The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-02-04
ative Hopper of Congress,



BY United Press wire
Washington, Feb. 3.--Who Is THE
Queen of England" THE Govern
ment Of the United States" HIS
Majesty. the Head of the Govern
ment" and "Uncle Joe" al, rolled into
one?
A highly Intelligent corps of post
office clerks In Washington have al
ready found that rare mbmation in
the person of Joseph Gurney Cannon,
speaker Of the house of representa-
tlves.
Cannon is known far and wide as
"Uncle Joe" the Iron Duke Of
American Politics" the Gear of the
House" and. perhaps, owing To- in
surgents. by some other rather more
opprobrious nicknames but the gov.
ernment. through the postonice de-
partment, apparently gives substln.
tiation to the complaint of insurgents
that Uncle Joe" Is the main works
in the machinery of government.
Probably no man in official WASH
ington receives as many peculiar
epistles AZ the speaker. Cranks all
over the country seem to single him
out as correspondent. Within the
past month Uncle Joe" has received
. letter advising him than he is heir
TO a fortune running into millions
(purely mythcaD a letter purporting
to have been written by q PATRIOTS
American girl, warning against Jap
anese spies; night-letter of about
ESQ words. demanding abolition OF
the United States senate: and let
ter addressed to THE Queen Of Eng
land" demanding protection agains,
spooks.
Reams of poetry deluge the speak.
er's mail. Geniuses with reform
schemes write him y-paged com
munications: inventors ask aid: beg
gars pray for assistance; the army
of the jobless demand places on the
payroll; enthusiastic Republicans
write To congratulate or condemn bis
Views, and finally plain cranks sub
pit all their grievances to him.
- Most -0f this sort Of mail matter
never reaches the speaker. 1t is con-
signed TO the wastebasket by L.
White Busbey. Uncle Joe's secretary
Occasiopally. however, some partic-
ular unique communication reaches
the speakers desk, and. like as not,
the Iron Duke of American Politics
writes a letter I'm reply.
II seems to be the rule in the
Washington postoffice that when a
letter is received addressed 10 some
power who doesn't exist. it is referred
to the speaker.
Washington. Fen. 3.-An immedi-
ate result of bin by Representative
Gill. Democrat. of Maryland, FOR the
purchase of an oil portrait of George
Washington for $4,000. by the gov
eminent, was the discovery by Con.
gressmen today that there was con.
siderable crop Of Washington por-
traits by Peale. They found that on,
of them. a duplicate of the portraii
OF which Gill advised the purchase
except in one point OF minor dif
ference, has adorned the senate wins
OF the capitol for nearly twenty years
The difference Is that in the senat,
picture Uncle George wears epaulet'
while in the other his shoulders are
upadorned.
The senate picture Is life size anC
shows George Washington when III
was forty-siX years old. He stands
in careless pose. his left hand resting
on some indistnct object which
might be rock and on which his
cloak Is draped His right hand Is
placed on the hip and his legs ar,
crossed. He wears knee breeches and
black silk stockings His face I.
strong and ruddY less broad an,
wholly unlike the countenance O
the father of his country that beam
benevolently from the Autographs OF
Washington's birthday. It looks like
the portrait of man who might own
a string Of race horses and have al
interest I'm the good things Of life.
Gills bill proposes the purchase o.
a Baltimore owned version Of Pealei
Washington. IL Is set forth in the