The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-04-02
This Job Might Be Acceptable
To Uncle Joe Because His
Days as Speaker Are Now
Numbered.
CANNON COULD BREAK
ILLINOIS DEADLOCK
Gossip Is Started as to Who
Would Be Next Speaker and
Jim Tawney Appears to Be
Favorite.
By Sheldon S. Cline.

Washington. April 2.-Speculation as
to whether Speaker Cannon will be
elected Senator from Illinois is running
close race with the tariff bill in in
teresting members of the house. A
story has come from Springfield that
Cannon is the only man in sight who
can break the senatorial deadlock in
the legislature, and that if Uncle Joe''
will say the word he can have the to-
ga, which until March 4, last, graced
the shoulders of Albert ]. Hopkins.
May Be Acceptable.
At this writing Cannon has made no
sign. but there are close friends of the
speakers who believe the idea of being
senator is not wholly repugnant to
him. 1t is true he used some strong
language couple of years ago when
| there was talk of nominating him for
Vice President but his hold on the
speakership then seemed more secure
| than it does today. 1t is pretty gen.
| orally believed this will be Cannon's
last term as speaker, without regard
to his chance of becoming a senator
| And most any man would rather retire
from the office in order to take a seat
in the upper chamber than to be denied
a reelection.
Speakership Gossip.
1t is only natural with such specula'
ton in the air, that there should be a
lot of gossip as to who is likely to sue.
coed to the speakership. Many mem
bers of the house regard Jim" Taw.
ney of Minnesota, as the lone best bet, y
| but there is no risk in predicting that
Tawney would have to fight for the
honor. Judge Walter Smith of Iowa
would be a formidable candidate, and
there would be others. The speaker
ship never has gone begging and is not
likely to, soon.
| g. A Good Organizer.
| 1t would require a lot of generosity
to rank Tawney as one of the states.
men of congress, but he is one of the
b st organizers who ever saw service
under the dome. His ability in this
direction was recognized when the
house organization in it's distress call
ed upon Tawney to assume charge OF
the task of putting through the Payne
tariff bill. While the skins of Payne
Dalzell and other experts of the ways
and means committee were filled al
most to the bursting point with tariff
facts and figures, they lacked the gen.
eralship to keep the republican mem
bership in line.
| Tawney is chairman of the appropri
atoms committee, which has to do with
the spending Of money, not the raising
of it. but he had served for many years
as republican whip Of the house, and
knew a thing or two about organiza
ton. While the tariff heavy-weights
were emitting ponderous facts and is
suing huge gobs of statistics, Tawney
busted himself lining up recalcitrants.
Is cannon's Choice.
1t undoubtedly is true that Tawney
would be Cannon's choice for the sue
cession, were the former to retire from
the speakership, but that fact might
hurt Tawney more than it would helI
him. 1t would mark him for the op
position of all the anti-Cannon mem
bers of the house, and he could not
command the solid support of the pres
ent Cannon following. There are tol
many other ambitious men in the Can
non camp. Dalzells hunger for the
speakership has been known for years
and the same is true of Payne. Thu
latter's ambition is to have a tariff bill
bear his name is at last to be gratified
even if the work of Mr.. Payne's com
mite does not figure largely in thu
final result. and further service at thu
head of the ways and means commit
tee will have lost its zest. Naturally
Mr. Payne would like to round out hi!
career in the house by a term or two
in the speakers chair.
1t is figured that a successful ply