The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-12-04
WILL VOTE FOR CANNON.
Congressman Moore for Him Whether
Rules Change or Not.

| Washington. Dec. Representative
J. Hampton Moore of Philadelphia has
declared unreservedly for Mr.. Cannon's
reelection as speaker of the house in
the next congress.
IF Speaker Cannon is a candidate for
reelection at the next session of con-
gress, and 1 understand he will be-
said Mr.. Moore, 'I shall vote for him.
Although there are some things in con-
nection with the rules that are diSap-
pointing to new members and appar-
emily vexatious to old, 1t does not ap-
pear to the observer upon the floor that
the fault rests altogether with the
speaker. Mr.. Cannon simply enforces
the rules. He does exactly what Champ
Clark would do if the Democrats should
be in the majority and should elect
! him speaker. The older members tell
me that Mr.. Crisp who was speaker
during Cleveland times. was fully as
arbitrary as Speaker Reed was sup
posed to be-
AT first blush it might seem as
though the speaker had too much pow
er under the rules, but when it is re-
membered that there are nearly 400
members of the house who introduced
at the last session about. $4,000 sepa-
rate bills, it can be seen that the line
must be drawn somewhere. 1t would
be a physical impossibility under the
circumstances for congress to act upon
all the matters presented. With a ma
jority of lawyers in the house, many of
them adopts in interpreting clauses of
the constitution and supreme court de-
cisions, it would be out of the question
to get down to practical business If
every one of the 400 members had the
right to call up any one of the $4,000
bills and have it discussed at will.
Rules Necessary to Curb Minority.
Moreover during the last session Of
congress if such a practice had pre-
vailed and there had been no staying
Democratic
f1Hbuster would have been a complete
success and no business would have
been done. To a new member this
ihbuster was the most arrant piece of
child'S play. 1t thwarted public bust
ness until the rules were brought into
force. The records of the house will
show that there was more Democratic
oratOry than there was Republican
oratory and that nearly all of this was
in a fault-finding spirit, except when it
came to the parceling out of approprfa-
tions. On questions of policy the mi
nority party does not usually permit
the majority to get very far if it can
have the privilege of unlimited oratory
and fault finding with the party that is
in power For these reasons the job OF
a speaker who has to curb perniciouS
legislation and who must stand against
the filibuster naturally incurs criticism.
Il shall support the speaker because
believe it to be in the interest of my
constituenc-- and because it is better to
have the regular order than to disor-
ganize and disrupt the proceedings of
the house. 1 question very much
whether the people of this land de-
manded the enactment of %, 900 laws at
the last session of congress and ques-
ton very much whether they want any
such number of laws enacted at the
next session, but 1 do believe they want
certain important legislation enacted
and they will get this only by the rule
of the majority firmly maintained over
a minority that is banded together to
hlihuSter and destrOV.''