Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-14
CLARK ATTACKS
HOUSE DESPOT
MINORITY LEADER SCATHES
SPEAKER CANNON
Missouri SoIon Bitterly Denounces
Tactics and Policy of Autocrat
and Predicts Early Fall
of Tyrant
Associated Pressl

DAYTON, o., Jan. 13.-In a speech
here tonight, Champ Clark, leader of
the minority in the house of repre-
sentatives, attacked Speaker Cannon
and what is known as "CannoniSm.
Mr.. Clark declared that "the tide is
everywhere rising against 'Cannonism,
and that the fight against house rules
would continue until crowned with
success"
Mr.. Clark said the statement of Mr..
Cannon that the fight against the
house rules was simply an effort to pre-
vent any tariff legislation was untrue.
Mr. Clark referred to Speaker Cam
mons Kansas City speech, which he
said "was devoted chiefly to discus
sion of the fight to amend the house
rules, and to motives, ambitions, men
tai equipment and political status of
some of us who have dared to lift our
eyes above his shoestrings, look him
squarely in the face and battle in the
open for the rehabilitation of the house
of representatives.
''It would be interesting to know how
that speech happened to be written and
read to the audience and 1t would be
edifying to know who furnished him
with certain alleged facts on which
he based some of his remarks"
Criticises Hale
The speaker criticised the action of
Senator Hale in having the speech
printed as a public document and at
public expense, saying: Evidently the
intention is to circulate it ad libitum
as a piece of campaign literature to
help elect another standpat house OF
representatives which will in turn elect
Mr. Cannon to the speakership, for, as
MacAuley said of Sir Robert Walpole,
1,.a ss- fn.ro Nf nd nl
to it with the tenacity of a swapping
turtle and with the desperation of
drowning man clutching a plank in
midocean.
"The speaker processes to love and
admire a courageous man. It's
strange commentary on his loud pro-
fessions in that regard that he bitterly
assails all those who have courage to
oppose his system and deals damna-
tion round the land on all who are not
willing to bow the knee and kowtow
to him. He strikes Louis XIV L am
the state attitude and savagely be
labors all those who would liberalize
the rules of the house.
Against Hon. Joseph G. Cannon per-
sonally I have nothing whatsoever; he
has done me many kindnesses, which
] have tried to repay, but [ am hon.
estly opposed to what has become
known to be 'Cannonism' in our legis-
lation, and it should be rooted out, and
the tide is everywhere rising against
'Cannonism.'
Has Travelled Much
"Since the adjournment of congress
I have been over most of Iowa. Ne
braska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma,
Colorado and into South Dakota, and
everywhere in that region 'Cannonism'
is the resounding theme of every
tongue. and against it that portion of
the country is aflame.
lone of the speakers favorite
charges is that I, while denouncing
him as a czar, am ambitious to be
czar myself, which is too ridiculous to
talk about.
"By revising the rules lose half the
power l had as minority leader and
shear myself of at least half my pow
er should become speaker; but l be-
lieved then and believe now that / was
right and working for the public
good"
tainly the Republicans cannot be de-
scribed as a happy family. The Par
SON Cannon row, the Ballinger-Pinchot
row, the Crane Knox row, the insur-
gent-standpat row, the constantly in
creasing talk of the return from Elba,'
the central bank row, all of these are
merely symptoms, but most suggestive
symptoms, of the disease now affiict-
ing the e. o. D. So, while Democrats
everywhere celebrate the glad new
year by getting together for an>assault
all along the line upon the common
enemy Republicans present to the as
tonished gaze of men the appearance
of a dissolving view"