Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-11-10
GLAD CANNON STAYS
East Pleased Over Probable Re-
Election of "Uncle Joe"
as Speaker.
eLAMEs COMMITTEE ON RULES
Steering Committee Urged as Remedy
for Delay in Legislation-John Sharp
Williams Declares Majority and Not
the Speaker, Responsible for Do.
Nothing Record.

Washington, Nov 1O.-The voice OF
the partisan is now stilled. and Wash
ington is able as result to make a
fairly accurate appraisal of the value
of the arguments which. during the
stress of the RECEIPT campaign. were
used pro and con with a view to af-
seeking public positions.
In none of these men. after Mr.. Taft
has Washington a greater interest than
in Speaker Cannon Of the present house
and scheduled to succeed himself in
that position. He has by virtue of his
position an absolute control over the
purse-strings of the nation. No bill
can come up for consideration without
his consent and all committee chair
men consult him with regard to items
of appropriations which their commit
tees are considering. Members of con-
gress come and go at his beck and call,
and all Of them are dependent upon
him for an opportunity to do things
which will help them with their consti-
tuents.
Washington. 1t may be said In all
frankness, never has taken much stock
in the opposition of the middle west to
Mr.. Cannon's rule of the house, and
people here are chuckling a good deal
over the fact that several of the men
who We're seeking congress positions on
platform of opposition to him as
speaker of the sixty-first congress have
been left at home. Particularly is this
the case in Nebraska and Indiana. This
opposition to Cannon, as 1t is figured
here. did not. in all probability. have
much to do with the defeat of the men
in question: it is believed that they
adopted the anti-Cannon attitude as a
last resort when they felt the voters
deserving them. But their absence from
the next congress will help smooth
things for Mr.. Cannon, and that with
out reducing the republican, majority
to the danger point.
Want Steering Committee.
This city is asking itself now that
the campaign is over, what it is in the
record of the speaker to which the
middle west has taken such "a decided
objection, and for the first time it Is
able to answer that question with some
degree of satisfaction. The objection.
us Washington understands it, was not
with the rules of the house as a
whole for it is recognized that these
rules are necessary If the majority is
to be permitted to transact the public
business. 1t was with that particular
clause in the rules under which the
speaker is permitted to decide what
legislation may be considered and what
may not.
This rule provides that the legis-
ative program of the house is to be
by the committee on rules.
named by the speaker, he being its
mead Obviously, he always appoints
as his republican associates on that
committee men who will do his bid
ding. Failing to do this, he has the
power of immediate removal The eff
feet of this rule has always been that
the speaker individually decides what
bills are to come up. To this the middle
west has objected.
I. is believed here that this particu-
lar feature of the rules should per-
haps be amended. Representative
Fowler of New Jersey has proposed
that a committee of seven be named
by the house to decide what bills are
to come before the house for consid-
Grafton. Such a committee has existed
for many years in the senate, where
it is called the steering committee.