The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-06
Feature of Day Was Maiden Speech of Former Speak
 CT Joseph G. Cannon
SHARP POLITICAL
 BATTLE IS WAGED
Uncle Joe Says the Speaker Is No Longer a Tyrant and That He Never Felt Less Like
 Dying

| Washington, April Both houses oi Congress listened today to President Tafts brief message urging the adop- tion of the reciprocity agreement with Canada.
 Then, with the Senate adjourned, the democratic House proceeded further with its organization by adopting a new set of rules.
 1 To great extent the new rules are a repetition of those that have been handed down by many Congresses In lthe past The democrats claim that their greatest reform is taking away from the speaker his power to appoint committees and to designate the chair man of each committee. The new rules provide for the election of committees and their chairmen.
 The second reform is return to the former democratic practice of permit lting Legislation on appropriation bills when the legislation tends to reduce the Expenditures of the government.
 The democratic rules continue "cal- endar Wednesday" and the unanimous consent calendar and seek to perfect the rule for the discharge of commit tees. This latter rule, the democrats declare. effectively does away with the former practice of stifling Legislation lin committees
 A special order passed by the demo- crats and limiting debate on the rules to four hours, immediately brought out a cry of gag" from the republicans The speeches which followed were all more or less of a political nature and there was no serious fight on the rules themselves. The republicans claimed they were debarred from making such a fight because of the further provision of the special order that only one sub set of rules could be offered by the minority. Not even a roll call was de- manded by the republicans on the adoption of the rule.
 Battle Only a Foretaste
 The political battle which was going on for four hours was but a foretaste Iof others to come during the sessior | and which are expected to make tht Ipresent Congress notable Representa- tive Mann, the republican leader, wal lably seconded by former Speaker Can non and Representatives Dalzell ant lOlmsted with one or two republican in lsurgents thrown in for good measure lThe latter assisted their brothers o1 the minority by protesting against the action of the democrats in adopting the ''tyrannical" methods of the former majority in cutting off debate and the Opportunity for amendment.
 Mr. Mann charged the democrats with insincerity in much they said ir praise of the rules and declared they had no purpose to take away from them selves, as a majority, the right tc control legislation. He characterized the rule for the discharge of commit tees as "an utter absurdity. not to say idlocy"
 Chairman Henry of the new rules committee retorted that the rules thus | characterized had called out the most doleful speech from MT. Mann he had ever heard that gentleman make. MT Henry further said that the fault the American people had found in the past was not so much with the House rules as the bad administration of those rules.
 Mr. Cannons speech was easily the feature. He was greeted with applause from both parties when he arose to make his maiden address of the ses. sion.
 Cannon Speaks
 l T want to say here now" he de. clared that substantially the rules pro posed by this legislation are an h. dorsement of nearly all that Is good in the rules that have evolved since the adoption of the constitution, and therefore l am not going to crticise the rules merely because the majority of the House proposes to adopt them Sometimes majorities and minorities tear passion to tatters and appeal from
 the standpoint of demagoguery and clap trap to people that would not r,,1A of tl.~ met them in the middle of street
 T have lad a good deal to do with rules during my legislative life. I re- | ported as member of the committe ee on rules in the Fifty first Congress what was then known by an almost unanimous press and by violent mi | nority as the infamous Reed rule That code was thrown open to amend ment with two days general debate and with the most perfect freedom of amendment. And at that time the re- | publicans had a majority of i've You now have a majority of 63. I submit to you that as you are now Hopping your wings together on that side and have complete harmony and solidarity that. perchance. you might, from the | standpoint of propriety, give the mi | nority a chance to offer amendments to the rules
 And it is now said that we have an unanimous calendar I am glad we have. Along with that Is the saying in the language of the distinguishe ed | gentleman from Kansas (Mr Murdock and the universal representation of the uplift ma agazines. that 1t Is no longer necessary to crawl upon your knees l hat in hand, to ask the speaker fol recognition for unanimous consent No. no; the speaker is a member O, l the House I am member of the l ..1 -1s l than do now. When the unanimous consent calendar Is called, if my judg- ment prompts me to object to the con | sideration of a bill no doubt the man l in charge of that bill will, fguratively l come on his hands and knees with hat l in hand, even the gentleman from Kan sas (Mr Murdock) trying to convince | his co-members on the floor that the consideration of the bill ought not to be objected to-"
 Offers Criticism
 l MT. Cannon sharply criticised the rules | for not permitting the discharge of the rules committee itself and declared that | Gear Henry would be no more or less a "Czar' than was the former speaker l Mir. Cannon also complained that nc method was provided for the socialist | minority from Wisconsin,, or "any othe, | gentleman with a wild-eyed or sensible proposition to obtain the discharge oi a committee
 | The Senate session lasted only 25 min- utes. The Senate will continue to mark | |- '- II