The Green Forest tribune., 1910-02-25

sole end in view-that of reaching a verdict to the effect that the tariff bill has nothing to do with the sky scraping prices of the necessities of life
 It can be said definitely that MT. Taft believes that if the Investigating committee, which of course will be dominated by Republicans, shall make it appear by the trend of their inquiry that they are concerned first witr proving that the tariff is sinless, the Democrats will make the most of the circumstance, and will go before the country in the congressional cam. paign to tell the people that the in vestigation was begun and carried through simply to whitewash a Re- publican tariff bill
 Wants Straight Investigation.
 The president has conferred in the last day or two with many of the Re publican members of the senate con- mittee on finance and of the house committee on ways and means and has told them that it is his sincere de sire that their efforts shall be bent solely, in conducting the investigation, to discover the true reasons, if it is possible to discover them, why it costs nearly twice as much to live to- day as it did few years ago.
 Those who are close to the admins, tration say that the president cannot for moment allow it to appear to the men who are to conduct the cost of living inquiry that he has any sus- picion that they simply wish to clear the skirts of the tariff. It must be taken for granted the presidents ad- visers say, that members of congress sworn to do their duty will do it with out having any ulterior motive in view. Unquestionably MT. Taft would like to have it proved definitely that the tariff has nothing to do with the advanced prices, because last summer he declared that the tariff bill was the best that the Republican party had ever passed, and to a considerable ex- tent this has been considered an in- dorsement of the tariff-making efforts of MT. Payne, MT. Aldrich and the other high protection believers who framed the measure and who put it on the statue books.
 The Speakership Situation.
 Several senators and representatives in congress are keeping Presi- dent Taft informed as to the speakership situation in the house There are one or two members of the upper house who have close relations with the members of their state dele gations in the lower house, and these as to the trend of speakership events. The president will take no active part in the matter of securing a successor to Speaker Cannon when the time comes to elect one, but he is deeply interested in having it made as cer- tain as such things can be that the next speaker shall be a man who will in no way obstruct the legislation which the administration intends to recommend on behalf of the country
 Idea Is to Unite Factions.
 Of course the sole idea of the ad ministration is to try to influence Re publican members to elect a man who will be able to unite the factions so that there will be no such trouble as there has been during the last two years of MT. Cannons incumbency MT. Taft is very much concerned to- day lest the fact that there are fac tions in the house of representatives shall imDari1 comn of tho p,ooCuroc which he has recommended for pas sage, and his hope is that in the next congress, if there is Republican ma jority, the fight over the rules will have been settled and that some man to the liking of both regulars and in- surgents shall sit in the chief seat.
 In all human probability the next Speaker of the house will be con- servative. The insurgents are not strong enough yet to elect speaker out of their own ranks and they make admission today that they are not likely to recruit enough strength at the next election to give them caucus control of the next house. They do say, however, that they will have enough recruits to make it certain that a change in the rules of the house will be made before the present con. gross becomes a thing of the past.
 Speaker Cannons Position.
 Speaker Cannon has enough loyal followers to make 1t semingly certain, provided the next house is Republican and of about the same factional make up that it is to-day, that no man who is not to the liking of the present speaker car be elected to the chief official place. No man ever left high office without at least some curi- osity as to who was to come into his place. MT. Cannon has more than mere curiosity at stake. He has steered a certain course during his pi- lotage of the house affairs, and he thinks unquestionably that the most convincing praise that can be bestowed upon his work as a pilot will be to have the relieving pilot steer practi- cally the same course. In other words, MT. Cannon would like to name the next speaker of the house if he can do it, and if he cannot name him di- rectly, he wants to be assured that some man who has not been in direct opposition to him and to his plan of legislative procedure, shall be chosen as his successor.
 It never does to write story of the probable events of the future with. out mentioning the one thing which will throw all prophecy and all state ment into the discard. In this in. stance, the one thing is the possible election of a Democratic house. The