Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1908-12-03
JOHN CHAMP CLARK.
VIII Succeed John Sharp Williams in
the House.

Washington, d. c.. Dec. Though
the congressional mill will not begin
to grind until next week, the usual
preliminarles In the way OF committee
meetings and conferences are already
well under way. OF these prelimi-
naries by far the most interest at
taches to the caucus OF the Democrat.
ic members of the House, which has
been called for Saturday to choose
a leader to succeed Representative
John Sharp Williams OF Mississippi,
who retired from the minority leader.
ship last spring upon his election to
the senated
Well known and Popular.
There Is little room to doubt that
the leadership will fall to Represen-
tative Champ Clark OF Missouri Mr..
Williams and his friends are support
ing the Missourian. There is little
opposition TO Mr.. Clark, although the
name of Representative Henry of
Texas has been mentioned AS a piss-
BILE candidate for the leadership. Mr.
Clark's colleague, Representative De-
Almond, has aspired to the leadership
for number of years and his defeat
for that honor by Mr. Williams was
one of the causes of the enmity be-
tween the two which eliminated In a
personal encounter on the floor of the
House last winter.
Talks with leading Democratic men,
bers who have arrived in Washington
indicate that Clark has virtually a
sure thing of the leadership. 1t Is
claimed today by the Clark supporters
that neither DeArmond nor Henry will
develop any considerable strength in
the caucus.
Champ Clark is probably the best
known figure on the Democratic side
and, without much question, the most
popular one For several reasons his
elevation to the minority leadership Is
worthy of notice. There promises to
be some phases of his leadership that
will be in marked distinction to the
leadership TO John Sharp Williams.
Many Democrats believe, and in this
number are some of the best friends of
Mr.. Williams, that Mr.. Clark will make
more effective leader than did the
noted member from Mississippi. For
one thing, the Missouri representative
will go into the leadership with prac-
tically the united support OF the DEM
ocrats of the House. He Is accounted
a better politician than Williams and
less inclined to consult his personal
likes and dislikes in the makeup of
the committees, on the Democratic |
side, with reference solely to personal |
fitness. One of the important com
mittees to which he will have to give |
attention is the Ways and Means Com |
mittee, in view of the fact that the |
revision of the tariff Is supposedly |
near at hand. 1t is not to be under |
taken in the Sixtieth Congress but, as
the Ways and Means Committee Is |
made up at this session, ii will be !
for the most part in the Sixty-First |
Congress- Mr.. Clark is now the rank |
ing minority members on the Ways |
and Means COMMITTEE. If he becomes |
the minority leader he will leave the |
committee himself and 1t Is expected |
as an act of courtesy will put in his |
place DeArmond of Missouri. Dear |
mond is hard worker and a strong |
advocate of tariff revision.
Has Had Broad Experience.
Few members of the House on either
side have had a wider range of ex-
perience than has Mr.. Clark. He is |
fifty-eight years old and native of
Kentucky He was graduated from
Kentucky University at Lexington and
studied law at the Cincinnati Law
school. In 1873 and 1874 he was pres
ident of the first normal school es-
tablished in West Virginia, After his
experience there he removed to Mis-
souri, and became principal of the high
school at Louisiana in that state. In
1876 he began the active practice of
law and for several years served as
city attorney of Louisiana. Then came