would get the
sort of tariff revision that they voted
for. Later he issued a statement in
which he declared that he was not at
tempting to dictate to the house and
through the system of election of
members the people were reasonably
sure of having their views enacted
into law. Citing an example of hasty
action leading to a misinterpretation
of public sentiment in regard to
tariff bill he expressed an opinion
that there would be no mistake next
summer in the revision of the tariff
The full text of Speaker Cannon's
statement was as follows:
THE election of a speaker for the
Sixty-first congress is yet consider
able distance in the future. When
that congress is about to assemble
which 1 presume will be some time in
March-the Republican members of
the house will hold a caucus as has
been the custom from the foundation
of the party and select a candidate
for speaker. to be supported by the
party at the organization of the
house.
81 presume that the representatives
will be perfectly competent to select
their speaker, and do not see any
present need for fretting about the
matter.
"Of course, there will be an honest
revision of the tariff We made the
campaign on that issue and every Re
publican member was elected with
that in view. Every one of those Re
publicans, without exception, will, I
believe. strive to the best of his in
telligence and ability to attain the
tariff results desired by the people
who elected him. All will not have
the same views and each one can not
have his own way altogether. There
must be mutual concession and COM
promise, out of which will come the
result which on the whole is most &C
ceptable or least Objectionable to all.
That is according to civilized and en-
1ightened government 1t is the
barbarian who expects to have every
thing his own way without regard to
his neighbOr. Whoever is elected
speaker of the next house must so
perform his functions as to assist the
house in arriving at the result which
will best represent the views of the
responsible party in the house. striv-
ing to carry out the will of the peo-
pie who elected him.
"'In over thirty years experience in
the house, sometimes under one party
control, sometimes under the other, I
have never seen the RESPONSIBLE DO
1itical party go wilfully against what it
thought to be the sentiment of the
people. Mistakes have sometimes been
made as in the case of the Wilson bill,
enacted by the Democratic congress,
house earnestly tried to do what they
thought the people wanted They
passed on the Mckinley law in 1890
and which would not, in my opinion,
have happened had the Republicans
had more time to explain that bill on
the stump.
''The Republicans made no mistake
when they enacted the Dingley law. as
the long life-as the lives of tariff laws
go-of that law shows. I believe they
will make no mistakes in the bill
which they will enact next summer
with the concurrence of the senate
and the president
There is one thing of which you
may be sure. Those representative
will DO their very best to perform
what the people want for they must
go before the people in 1910 and ac-
count for their acts. A senator ac-
counts for himself once in six years
a president once in four years. but the
representative accounts once in two
years. The speaker of the house has
q double accounting. to his constitu-
ents in his own district and to his as
sociates in the house who elect him.
No representative, and especially no
speaker, will fail to do everything
within his power to carry out the well
considered constitutionally expressed
will of the majority of the people.
This is why I believe that we will
get the sort of tariff revision the peo-
pie voted for. I do not pretend to
prophesy or dictate. 1t is and should
be beyond any mans power to dictate
to the house of representatives.
merely speak from long experience
and the teaching of what 1 believe to
be reasonab BILE and common sense
Should Arrange Game With Parsons.