Evening star., 1911-01-15
National Topliners
By James Hay. Jr.

y
- generalissmo, and great Pooh-Bah of
all those public men who pride themselves
on being as "plain as an old shoe" He does
not put on airs, neither is he overawed by
the ceremonious dignitaries of other coun-
tries.
But there is on record one instance of his
simple, direct methods striking famous
Englishman dumb Francis Walker of Lon
don arrived in Washington, and, looking up
his friend, Robert Wickliffe Woolley, the
writer, confided his ambition to have an in
terview with Speaker Cannon.
Il suppose, don't you know" he said to
Woolley, it will require ten days or two
weeks to arrange for such a meeting; but
am exceedingly anxious, old chap, to discuss
with him the procedure of the House of Rep
resentatives as compared with that of the
House of Commons in my own country. |
wish to go over many of the details that have
puzzled me-"
Come with me-" said Woolley, and took
the Englishman to the Capitol.
They went into the Speakers private Of
fee. Mr.. Walker was more and more per-
turbed as he got closer and closer to Mr..
Cannon. This thing of being shot right into
the presence of greatness without preamble
seemed to agitate him strangely. He felt
that he should have been fortified by nego-
tiations and written arrangements.
"Mr. Speaker" explained Woolley, after
the introduction had been accomplished,
"Mr. Walker wants to talk to you about
the procedure of the House and the rules
governing that body"
The Speaker draped his long legs over the
arm of his chair, thrust black cigar into his
mouth, ran his hands through his rather
sparse hair, and said to the Englishman,
young man, if you've got anything to say
to me, crack your whip!"
This was too much for the dignifed and
frock coated Walker He could not crack
his whip with any resounding noise. Gradu-
ally, however, under the kindly encourage
ment of Mr.. Cannon, he warmed up to the
discussion.
"This general debate, don't you know,
Mr.. Speaker" he said after awhile, "puzzles
me. The members do not seem to confine
themselves to the bill under consideration.
What, in word, is general debate?"
That" replied the Speaker lis where
the sweet singers get in their work. When a
big bill comes up, each side is allowed SO
many hours and minutes for discussion.
Then it is that the members, speaking for
home consumption, dwell on everything,
from the strings on their grandmothers' bon
nets to the most awful cataclysms of nature
They do not affect legislation at all. They
are like the water that runs over the dam.
1t makes an awful splash; but it has nothing
| to do with grinding the grist."
The Englishman said he was much
obliged, and guessed he had found out all he
wanted to know about the procedure of the
House. As he left the Speakers Office, he
mopped his brow and remarked that Mr..
Cannon was so breezy and refreshing,
don't you know
WHEN Woodrow Wilson was making
his campaign for the governorship of
New Jersey, he was asked to speak at the
dedication of new building in Jersey City.
In the course of his remarks, he had some
| thing to say about architecture. "These
modern New York hotels, he declared, "re-
mind me, in their architectural style, of a
cross between the early Pullman and the
late North German Lloyd periods"
THIS is the sad story of Beekman Win
: throp, Assistant Secretary of the Navy,
and his wireless telegraph station, which re-
ceived many messages, but transmitted not
J one. 1t was at the time when Winthrop