West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1909-08-05
OUR washington LETTER
Speaker Cannon Has Rough SlsddIuG
With Tariff Bill.
TRIES TO DICTATE TO PRESIDENT
Tsft Demands Lower Rate. on Mac,
commodities-Seeretsry ofns.y
Plans Reorganization.
From Our REGULAR corr..pona.n,

From Our Regular Correspondent
WAsnTSoToS, August 3.-One oi the |
most edifying spectacles Of the tariff $50
sion has been that presented by SPEAKER
Cannon almost attempting to hold up the |
passage ofthe bill, actually sending threats
to the White House because the president
would not approve the deal which Mr..
Cannon made with former Representative
Littauer for extortionate duties ON womon's
gloves which Mr.. Littauer, who IL one Of
the largest glove manufacturers in the
country, wishes 10 make without foreign
competition at his plant at Gloyersville,
y. Y. When, at the beginning of the
session, there was threat 10 defeat "Unclc
Joe" Cannon in the race for the speaker
ship, and when large number Of Re
publicans joined forces with the Demo- |
Gratis to prevent the readoption OF the
Reed rules which make the speaker moth
ing short OF despot, Cannon sent for
Littauer and made hard and fast agree
ment with him that he should have pro-
hibitivc duties on women's gloves il Inc
would save Cannon from defeat.
Littauer, who is liberal entertainer,
achieved the task assigned TO him with.
as will be remembered, the help of n few
Tammany Democrats who turned traitor
to their party in consideration of special
iavors which the speaker was i'm position
to grant. The ways and means commit
tee met and the Payne bill contained the
glove duties demanded by Littauer as the
price OF his assistance 10 the speaker. The
house objected, but was powerless under
the rules to prevent the glove duties being
adopted without defeating the entire bill.
influential members of the house imme-
diately began work in the senate, how
ever, to prevent the adoption of the glove
duties there and were successful. The
Dingley rates were adopted i'm the senate
and the bill went TO conference. Mean
while, however, the president learned of
the Cannon-Littauer trade and deter
mined to defeat it.
When the tariff bill went to conference
Speaker Cannon "packed" the committee
against Representative Payne in order to
insure the retention of the glove duties.
But the president informed the conferees
that he would never agree to any increase
over the Dingley rates on gloves. Cannon
went to the White House, after first tele-
graphing TO Littauer to come to Washing
ton to make the fight. The speaker told
the president that he was an old man;
that he had just one request to make, and
that was that he be permitted to keep his
promise to Littauer. The president was
thoroughly disguised that such trade
should have been made, that the people
oil the country were to be compelled to
pay tribute to Littauer for the far from
meritorious privilege of having Cannon
speaker of the house. He told Cannon so
very plainly.
That did not silence the speaker, how
ever. He has been making political deals
all his life and was absolutely unable to
see anything improper in his conduct or
to grasp the presidents meaning. He
never ceased his fight. The conferees
promised the president to report the Ding
ley duties, but Cannon kept up the con-
test. Finally, when the conferccs had
agreed to the presidents demand for free
hides, Cannon got them to demand the
presidents approval Of compromise on
the glove schedule. The compromise was
rejected, but even after that still further
compromise was proposed.
The Republican conferees have come
very near wrecking the tariff bill alto
gcther. Their insistence on the glove
rates demanded by Cannon and Littauer
and the duty on lumber demanded by
certain western senators placed the bill in
serious jeopardy and incidentally demon
strated to the leaders of the senate and
the house that although he was big and
good natured and apparently easy going,
William III. Taft possessed q determine
ton more dangerous TO encounter once il
was aroused even than that of Theodore
Roosevelt.
r4s
The secretary Of the navy is working on
a proposition which is OF n highly inn
portant character to the welfare of the
navy. IL is broad plan of reorganiza-
ton which will provide for the grouping
of the various correlated bureaus i'm the
navy department under experienced flag
officers and the creation of a sort OF naval
cabinet to advise the secretary on all
points which require technical knowledge
for their correct determination. Under
the present system every new secretary Of
the navy finds himself face 10 face with
problems Of grave import which he is not
and cannot be competent to solve. For
advisors he has only the various chiefs of
bureaus, and often their advice il ex-
tremely conflicting.
In the last nine years there have been
seven secretaries Of the navy, and each in
turn has had 10 go through the prentice
period, striving 30 solve problems OF
which became intothc department wholly |
ignorant but the guidance Of only com |
mon sense and pcrplexed by the conflict |
ing assurances Of officers, each Of whom
was prepared 10 back mp his statements
with arguments 20 technical in their char |
I'll