The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-08-27
IN OPEN LETTER
FOWLER HARPOONS
YOUR UNCLE JOE
sosuER CHAIRMAN OF BANKING
COMMITTEE HAS A WORD
TO SAY.
Gar OF HOUSE FIERCELY GORED
Announced Himself For Speaker
With The sole Purpose Of Aeeentu-
atina The Platform on Which He
Stood.


Charles n. Fowler, Republican Cor
gresham from this district, and for
mer Chairman of the House Commit
tee on Banking and Currency, Monda,
made public an open letter to Speak
er Cannon, which for fierce invectiv,
has few parallels in controversial doc
uments. Mr.. Fowler opens his attacl
with a letter to the Speaker in which
he says in part:
During the last two or three
months | have observed from time tc
item in the press of the country Ger
tain news items disparaging my abili.
ty in certain directions which have
every reason to believe have emanated
from you.
The general tone of those items,
and in some instances, the very words.
is the same used by you in my single
interview with you in regard to the
Craftsmanship of the Banking and Cur
rency Committee. You then used this
language: 1t is doubtful whether you
could get an agreement out of the
committee composed of twelve Repub-
licans and six Democratic members
The purpose of this newspaper
propaganda was obvious to any one
who is at all familiar with your meth
DDS, viz, to prepare the way for a
seeming justification in the public
mind for your conduct when you de-
posed me from the Craftsmanship. or
appointed my successor.
The reason that you then gave me,
and which has appeared in the press,
is not at all the true one, but only
false pretense as l shall proceed to
demonstrate in two ways:
First; Members who have spoken
to you urging my appointment to the
Guardianship have told me that your
objection was because | had worked
with those who demanded a change
in the rules of the House. In other
words, it was penalty imposed upon
free thought and independence j
Second: 1t was because / could /
and always have secured agreements
since | have been Chairman that wor-
led you, and not my failure to do so
is you falsely pretended, that rem
Tered me unfit in your eyes.
4 desired the Chairmanship of the
Banking and Currency Committee and
lave used all self-respecting and hon
'rable means to retain it, simply be-
ause it would enable me to advance
light thdaght and possibly prevent the
assage of bad legislation. However, /
'halrmanships do not make men, but
len make Chairmanships. 1t was
nerefore wholly immaterial to me
ersonaly whether you appointed me
the Craftsmanship or another" 1
Mr.. Fowler then quotes letter writ
IN by him to the Speaker on May I
'st' setting forth his (Fowler's) rec. /
ru IN securing agreements from his l
'mmittee on financial legislation, and &
this with Cannon's own rec t
70 on the same matters. OF this t
tier Mr.. Fowler says: '
/ challenge you to find single liv- t
9 man with so rotten a one. 1t Is a /
cord of ignorance or political cow S
dlee, or disgraceful hybrid of the /
'o' And vet, sir, you assume to die s
'e the financial and currency legis- b
uon of a civilized country. F
IL was in contemplating the un- a
ensured losses and terrific conse-
FENCES to my country, resulting from {
e crisis of 1907. because of your ig- =
rance, prejudice and absolutely un-
"Hehged power as Speaker of the
ouSe of Representatives that / re-
Ned' that so far as in me lay, never
AIN should such financial tragedy r
upon the American people because
speaker of the House Of Represen-
ives absolutely controlled legisla- 2
n.
therefore | announced myself as a
luluate for Speaker at the begin. 81
's OF the Sixty-first Congress, but Vi
y" only one thought, and that was NJ
oc'eh'uate the platform upon which A
9'ooo' That all political power C
wa be taken away from the Oh
edNer and that he be only a pre-
'us officer, Just as the Speaker of cl
House of Commons is. tn
AS result of that movement, we TO
. nave a calendar day when all OF
'especting members may call up nj
o'lls in their own right, and will dc
hereafter be compelled to crawl tn