The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-10
BY WATTERsoN sTEALEY

1 Washington. February 9.-tSpecial.1-In an attempt to hold up congressional re- apportionment, the Cannon organization in
 the House met with stinging defeat
 tonight The republican caucus bll pro- yiding for house of S91 members fell
 against the onslaught of democrats and
 republican insurgents and the house
 passed the 4S3 membership measure orig
 nally reported from the census commit 1 tee. Under it no state loses member.
 The admittance of New Mexico and Ari-
 zona by March 1. 1913, will make tn. total | House membership 435. There is every
 reason to believe that the reapportionnient
 bill passed tonight will go through the
 Senate as it has been the custom of that
 branch to accept the House verdict on
 this legislation, it being of nature
 more closely affecting the popular body.
 The test votes disclosed a democratic-
 insurgent combine with majorities run
 ming from 29l to 40. The overturn of the
 House organization on retirement is one
 of the hardest blows the machine has felt in Congress which becomes historic by it's indeuendence and rejection of thc tspeakershp dieta.
 The reverses Mir. Cannon has sustained in the several rules contests were caused
 by his abuse of the power conferrei tlpon | him by the House. The defeat today, I however, is defeat of a legislative
 policy ndorsed by caucus of the re-
 publican members of the House and 1t
 clearly demonstrates that the Cannon
 machine is down and out In fact, after the House adjourned tonight 1t was sen
 orally reported that the inability of the
 leaders to hold the republican member ship together is so obvious that t..e snip
 subsidy bill and other measures over which there Is any division will not be
 brought forward.
 The House by passing the 433 bi,' saved itself from occupying a dlsgracesul po- sition before the country. The advocates | of a S91 bill, led by the speaker were
 guided solely by partisan considerations | and an intention to rob the democrats or
 the fruits of victory gained last Novem- l Der.
 First, Representative Dwight, the re-
 publicai whip, persuaded the speaker 10 | go into the losing fight because the dem- | ocrats having carried the New York leg | islature. would have the power to correct
 the present republican gerrymander of the state. Dwight told the speaker that if | he could stave off reapportionment until next winter the republicans might carry | the lower body of the legislature in No- vember and hence could block the demo- 1 crats in their laudable efforts to fairly | redistrct the state. Dwight, who is one | of the few to remain loyal to the speaker, | was joined by other republicans whose | states had landed in the democratic col | umn with democratic legislatures and l governors.
 | Uncle Joe yielded to them, arrayed his | organization against his own census com | mittee and tonight received the rebuke | he deserved.
 | atat Waiting For Decision | Upon decision of the United States supreme court may depend the fate of the
 legislation now pending before Congress | to add S45. .000.000 to the pension bill of
 the government. The amount of the col lection under the corporation tax law l last year was $2I, 900 .O00 and this year will
 reach ssO,OOO GOO. The s27.0O0,000 already
 collected Is held in the treasury with a string attached to 1t. The government | will keep this money and use it If the su- | preme court fully sustains the constitu- | tionality of the corporation tax law. Dut | q decision of that court declaring the tax | to be unconstitutional would mean that | this S27,000,000 would have to be refunued
 to the corporations from which it was l collected.
 The elimination of this s27,o00.0O0 from | the treasury revenues would make a big | deficit in last years showing and the | elemination of the expected s57, ,000 600 will | leave an immense hole at the end of the | current fiscal year. With such deficit | it would be impossible to put through a | pension law adding from s4500 ,0O0 to $50- 0oO, 900 to the present annual sum of s153- | 0co,ooO for pensions.
 | The Sullivan bill for this enormous | Increase in pensions passed the house | some time ago and Is now before the | Senate pension committee. which will meet next Monday to take final action | on the matter. The supreme court now
 in recess is expected to hand down it's l decision in the corporation tax cases
 the following Monday. February 20. Should the law be sustained an ef- | foit will be made to rush through the pension bill. Should the corporation tax be held unconstitutional friends of the bill will hardly press 1t.
 | Extra Session Talk
 | Representative Tawney came to the | executive offices this morning but did | not see the President. As he was leaving he contributed his views to the extra session talk. He said the House
 would have to he reassembled unless
 the rules were suspended to allow the consideration of the appropriation bills vet to come. He said:
 "There is only one way the House can consider the appropriation bills mot yet passed That is by suspen- sion of the rules. It cannot be done
 under the rules as they are now con- -~-----~----------~~- ~-~-----~~------~~~----