The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1910-02-04
Indications That II viii Not Be
Much Longer Delayed
4 MATTER OF PARTY POLITICS
Stanch Friends Think That Old War
horse Must Vacate Speakers Chair
In Order to Keep House From Going
Democratic-Elim of Senior
Ity Leaves Speakership Field Open
For Progressive Candidate

Washington, Jan. Speaker
Cannon's announcement of his in
tention to retire from the chair, even
though delayed until spring, is con-
| fidently expected here. His own
friends are now coming into the open
and admitting that he should retire
for the good of the party. They
yield nothing of their loyalty to Can
non, and have no personal sympathy
with the attacks which have been
made upon him, but they realize that
the control of the next house is like
ly to depend upon the states which
are so thoroughly anti Cannon in their
local sentiment that Cannon is bound
to lose the chair anyway; by the de-
feat of the party, II not through his
own withdrawal.
With Cannon still in the field, a
couple of dozen of other stanch Re-
publicans would be In danger Of their
own seats, hence the courage" which
is prompting these hitherto loyal pat
riots to advise the speaker to retire.
The middle west is attempting the
difficult feat of retiring a speaker
from the middle west and putting in
another from the same section. The
program has its difficulties. AL
ready a move has been made by
Pennsylvania and New York to wrest
the speakership from the west and
retain it for the industrial east, in
GLIDING such states as Illinois and
Indiana as within that boundary.
For the practical purposes of the
speakership, it would make little diff
ference whether the candidate lived
in Ohio or New England. The great
interests which have been accustomed
to find the speakership useful will
take no chances among the wild west
ern insurgents, even though these in
surgents have stirred up sentiment
enough to pull Cannon from the chair
The break of the Ohio delegation
with the speaker Is thought to be the
beginning of the end of Cannon's
power. Most of Illinois is equally
disturbed. In addition to the profess
sional insurgents, the anti Cannon
band is now understood to include
such sturdy regulars as Lafean and
Moore of Pennsylvania, Martin of
South Dakota, Bennett, Foelker and
Driscoll of New York, and others who
really love Cannon for the enemies he
has made.
The anti Cannon movement be-
comes a serious party question the
moment men of this class align them
selves with 1t. The movement Is
primarily for new blood and a COM
plete overturn of the regime of legis-
Dalzell, who have managed the house
for a decade or more. It is any
body's fight now. Seniority as an as
set is at a discount. It's elimination
leaves the field open to a type of
candidate that would inevitably be
progressive.
The talk of course all runs that a
middle western man finally will be
selected. but in its real relation to
the speakership the phrase middle
west" simply embodies the eastern
conception of a speaker who is not a
revolutionary radical. If the Repub-
licans could unite early upon a candi-
date whom the country would in
dorse, they would go a long way
towards assuring the control of the
L l..