The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-28
Speaker Is Actively Fought By Insurgents In
 the House
NORRIS MAY TAKE LEAD
 IN THE NEXT CONGRESS
Cannon Will Not Give Up the Idea of Becoming Leader of the Minority But the Insurgents Will
 Not Have It
BY wATTERsON sTEALEy

Washington, January N.-(Special.)-- When Champ Clark grasps his gavel and faces the House of Representatives the day the new Congress convenes he will be confronted by two minority parties seek ing his recognition. The one will be headed by the present speaker, Repre- sentative Joseph c. Cannon of Illinois, the other by Representative George w. Norris of Nebraska. Each will have been voted upon for speaker of the House and | each will appeal to him as the leader of the republican minority. MT. Cannon's close friends dn the House declare that he leadership; that his surrender of the lead ership of the republican congressman means a confession of guilt of every charge under the name of Cannonism at the republican party; that his selection must be brought about as a vlndication of the legislative record of the republic an party. It Is declared that Mir. Can non has been assured of enough votes to control the republican caucus.
 Announcement was made today by sev- eral so-called insurgent republican con- gressmen that they will bolt the republic an caucu1 if it norpinates MT. Cannon. Probably as many as 30 republican con gressmen in the next House are pledged | in platforms to vote against the present speaker This group will be further aug mented by others who, to save them- selves from defeat, announced before the election that they were opposed to Can- ron. These republicans, in the event that | they cannot persuade their fellow mem bers to repudiate the speaker, will hold a separate caucus and name one of their number Representative Norris of Ne | braska, who took the most prominent part in the rules fight at last session, will probably be the man decided upon Norris would receive the entire insurgent strength on the floor of the House and an insurgent member said today that it would not fall short of 50 votes.
 Cannon VIII Not Down
 Itdeveloped today that the insurgents | have about given up all hope of inducing g Uncle Joe to take a back seat in the next House and decline to allow the use of bis name for the minority leadership. AS one of them put it: He Is determined to force us to split the party and the fight may as well start now, for 1t is our belief that the insurgent movement | will steadily grow and if we do not con- trol the republican membership in the next Congress we will In the Sixty-third | Congress"
 With this sentiment of the speaker s intention to cling to the House republican leadership pervading the insursent ranks. the membership of that faction has all ready commenced it's campaign In behalf of an insurgent speaker. MT, Norris, or whoever may be selected as the insurgent candidate, will demand of the ways and | means committee the right to name 1 fair proportion of the committee. For instance, if the insurgents poll one-third of the total republican vote (and they claim that they can do so) they will de- mand of the democratic side one-third of | the places allotted to the republicans. On the ways and means committee the repub- | licans will have six members and the in- surgents will insist that they be allowed | two members, or perhaps three depend | Ing upon the vote.
 Democrats who are in a position to speak with some degree of authority on the subject, said today that they had no | doubt that it would be the policy of the democrats to allow the insurgents to have a square deal on the major committees of tho House. and that Speaker Clark could be depended upon to give them the recog- rition their numbers warrant in all House l procedure.
 More Trouble for Republicans
 The already faction-rent party found out today that 1t has more trouble on its hands and that it's President. by throw ing upon Congress the question of Ca | nadian reciprocity has made a movement in the direction of whosale tariff revision. | Reciprocity with Canada and general tar | If revision are held to be nseparable | In congressional opinion. and while the President may accomplish his purpose, he has few friends in either Senate or House who would today risk prediction of success While there. was here and there a word of republican praise for the action of the President, the com ment Is generally hostile Even those re- publican members who ordinarily blindly follow the President. made known their opposition in comments of this nature | If reciprocity with Canada, why not Mexico? and then, why not Germany, France. Russia? Of course, If the Presi- dent wants 1t I'm with him, but" Congress adjourns five weeks from to- morrow. All during the session there has been condition of that legislative lnaction laid out by Senator Aldrich and Sneaker Cannon at the beginning of the l session when the WOTu WeHl out tfldt nothing of importance other than the ap- propriation bills could get through. Even the big supply measures are further be- hind than they usually are at this stage of the calendar Numerous special meas ures which would ordinarily provoke pro- longed debate are pending. Now comes Canadian reciprocity which would drag in tariff discussion as thorough as that in which Congress usually indulges it. self when 1t meets to frame tariff bill.
 It developed today that the President last night had talk with two or three republican senators over the political out look.
 | Taft Is Indifferent
 One of them in discussing the confer ence today. said he was struck by the fact that the President did not seem to care whether he obtained a renomination for the presidency or not. 'The Presi- dent, of oourse, added the senator would like to feel that he Is indorsed by Fhis party, but am distinctly of the opin- ion that he is doing little more for him. self than waiting for it to come to him. ' The member quoted went on to say that the President did not attach any import
 lCONTINUED ON PAGE 1O)