Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-04-15
,nnnTuunaT7rl1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
! WASHING ON LETTER )
by John J. Hannah
Observation-Disclosures

/ WnoIe house, by Tar the most drama
tic instant was the debate between
Representative Cooper and Speaker
Cannon over the oil schedule. 1t re
suited because of the parliamentary
shrewdness of Representative Lenroot
who discovered the weakness in the
position Of Representative Vreeland il
offering the amendment not as ar
amendment from the. Committee or
| Ways and Means but as from himself
Mr.. Norris of Nebraska had ordered ar
! amendment of Mr. Vreeland and Johr
Dalzell had made a point Of order
against it. Mr.. Cooper was off the
floor at the time but when he returned
Mr.. Lenroot informed him of the
situation and then the representative
from the first Wisconsin district said
II am informed by colleague from
my State that the gentlemen from
New York himself presented the
amendment and that the Chair an
nounced an amendment offered by
the gentleman from New York If
that be true, and it was so presented
to the Committee of the Whole, the
point of order comes too late, does it
not, debate having begun? If the
pending amendment comes as an
amendment by the gentleman from
New York, then it does not come as
the amendment provided by the rule.
II the Chair put it to the Committee of
the Whole as an amendment offered by
the gentleman from New York, then
it is an amendment offered by the
unanimous consent of the committee,
and it is not the amendment named in
the rule-the rule amendment.
''The Chair, l think, under the rule
was himself bound to put the rule
amendment, but this was not done;
and there is now before the committee
by unanimous consent an amendment
offered by the gentleman from New
York; and any objection such as if
here being made that it violates or
that proposed amendment to it vio-
lates the rule, comes too late, because
debate upon it was in progress when |
entered the Chamber, the gentleman
from New York himself having the
floor"
John Dalzell's whole demeanor
changed. He sank into his seat and
defeat was pictured on his countenance.
The Chair sustained the point of order
but upon appeal was overruled by a
vote of 1876 ayes to 1913 noes. The
question then came upon the Norris
amendment and the debate which fol-
lowed was one of the most acrimonious
of the entire tariff discussion.
The defeat of the committee rule
amounted to the overthrow for the
time being of Speaker Cannon, the
Committee on Rules, The Committee
on Ways and Means, and Standard Oil.
During the debate upon the question of
order, Speaker Cannon came rushing
into the Chamber, he stood along side
of Chairman Olmstead of the Com
mittee of the Whole, and while what
passed between them could not be
heard in the press gallery, ''Uncle Joe"
was observed close up to the Chairman
talking rapidly and it was snrmised
what he was splitting into the Chair
man S face was not perfumed langua-
ges. Olmstead had failed by permit
ing Vreeland to offer the amendment
personally and not having it come
from the Committee. When the House
tanned down, "Uncle Joe," red of
face and very excited, took seat
upon the floor. Representative Coop
err, in his speech upon the amendment
directed his remarks principally to the
Speaker who sat few seats in front
OF him and in the course of his speech
said:
"Mr. Chairman, the rule under
which we are operating is one of the
most extraordinary that | have seen
since have been a Member of this
House.
Under it we are permitted to have
a vote on the question of free hides;
under it we are permitted to have a
vote on free lumber; under it we are
permitted to have vote on the ques-
ton of free barley; but under it we
are gagged, so that we could not have
vote on the question of free Standard
Oil. And but for the gentleman from
New York arising and offering that
amendment as his individual amend
ment and being recognized, as he was,
for that purpose, we would not have
had the privilege of voting on the
amendment to his amendment now be-
fore the Committee of the Whole.
'The gentleman from Kansas (Mr
CampbelD speaks of the independent
oil producers. What influence was it
that succeeded in getting into the ex-
listing Dingley law the proviso, which
great newspapers have said, the
Washington Post, in effect, in an edi-
torial last week-was drawn by the
Standard Oil Company, fixing the
tariff on petroleum products at 80 per
cent great applause) Was it the
little independent oil producers who
got that in such a manner that practi-
cally nobody in the United States
knew it was in the law? | said on the