Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-11-16
CHICAGO TRIBUNE CALLS
UNCLE JOE'5 BLUFF

Chicago Sunday Tribune: This is
the midnight speech which Speaker
Cannon delivered at Bloomington
Friday, beginning just before IL
O'Clock and quitting when his secre-
tary yanked the speakatorial coat
tails at 1:15 a. m.
This is the speech which Uncle Joe
dared The Tribune to publish-and
the challenge has been accepted. 1t
is the bitter and from the heart out
defiance of Uncle Joe to everybody
who opposes Cannonism.
In its substantial particular, the
midnight utteTance of the speaker
( declares that Uncle Joe, in his ca
pacity as ear of the hous of repre-
sentatives, had the chance to trade
a free wood pulp law to the publish
/ ers of the metropolitan newspapers
OF the nation fer the presidency of
the United States.
The speaker gees into his alleged
( Details of how Herman Ridder of
+ New York made the proposition to
him at Washington on behalf of the
( American Publishers association.
/ In New York yesterday Mr.. Ridder
denied categorically and in detail
that he ever made a proposition of
! that or of any other kind to Speaker
Cannon.
Uncle Joe was so enthused that he
proceeded into a specific defense of
/ his career as speaker and of Cannon
1 ism in general. He opened up the
main points of the speech which he
/ had intended to be an answer to
/ Senator Cummins, and which he had
/ intended to deliver in Kansas City
/ Nov. 26, as a prelude to the reopen
/ ing of congress.
! Speaker Cannon. in addition to his
attack upon the Chicago Tribune
which he dared to print what he said
about the chance he says he had for
/ the presidency, drifted into many
| specific allegations.
In brief, he charged:
Speakers Many Charges.
/ That Senator Cummins, 'raving"
in his chicago speech, put words into
the mouth OF Cannon and the "regu-
lar" republicans which were never
uttered and never thought.
That Senator LaFollette had brow
beaten Wisconsin republican con-
gressmen to vote against Cannon and
the Cannon rules. through fear that
he would defeat them for reelection,
and that LaFollette had been per-
sonally responsible for the defeat of
Babcock and had slaughtered repub~
lican nominees for office
/ That Herbert Parsons of New York
had deliberately falsifed in making
the charges that there had been
dicker between himself and New
York politicians for Tammany votes
for the Cannon rules. They weren't
Tammany men anyhow, but McCar-
rem men, triumphantly calculated
the speaker.
That he had never made a deal of
any kind for the purpose of getting
votes for himself for speaker, or for
his rules.
That Champ Clark deliberately
falsified his (Cannon's) position, and
that Clark knew it when he was max
ing his anti-Cann6n statements.
That P. A. Baker of the national
anti-saloon movement had wilfully
falsified when he said that he (Can-
nom had throttled the Littlefeld
bill.
That the publishers of the metro
politan newspapers, angered over the
refusal of Cannon to force through a
bill placing wood pulp on the free
list, had started out to end the public
career of the speaker, and that Her
man Ridder, Samuel Gompers, and
subsequently William ]. Bryan, had
been parties to such a deal
The substantial and direct part of
Speaker Cannon's midnight speech
was devoted to the last proposition. |
Uncle Joe waxed furious. He pound
ed Jimmy O'Donnell, the POSTMASTER, |
with his gavel hand, in making his
points, until ODonnell lodged and |
the Bloomington business men yelled
with laughter.
Naturally, the speaker upheld the |
new tariff law as magnificent meas
ure, although he said that he is not
schedule shark"
cat that, know more about the
tariff, than certain senators who |
claim that they know everything"
said Uncle Joe. He invited the at
tention of the Illinois business men |
to Taft's Winona speech, which he
claimed to be a master piece.
The speaker had not intended to |
get down to cases. He wished to say
few gentle things about the dis
tinguished sons of Bloomington and |
Mclean county, to the Bloomington |
Business Mems association, which