The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-08-29
Strong Effort Will Be Made at
Next Session Of Congress
To Defeat Uncle Joe for
"Aut0crat."
INTEREST is TAKEN
IN TAFT'S ATTITUDE
Conflicting Assertions Regard
ing the Head of the House
To the Presidential Warm
Campaign.

washington, Aug. 2S-AS certain as
the sun rises the opening OF the next
session OF congress will witness the be-
ginning OF contest against the re-
election of Mr.. Cannon as speaker of
the house a twelye-month later and
an effort to deprive the office of speak,
er Of some OF it's arbitrary power AL
though these objects could not in reg
ular order be achieved until the be-
ginning of the congress assembling in
the succeeding December the ground
work for them will be laid at the COM
ing session.
1t is too early to prophesy the prob
able outcome of the fight against Mr..
Cannon. He is fighter himself, his
blood is up, he is strongly, though far
from impregnably intrenched in 10y
al organization, whose members well
fare is identical with his own. He has
announced his intention to defend his
course. and If he keeps his vigor can
be depended upon to make the de-
Tense a lively proceeding for his an
tagonists.
This impending contest is not due
to the attack OF Representative Fowler
upon the speaker. but that onslaught
undoubtedly will be used by the anti
Cannon forces as material of war. Mr..
Fowler will not lead the attacking
forces, for his influence in the house
is not that of a leader. He can tote"
ammunition however, and in that use
full II somewhat subordinate capacity
his services will be utilized.
Taft's Apprehended Opposition.
The antagonistic influence most
feared by the house organization, as
1t at present exists, is the apprehendeu
opposition of President Taft to the
speakers reelection. No one is at this
time authorized to say that the presi-
dent will favor the supplanting o;
Speaker Cannon by another. 1t may
he that the president himself has not
determined positively on that course.
But some members of the house loyal
to Mr.. Cannon, fear that the president
may find it desirable to sympathiZe
with efforts to elect another as speak
err.
All that aside it is an undeniable
fact that the movement has already
been started among republican men,
bers of this congress all of whom hope
to be members of the succeeding house
to turn down the present organization
and itsh rules. The work will be pros
ecuted at the coming session for its
moral effect on the country and upon
the prospective candidates for nomina-
tion to the Sixty-second congress. The
propaganda is to be carried beyond
congress and to the people at the polls
before the next house is elected.
Returning to speculations upon pos
sible executive influence against the
speaker. the support found for such
suggestion lies in the consideration OF
some we'll known facts of the past
and present. In the first place. it Is
known that prior to the presidents
election and to Mr.. Cannon's re-elec-
ton to congress, President Taft re-
garded the Cannon policies, OF which
Mr. Cannon was held up as a type, as
a liability and not an asset of the re-
publican national campaign last year.
To put it brutally. although correct
ly, Mr.. Cannon was regarded as Il
drag upon the campaign then being
entered upon and a load to be carried.
1t will not be forgotten that year
ago there was open discussion of the
possibility of Mr.. Taft's opposition to
Mr. Cannon's reelection as speaker.
and that some conferences were neces-
sary at Hot Springs between Mr.. Taft
and Mr.. Cannon's friends before that
talk could be quieted. The public I'M
preston was that assurances were Civ
en- at those conferences that Mr.. Can
non would support the Taft policies in
congress.
cannon's Loyalty to the President.
Now. no one except President Taft
himself probably knows whether he