New Ulm review., 1908-11-25
Cannon and Cannonism.

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The Fergus Falls Globe, delicately
sugaring a criticism with praise, in
forms The Herald that it errs in think
ing Joe Cannon an issue and factor
in our national life and political eco
nomy. The trouble is, says the Globe,
with the system system of com
mercial autocracy that rules the land
and that issues orders to Cannon
which he gladly obeys.
"Speaker Crisp" says the Globe,
twas much more amiable character
than either Speaker Reed or Speaker
Cannon could be; but in the chair he
was as inexorable as either of them,
just as autocratic, just as powerful. The
speaker voices more correctly the ma
tional policy than does any other per-
son in public life. He gets his orders
from the commercial government of
the nation-from Wall street-and he
transmits them to the majority in the
house; and,if any members object, then
down comes the party LASH"
With all due respect to Editor Boen,
who used to be congressman him
self, we must insist that there is a
very marked difference between Reed
and Crisp as speakers and Cannon as
| speaker. Their power was just as
great, but they used it less ruthlessly
! and less arrogantly than Cannon. A
very good case can be made for the
necessity of some such system of or
| ganization as that under which the.
house of representatives has become a
shameful machine, working automati-
cally at the will of the speaker. The
house has nearly 400 members, and
without strict rules the opportunity
for flibustering and delays is so great
that public business might be imperil-
led; hence the Reed rules, which were
devised to curb the power Of an OBJ
structive minority.
But we do not recall that either
Reed or Crisp ever ventured to say
what measures should be considered
and what not considered; their use of
the speakership autocracy was re-
stricted largely to how measures
should be considered. Cannon, on
the third hand: is the perfect fruit of
the system thus created. He is the
house, in point of practical fact. It
lies in his power to say that this
measure shall not be considered, and
that this other measure shall be stifed
in committee: and he has used that
/ power without remorse or shame.
! The measures that have been throttled
by him have been almost all popular
measures, tending to increase real
democracy and to give the people
some relief from the oppression Of
deifed property; hence his intense un-
popularity.
The Fergus Falls paper is correct
in arraigning the system. 1t is bad;
but it is not so bad as Cannon's auto
cratic manipulation Of the despotism
that has prostituted the. popular"
branch of congress and made it a
shameful travesty on free government.
It was bad in the first place to give
the speaker power to control the action
of committees by giving him the ap-
pointment of those committees; it was
bad to give him control of commits
tee on rules by which the free action
of the house may be- blocked at any
time; it was bad to give the speaker
, the chance to arrogate to himself the
power of determining what membe,
! shall be recognized and what member
shall be studiously overlooked; il
was wrong to frame a system whereby
the useful minority is made who'll,
negligible; but the people never realiz-
: ed how wrong it was until Joe Can
non impudently turned the powerful
machine thus created to the service o1
special privilege and against the
kpeople.-Duluth Herald.