The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-03-16
IN REGARD TO UNCLE JOE.

m REGARD TO UNCLE JOE.
The King is not dead and it seem
likely that even the political life OF MI
Cannon Is not shortened. True, the,
have made a step in taking away hi
power in the matter of House rules
But 1t is hardly ever remembered tina
Uncle Joe Cannon is the same now tina
he has been, 10, these many years, ant
that the rules OF the House are not b.
any means, entirely OF his devising
Those facts are well to remember an,
are not often heard.
The main trouble with Mr.; Cannon
10, that temperamentally, he is at leas
ten years behind the times-he is con
sentative and belongs to another polit
zeal era than the one in which he il
now. Times have changed and Mr.
Cannon has not changed with them
That is one of the chiefest crimes oil
Joe Cannon.
About those House rules, we have
heard SO much about, it ought to be
stated that they came in under the re
gime Of Tom Reed, and not particular.
" for any other reason than that they
were necessary to handle the business
Of the House Of Representatives The
great number Of members and the act,
ual construction of the House itself are
responsible for turning the House into
= place, not OF debate, but place
where the business is carried on in
committee. The House OF Commons
IN Britain is far smaller than the
House of Representatives as is the
abode OF the Chamber Of Deputies OF
the French Republic. The recent an
nouncement that our House of Repre-
sentatives is about to be changed phys
icAfly 30 a. to allow debate, is encour.
aging. But even then, until there is
some provision made so that the mem
bers Of the lower branch can talk all
they want. as well as get the mass OF
the county's business done, there will
not be apt to be any great improve
ment in the matter OF the House rules
1t II only fair that the public know
that the fault Is In great measure due
to the House rules and the House rules
are not the fault of the present speak
Or. We are not denying that the
Speaker of the House used those rules
% he saw fit--but there was nothing
else for him to do. And he did use
them in manner which did not &C
cord with our present ideas.
And SO while the rules Of the popular
order OF the national legislature seem
in fair way to be changed for the bet.
ter-and we hope they will-there can
not be SO much criticism in the future
on the matter of Cannon as there has
been.
We hope that the matters to which
the Republican party stands pledged,
will receive the attention that they
merit, and this we hope for the benefit
mot only OF the party. but for the ben
Gift Of the people. What is the need
OF disrupting the party on account of
the fact that Mr.. Cannon used the rules
as he found them. rules which he was
not responsible for:
The American people love a scape-
goat. because they always want some
one in particular to be responsible-it
usually is true that no one person in
particular is responsible for anything.
Mr.. Cannon has grave defects in per-
sonality, but what is the gain in MAX
ing him suddenly responsible for
things which he did not do?
In our estimation If the plans and
promises OF the republican party can
be carried on by and through Mr..
Cannon, 1t will be far better for all
than II the party is to be
shattered by fight which might en-
danger thase very reforms we are all
so interested in.
Why not regard Joe Cannon in a
new light, as = man who henceforth.
though he has very considerable fol-
lowing, which is necessary to party ac-
ton, is none the less a man who can
be used to better advantage than
fought. The trouble has mainly been
With the rules-let it so at that Give
TAFT the chancs TO carry on the work