Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-04-15

Speaker Cannon and Senator Aldrlcn.
In the course of an exhaustive speech,
covering 70 pages of the Congress
sional Record, in regard to the needed
financial reforms, he said:
"The government should be taken
out of the banking business complete
ly and absolutely, and its financial
functions should be limited to those
of properly regulated municipality
The government should cease by its
operations in the collection of reve-
nue. to have any more effect upon the
commercial situation in any COM
munity, city, or part of the country
than the transaction of an equal
amount of business would have there
if carried on by the banks or the bust
ness houses"
In speaking of the manner in which
the house members were chosen, Mr..
Fowler said:
Criticism of Present Methods.
1.-THE one essential qualification that
seemed to be sine qua non was that
a man was completely ignorant of the
whole matter.
Nor could the commission rely
upon the speaker of the house for in
formation, for. referring to this sub
ject, he said to me:
81 do not want to discuss a thing
that I don't know d-n thing about
Nor could they look to the chair
MON Of bo notiCna1 monetary cOm-
mission, who, if the New York papers
quoted him correctly, stated on his
return from Europe tnat while he
thought a year and half ago that he
knew all about the subject, he had
found out that he did not know any
thing about it.
This confession by Mr.. Aldrich of
absolute and abject ignorance was re-
inforced by the fact that, according to
the newspaper, he stated in Kansas
City, when he was swinging around
the circle, that he agreed with the
foreign bankers when they said our
banking practices were barbaric.'
'Mr. Aldrich has been in congress
80 years. Has he during all that time
suggested one single thing to change
these barbaric practices? Has he not
stood at the door of the senate with
the bludgeon of power in his hands
ready to paralyze every proposal to
lift this curtain of Egyptian darkness
and barbarism?
Where was he when the great fight
for the gold standard was being
waged? Did he open his mouth then
even once in behalf of this important
reform? If so, when and where?
Let the American people inquire
and ascertain, if they possibly can,
why absolute ignorance of the sub
ject was sine qua non to an appoint
ment upon the monetary commission"
Discuss Power of Speaker.
Agitation of the question of limit
ing the power of the speaker still con-
tinues to hold a foremost place in the
councils of members of congress, al
though there is no movement at pres
ent to bring the subject Immediately
onto the floor of the house.
Judge Miles Poindexter's proposition
to make Asher Kinds the speaker has
caused a great amount of discussion,
not only among members of congress
but in the press of the country. AS
general rule those who have lined up
with the Big Business interests of the
country take the view that the house
will never divest the speaker COM
pletely of his power and make of that
officer mere monitor over it's proceed
ings. The Progressives throughout the
country, on the other hand, are almost
a unit in the belief that it is but a
question of a short time, some say
few months, and many contend before
the end of this session, when the
house will take the step which will
completely divest the speaker of his
power over legislation.
Real Meaning of Cannonism.
The Progressive Republicans are
convinced that the time has arrived
when there has been enough of alb
stract discussion and that the people
must understand what Cannoism really
means. Cannonism is not personal
ity. 1t is not power centered in par
ticular man. 1t is a machine that
packs committees in the interest OF
Big Business, which furnishes the cam
paign funds to perpetuate the machine.
1t is not partisan. If the Democratic
party came into control it would ex-
list just as it now exists, provided no
change were made in the present sys-
tenn of conducting the business OF the
house. Cannonism is a growth. The
statement has been frequently made
that the speaker has always been
member of the committee on rules.
The first speaker to be made a mem
Der of the committee on rules was
great parliamentarian. He was James
l.. Orr. He was made member of the
committee on rules because at that
time, the late fifties, the function of
this committee was merely to report
at the beginning of the session of con-
gress a set of rules to govern the de-
alterations of the house during that
session and it was felt that it would
be a great advantage to have the adj
vice of SO thoroughly equipped par
Humanitarian as Mr.. Orr.