The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-05-11
"UncIe Joe'sv Birthday.

Sioux City Journal: Joseph Guer-
ney Cannon-who is none other than
Uncle joe" speaker of the American
house of representatives Friday
for his seventy-third birthday. No
doubt he took Friday out of cussed-
ness. Why didn't he take Thursday,
or Saturday, or wait until Sunday? At
his time of life he didn't need to be in
a hurry. But he improved the oppor-
tunity to show how arbitrary he is. No
doubt it was in his mind to take Fri
day for no better purpose than to mani
fest contempt of the common people.
1t seems to be never ending source
of pleasure with him to defy popular
prejudice. If he had felt it to be his
duty to celebrate his birthday on Fri
day he should have apologized and
made his best excuses. But he did
nothing of the kind. He seemed
pleased to have birthday on Friday.
His only regret apparently was that
he couldn't call it the thirteenth in
stead of the seventy-third; and per-
haps he would have called it the thir-
teenth but for the confession that
would have been involved that the
Danville district had violated the con-
stitution in electing him to congress,
and that his associates in the house
of representatives had committed an
outrage in clothing him with an office
of great power and ornamented in
years gone by long line of distin-
guished citizens of the republic OBJ
viously he improved the opportunity to
make exhibit before the country of
how tough he is He studiedly exerted
himself to disarm suspicion tina. he
had served out ais usefulness. He
ruled against DR.. Osler without men.
tioning his name. Instead of practic,
ing subtlety, he should have been de-
pressed and compressed by tae weight
of sins But he had the effrontery tc
appear elastic He laughed and joked
and INDUCED in epigram. There ap
peared to be assumption with him that
the figures had at least got turned
about. and that the most to be made o.
them under an Interpretation of the
rules was thirty-seven. This shows
how he can twist things to his Xix
ing, and with what sang-froid-o1
something like that-he pursues hi
own way as if he were more than king
and had no dream of ever flying away
Was there ever more irritating man
He is that thin he can double up lik
butt; and to be made a butt of doe
not seem to disturb him at ALL Wher
| reform would have been by this time
1 he had been young enough to be out 0
very much too old to be in suggest
speculation extremely irritating to tn
| insurgent head. 1t Is passing strang
| why Cannon does not go off. TIL
hope that the nerve-straining respor
sibilities of the speakers office woul
put his digestive apparatus entirel
out of commission has struggled alon
in tae dust of time to the sickening c
the progressive heart. Clearly enoug
he is the servant of special interest!
He chose Friday for his birthday. Hi
4 iollidity seemed to be heightened whe
he was reminded that he was born /
North Carolina. A large dipper, mad
from North Carolina gourd, was pre-
scented to him, and what did he do
He dissembled-cle he dissemblet
He took it as suggestion of humbl
boyhood-of a growth from the con
mon people, Was ever man NOR
,,,op;,,oo IIo ,,avo ~ ciuu or hint r