The Washington herald., 1908-03-28
Possibly Uncle Pete Hepburn
Would be Speaker.
is CANNON'S SCALP LOOSE 2
Rumor CircuIates in CIOakrOOms and
LObbies that Uncle Pete Plays
Caesar-HOVv the sherlock HOlmeses
Figure Ii Out-Iiepburn Not Averse.

I
enough to say embraced the Speakers
chair as its terminal
The plot had for its basic principle a
change in the reference OF the Hepburn
amendment TO the Sherman antitrust
law. which the noble Uncle Pete" intro
duced in the House last Monday. from
the Committee on the judiciary, known
Fin Representative Hepburn's vernacular
as the graveyard Of all hopes" 20 his
own Committee on Interstate and For
eign Commerce.
| In view Of the fact that certain mem
bers OF this latter committee have al
ready been heard TO say that Congress.
meaning. undoubtedly. the House Com
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Com
merce, viii not enact the Hepburn bill
into law az this session, a mouse Of
goodly proportions was smelled by many
members yesterday and, following the
trail OF the rodent. it was reliably re-
ported by several Sherlock Holmeses to
have been traced to high mountain,
where the Hon. Peter was seen. on the
highest rock, gazing afar of into the
dim and distant future.
Those whose eyes followed his beheld
there Speaker Joseph C. Cannon en-
sconced in a white house. while the Hon.
Pete" Hepburn was plainly visible
welding a gavel in oEe end OF a building
with big. round dome. Just who paint
ed the picture was not revealed.
Kicks Holes in Picture.
Democratic members Of the House yes
terday set out 10 kick holes IN the canvas
above outlined. Whether Uncle Pete" has
awakened from his dream BY reason Of
their activities is not yet made officially
known. but an interview indicating off,
cially that the dream IS abandoned is ex-
pected forthwith after this story is called
to his attention. Nobody pretends to scon
at the ambitions of your Uncle Pete. but
the leaders Of the House indicated yester-
day that 1t was bit too early to be
counting spring chickens or dreaming
spring dreams.
When President Roosevelt sent his
warm message 10 Congress on January 81,
Uncle Pete arose in his seat IN the
House and told the leaders OF Congress if
they did not put their ears 10 the ground
remark made Uncle Pete" famous, II.
indeed. he was not famous before. Il
brought hearty congratulations from the
country az large and several nudges from
the immediate intimates OF the colonel.
who took him around the corner and
showed him the pathway to the high
mountain and the big rock
Just who perpetrated this outrage on
the innocent and unsuspecting and i'm
pressionable member from Iowa is yet 10
be diYulged. but IL is rumored that some
body or the House Committee on Inter-
state and Foreign Commerce had a finger
in ii.
oh, What n WrOnEI
Whether the House leaders suspected
that something was buzzing around Uncle
Peters ears or not. the fact remains
that when on last Monday he chucked
into the bill basket of the House the ad-
ministration and Civic Federation amend
ments TO the Sherman act, with his own
name and that OF his committee EN-
blazoned thereon in capital letters, Speaker
Cannon or somebody working under his
authority took a blue pencil and struck
out the committee reference and sub
stituted therefor the name OF the Ju-
dietary Committee. Uncle Pete" discov-
cred this outrage next day. The sulk-
ing of Achilles in his tent was a zephyr
compared to the crouch of Uncle Peter
since that day.
On Thursday your Uncle Peter called
upon the President and. If the reports
are correct. boiled over in his presence.
He was stin bubbling when he reached
the front door and gave out to the as
sembled scribes some remarks TO the
effect that he was deeply grieved at the
action of the Speaker in sending his most
recent and best bin to a committee which
had sadly deteriorated" since the last
precedent under which a like measure
was sent to its jurisdiction.
His smiling countenance as he uttered
these bitter words. betrayed no thought
Of the dire plot lurking in his mind. He
gave no intimatiOn of deep-seated am
bition in the direction now indicated by
his friends. who are also his opponents
In this particular instance.
4 Very "Quiet" Canvass.
Suffice it TO say when Uncle Pete" and
his friends began a quiet" canvass of
the House with view to securing a re-
reference of his bill. the fact was known
from one end of the Capitol to the other
inside of five minutes. Uncle Peter be-
came a marked man. The guides from
Iowa pointed him out to visitors as "the
next Speaker" while those from Illinois
referred to him with deep sympathy as
"the man who wanted to be Speaker, but
who had failed in his ambition
Among those who scattered the news
with the greatest precision and dispatch
were the Democratic members on the
Judiciary Committee. who, hearing that
Uncle Peter was counting on a solid Dem
ocratic vote to help him overthrow the
Speaker and his cohorts. made haste to
assert that they had not had time to for
give and forget the unkind reference to
their qualifications as undertakers OF the
Committee on Cemetery. otherwise known
as the judiciary Committee.
No Bites, Perhaps,
Whatever may happen in the way OF an
official denial from your Uncle Peter of
an active, flamboyant, and gnawing am
bltion 10 be Speaker now. It is not entirely
certain that the Democrats will ACCEPT
his inviting bait to down the leaders lust
for the fun OF stirring things up I'm the
House with a view to some real Iegisla-
ton at this session.
1t can also be authoritatively stated
that II any offer OK the Speakership re-
suits from Democratic acceptance of the
bait, Uncle Peter will be the last man
TO decline il.
Offers Two District Bills.
Senator Gallinger yesterday introduced
In the Senate 8 bill to create the Mu-
nicipal Court of the District of Columbia
he dafaiIs nf r-hirh r,.nro ....t.rs.t..l1 |