The Paducah evening sun., 1910-03-21

: There was no revolution, when Can
non was defeated on the Norris reso-
llution Saturday. The majority,
which has heretofore supported him,
simply voted against him, and he
was undone. Could anything be more
democratic than that?
Contrast the action Of the house
of representatives, on that occasion,
If you will, with the Kentucky state
senate when the Democrats and Re
publicans united in an effort, sup
ported as they were by a friendly
presiding officer, to drag from the
rules committee the income tax con-
stitutional amendment. The Demo-
cratic majority found itself thwarted
by a rule Of its own devising. 1t re-
quired only a majority OF the MEM
bers to pass a bill, according to the
constitution, and a majority favored
that and other measures; but the
rules OF the senate required a two
thirds vote to call bill out of the
hands of a committee. II was a per-
nicious scheme to render void a pro-
vision Of the constitution, by which,
though a bare majority could pass a
bill. il required a two-thirds major
|ity to put the bill on passage.
The congressional rules are de-
signed to give the majority party,
through the speaker it selects in eau
Gus. control OF legislation: The
Kentucky senate rule was designed
to prevent the majority party from
controlling legislation, which certain
interests desired suppressed. Time
after time did the Democratic ma
jority in the legislature supported by
Republicans try to batter down the
rules and get at bills, and every
time they failed: the first time
bare majority in congress opposed
the speaker, he was overruled. AS
suming in his person the will OF the
majority party, the speaker OF the
house Of representatives may be a
czar, and rule with crushing power;
but in the Kentucky legislature the
majority was chained and gagged by
gang of lobbyists, and helpless
even when they had the numbers.
Joe Cannon was the choice of the
Republican caucus and merely repre-
sented in his rulings the will of the
majority. 1t is probably true, as
charged that he dominated the eau
Gus. Somebody dominates every
caucus that ever does anything, and
whoever the majority selects as
speaker, must also be invested with
the same imperial prerogatives or he
will be marked for failure from the
outset. A body as big as the house
of representatives, working through
committees, must be governed by
iron rules, or II will deteriorate into
a disorderly mob, the minority will
thwart the efforts of the majority to
enact into laws the pledges IL gave
the people, and congress will lose its
efficiency as a lawmaking body.
Then why was Joe Cannon defeat
ed? He never will be abe to under
stand it himself, and we doubt
whether many of those, who opposed
him, realize what 1t means. IL is
epochal: the gallant figure of the
fighting old speaker of the house is
almost the last to go down before
modern ideals. 1t means that the
progressive element of the Republi-
can party, of which former President
Roosevelt is the conspicuous head,
and President w. II. Taft the active
leader, has triumphed, and that the
majority party in congress following
the executive has successfully turned
another corner and will continue In
national control until a similar crisis
arrives in the future, when 1t can
not produce the man OF the hour.
Joe Cannon is not deposed; he Is
left behind. His contemporaries
have been run over or cast aside. Joe
is made Of different stuff. He stood
calamity in the middle of the road,
clinging to the theories that held
good during that marvellous era Of
material development, which fol-
lowed the close OF the Civil war, and
tried to head of progress. He held
the nation in check a long while;
now and then an agitator got past
him; labor organized, Industries
combined, religious denominations
began to cooperate with one another.
business and social life took on new
aspect; but the nation, in so far as
its laws were concerned. showed no
marks Of change in public senti-
ment. Then came Roosevelt, and a
dynamic political quantity in sym
pathy with the ethics of the times
was added 30 the forces, with which
Joe Cannon had to contend.
Let US not be too hard on Joe. We
cannot expect a man to change the
habits OF thinking of a life time.
Joe Cannon spent a generation in
public life, and he may sincerely
look upon public AFFAIRS from the
point OF view he found popular when
he entered on his career years ago.
We know honest and intelligent men
IN Paducah, who have not been able
TO RragD the madam fbaory 81 A.