The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-09-12
Speaker Cannon
Certainly Got His.

Certainly Got His.
1t was an altogether proper as well
as scathing arrangement which VIM.
J. Bryan made of Stand-Patter Joseph
G. Cannon in one of his Illinois
speeches Thursday.
Speaker Cannon had referred to
Mr.. Bryan as a man who had
breaking out at the mouth" who was
the greatest advertising agent on
tearth," who had made million dol
lars selling ink and wind to the pub
lie" These vulgar and ill-timed re-
marks by Speaker Cannon did two
things-they gave Mr.. Bryan an op-
portunity to answer the insinuatfons
which had been going about in refer
ence to the amount of property ne
| possessed, and then also opened the
way for him to make inquiry as to the
amount as well as the sources of
wealth which Speaker Cannon has
accumulated during his forty years
of service in congress at a salary of
100000 a year. Mr.. Bryan said:
| Many exaggerated statements have
| been made in regard to my earthly
possessions, but this is the first time
the statement has been made by any
man of political standing or respon-
sibility- 1 think 1 am justified in
i speaking on this subject which might
otherwise be credited to be too perso-
nal matter for publicatiGp- l was
elected to congress. l served four
years and by careful economy saved
between $4,000 and $4,000, or about
| 81 900 a year, so that when | went
out of congress in the spring of 1895,
| was worth about $4,000 or $1,000
During the period that elapsed be-
ween the end Of my congressional
terms and my nomination for the
presidency, about a year and four
months, l was engaged in lecturing
and added but a small sum to my saw
| ings. After the election IF 1896, my
earning power as a lecturer was
largely enhanced by tne prominence
| which the campaign had given me.
| My book "The First Battle" brought
me $4,000, and I gave an equal
amount of the profits to the various
committees that had carried on the
campaign of 1896. My lectures have
been profitable and my writings have
paid me well, but no one attends the
lectures unless he wants to do so, and
not one buys what | write unless he
is interested in reading it.
More than half of my time since
1896 has been given to gratituous
work and vet have been able to sup
port myself and accumulate property
which / would estimate ar about |
S125,0O0, but as one can never &C
curately say what property is worth |
until he sells it, I will fix $50, 600 as |
the outside limit, the maximum of |
my wealth and l am willing to leave |
the public to determine whether that /!
IS more than ] ought to have earned t
or whether / have earned il honest |
ly- And now, having arrested the |
criticism of Mr.. Cannon and shown 1
that his accusation is false. I think |
am justified in asking him to be as |
frank with the public as ] have been |
He began holding office in 1861. /
when | was a year old. and during the /
last torty-Seven years, he has held of 4
fee more than forty years of the time /
and about thirty-five years of that /
time, he has been a member of con- |
gress and has been drawing a salary 1
that the members OF congress thought /
so inadequate that the salary has re-
Gently been increased. Will he tell /
us what he has been selling, TO whom /
he has sold. and how much he got /
for it,
He ought to tell us whether he has I
made any money lecturing or writing /
that is. by selling wind and ink, to /
choose his own choice language He |
has been greatly hampered in the &C
emulation of money by the strict at
tention TO the public. and yet he is
reputed to be wealthy. If he will tell
US just how much he is worth. We can
then guess how much he might nave
been worth had he been free to devote
his talents to moneymaking. Being the I
third man in influence in our govern
ment next 10 the vice-president If not 1
even above the vice-president in his
power to influence legislation Is it
not fair that he should apply himself
10 same rule that he applies TO me
and take the public into his conf
dence.
Let him tell US how much he *
worth and how ne made it Let him
tell Us what he has been selling: to
for il. If he thinks that the wealth
of a presidential candidate and the
source Of such a candidates income
should be known, will he deny that the
speakers wealth and his sources OF
income should be known?
Mr.. Bryan's full and frank state
ment regarding his own wealth ought
70 settle the silly talk that has been
heard concerning his financial affairs,
and his reference TO the amount and
sources OF Speaker Carnon's wealth