Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-10-26
OLD REGIME IN CONTROL OF
SPEAKER TO SAVE RULES.
INSURGENTS IN DANGER OF
GETTING ONLY HALF A LOAF
Election of Smith, Tawney or Some
Other Follower of Cannon, With Old
Rules, Still in Force, Would Not Be
Much of victory-speaker Realizes
His Danger.
Especial correspondence.l

lSpecldl correspondence.
Washington, Oct. 26.-Representative
Victor Murdoch, of Kansas, has de-
llvered a very plain statement concern
ing the future of the republican insurS
SCENTS in the house. that they may win
nominal victory in their fight against
Cannonism. and yet be defeated as to
all the substantials. Mr.. Murdoch de-
clares in an interview that Speaker
cannon will in due time be forced bv
his own following to retire. in order
That somebody else of his own faction,
less eminent and therefore less objec-
tlonable, may take his place and save
the old organization, rules and tradi-
TONS. 1t would be the sacrifice of the
mead OF system, in order to save the
system.
Long before the adjournment of the
special session last summer, the insur-
gents were INDUCING among themselves
talk of just such an emergency. They
nave made no concealment of the fact
that the opposition to Cannon is one
of their greatest assets. That is, they
IND that the public knows more about
cannon that it does about the Cannon
rules and organization. The Cannon
rules are nightly vague and indefinite
in the average mans mind. Cannon Is
very concrete
A Trap For insurgents.
A proposition to drop Cannon and
elect say James A. Tawney TO be
speaker, and to continue the old rules,
would probably command number of
insurgent votes. In the first place Taw-
ney might control the entire delega-
ton from Minnesota, which otherwise
would be absolutely opposed to a con-
tinuance of the Cannon program. This
is the very condition to which Mr..
Tawney has been looking forward,
with his ambition to be reelected and
to be a candidate for the speakership.
He knows that there is serious prospect
that if the next house is republican. it
will be utterly impossible to elect Cam
non its speaker. A compromise will
next be attempted Tawney, Stevens of
Minnesota, Walter I. Smith of Iowa,
are the men who have been most talked
in connection with such an arrange
ment. Either of them would represent
rather more than half loaf for the
old organiZa ton. Smith would be very
nearly the full loaf. for he is a Wig
orous defender of the old rules, believes
in one-man domination of the house,
and has strong conviction that he
would be the one excellent man to do
the dominating. More than that. he is
part of the old organization: it has
made him, and in case of the enforced
sacrifice of Cannon, it could very easily
turn to Smith. provided he could COM
mand the support of the Iowa delega-
ton. Iowa will be in the main against
Cannon. If it would support Smith,
and if the Cannon vote in general could
be thrown to him, and if a few mild in
surgents would go along. Smith might
be made speaker.
Several Want The Job.
1t is no secret that Smith, Tawney.
Stevens and some other men are look
ing forward to the possibility of just
such a development. There is more
| speakership politics afoot in the house,
at this very minute, than ANYBODY on
the outside dreams. The Cannon peo-
I pie moot al the idea of Cannon being
unloaded They are going out to make
a desperate fight for control. They
| will thru their control of the con-
gressional campaign committee make
every effort to place under absolute
obligations every republican they can
reach. They will aim to beat those
who will not give the necessary pledge.
and to elect everybody who gives it..
And then when the time comes to or
ganize the house in the sixty second
congress they will be prepared for a
deadlock of any length. counting on
winning in the end by reason of public
disgust over the performance, and per-
haps thru another deal with democrats.
And right there comes one of the
disastrous recent developments for the
Cannon forces Down in Georgia there
lis a huge fracas going on, inside the
democratic party, because Georgia
congressman gave their votes, along
with Tammany, to adopt the Cannon
rules last spring Democrats in Georgia,
in every other southern states, and in
New York even, are being compelled
to give assurances that they will en-
ter no more such alliances if they are
permitted to return to congress. That
lis where Parsons did the real damage
to Cannon. He has placed democrats
all over the country on inquiry; and
the democrat who comes back to con-
gress, without a positive pledge to keep
out Of the Cannon camp, will be hard
to find. If he doesn't pledge, he will
have to stay at home.
Cannon Demo Alliance Wrecked.
Speaker Cannon has recently broken
out with much violence in attack on
the western insurgents. The real ex-
PLANTATION of his state of mind lies in
the fact that he knows his alliance with
democrats has been wrecked. With that
anchor slipped, he must win by maxi