The searchlight., 1910-03-25
CHANGE IN HOUSE.
lNSURGENT AND DEMOCRAT
MEMBERS A CHANGE IN
RULES.
CANNONIS STILL SPEALfR
Motion 10 Made 10 Declare Speakers
Chair Vacant but is Overruled by
Vote Of 1sf to 155-Had Siren
uous Session.

Washington, d. c.. March 19.-Joseph
q. Cannon. Of Danville, H.. is still
speaker Of the house of representatives
But he lost today the ancient prestige
and the weapon of that Office when the
allied Republican Insurgents and the
Democrats took from MIN not only the
craftsmanship office, but even men,
bership in the all-powerful committee
on rules the chief asset in his stock
Of power.
Amid scenes of the widest disorder.
for the like of which one must go back
to the exciting days jNs prior to the
civil war-perhaps even those times
might not duplicate 1.-THE vetern
speaker almost "A years old. stood
erect and defiant, his head "bloodied
bur defiant" At the end when a big
Texas Democrat accepted the speakers
daring challenge and Introduced a res
oiution to fling him out of the speaker
ship. the Republicans, Regulars" and
Insurgents" with few exceptions. rail-
lied with almost unbroken party front
and gave him a vote which almost
offset the Reputation of Cannonism."
BY vote of 191 to 155 the Republic
Democrats, the house adopted the reso-
luton OF Reprensative Norris. Republic
can. of Nebraska. requiring a reorgan-
ization of the rules committee, in
creasing its membership from five to
ten and declaring the speaker ineligible
TO membership thereon.
BY the curiousiy idential vote of 19l
to 155-but with a decidedly different
personnel of alignment, has the house
defeated the resolution of Representa-
tive Burleson of Texas declaring the
speakership vacant and ordering an
immediate election Of a successor 10
Mr.. Cannon.
Here is the Norris resolution which
was adopted:
There shall be a committee on rules
elected by the house (hitherto the
committee of five. like all other house
committees. has been appointed by the
speaker), consisting of ten members,
six Of whom shall be members of the
majority party and four of them shall
be members of the minority party. The
speaker shall not be n member Of the
committee. and the committee shall
elect its chairman from its own mem
bership.
Resolved. further. that within ten
days after adoption of this resolution
there shall be election of this commit
tee and Immediately upon its election
the present committee on rules shall
he dissolved"
The oldest man I'm congress makes
no pretense of remembering an paral-
lels for the sensational scenes which
have characterized the last few days
In the house. When this days devel-
opment reached a crisis about five
o'clock this afternoon he would have
been rash prophet who attempted to
forecast the outcome.
There were moments when ID looked
as though the preponderantly Republi-
can house might even cap the climax
by electing Champ Clark speaker In
fact, not only was this actually pro-
posed in def To the house, declared
that his enemies should be consisted
and proceed to the election of Demo-
cratic speaker. In deed. 1t was this
challenge to the house, daring as It
was. which instantly provoked the
Burleson resolution for his dethrone-
ment. turned the tide again in his IA
Vor and rallied the Republicans. "resu-
lars" and Insurgents" together with
few exceptions. to the point of what
may well be termed a vote of conf
Hence.