The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1908-12-07

the committee designated by him
would have an equal time in which to
reply. Then the House would vote
whether the committee should be sus-
tanned or reversed. If reversed, it
would become the duty of the commit
tee to fix time at which the matter
forming the subject of appeal should
be presented to the House for its con-
sideration. In this manner the most
inconspicuous member would be enab-
House would remain the final judge
of its own actions instead of surrend-
ering control into the hands of the
Speaker and a handful of members
of his selection.
There would be danger, of course,
that the right of appeal would be abus-
ed and that great deal of time would
be taken up with inconsequential mat
ters. While advocates of the plan ad-
nit this to be true, they insist the
prospective abuse is much to be pre-
ferred to the present abuses in the
House and much less a menace to rep
resentative government.
Even defenders of the present sys-
tenn in the House admit it is far short
of an ideal system, but they declare it
is the best system yet devised and
profess to have an open mind toward
any proposals of reform. They admit
that the rights of individual members
are often trod upon, but insist that the
necessity of doing the business of the
Nation is paramount to the rights of
any individual member or the rights
of any congressional district. They
have taken the stand in the past that
the Nations business could not be
transacted under any rules other than
those now in force in the House, and
they point to the fact that the Demo
cratic filibuster of last spring would
have blocked all business had it not
been for the power which the rules
gave the Speaker and his committee
on rules. But since the outcry of the
recent campaign, they are not quite
so sure that some other system, one
less Objectionable to the people. can
not be devised.
There is not among members of the
House nearly so much personal hos
tility toward Speaker Cannon as the
published utterances of a few mem
bers might lead the country to sup
pose. 1t is the system, more than the
man, that is in disfavor. The Difficult
ty is that Cannon is a product of the
system and its most conspicuous ex-
ponent He believes in it and is ready
to defend it with every weapon at his
command. This was illustrated a few
days ago when a group of members
of which the Speaker was one was
discussing new member VINO had
made his campaign under pledge to
vote against Cannon's reelection.
sT've met him. volunteered one
member of the group, 'and ne seems
to be a first rate fellow"
Hugh snorted Uncle joe" Il
guess he must be looking for a place
on the committee on dead ducks"
posed to see that members who dared
oppose him were punished for their
temerity. But there is nothing new in
that. 1t is part of the system by
which the House organization has
maintained itself, and Speaker Can
non would be utterly unable to see
anything wrong in such disciplinary
measures.
Despite this arrogance on the part
of the Speaker, members of the House
like "Uncle joe" have always liked
him. Undoubtedly he is personally one
of the most popular men who ever pre-
sided over the House. If he were SO
constituted as to be able to see and
admit the faults in the present sys-
tenn and seek to remedy them, opposi-
tion to him would be little more than
a shadow.