The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-16
Country's Foremost States
men Present at Banquet
in Honor of Retirement
of Former Speaker
EVENING RIFE WITH
CLEVER SKITS AND
MANY TRIBUTES
Dinner One of Most Notable Events
Ever Given in Washington--New
paper Men Add to Merri-
ment-Oscar Underwood
Among the Speakers

Washington. February f5.-President
Taft. cabinet officials. Chief Justice
White. members of both houses of Con-
gress, past present and prospective,
and a host of other political and per-
sonal friends of Representative Joseph
G. Cannon OF Illinois. former speaker
of the House. featured the programme
and guest list of the farewell dinner
to him tonight.
Plans had been made for approxi-
mately 500 guests. 1t was q feast of
fun and a tribute OF affection. The
progr mme abounded with novel fea-
turesJ lerrily announced by the toast
master Representative j. Hampton
Moore of Pennsylvania. The dinner was
the elimination of plans laid many
weeks ago to make 1t one of the most
notable banquets ever given in WASH
ington.
The scheduled speakers included the
President, Chief Justice White, Speak
er Clark, Representative Underwood
of Alabama, the democratic leader of
the House: Secretary Nagei, Postmast-
er General Hitchcock Senators Root
of New York. Williams OF Mississippi,
Penrose of Pennsylvania Representa-
tives Mccall OF Massachusetts. McIlin-
ley OF Illinois, Former Secretary of the
Navy Hilary A. Herbert, former Rep
resentative Tawney OF Minnesota and
Grosvenor Of Ohio. Senator elect James
and the former speaker.
Tribute to "Uncle Joe"
When the guests assembled they
found at each plate a souvenir pro-
gramme with a poetcal tribute un-
signed but written by Representative
Moore.
1t read.
The storms may come, the winds
may blow, the saplings and the pines
may fall; but tempered to the sun
and the snow. the sturdy oak survives
them all And so in legislative halls.
where men and measures come and
go ON fame's enduring record calls,
the honor rests with Uncle Joe"
on the reverse beneath the curling
smoke of a pictured cigar ran this
quantrain:
"You may break, you may shatter the
rules If you will; but the Cannon aroma
viii hang to them still"
A slSit burlesquing members OF the
House from the viewpoint of the press
gallery was contributed by the newspaper
men at the capitol who attended almost
In a body. In this stunt a cub reporter
asked a variety of questions regarding the
personalities of statesmen and near
statesmen, and the replies he received
fion the six correspondents who Joined
W it'll him I'm the cast were hits on the
whims and ideas of various public men.
who's that fellow down there that
looks like Alexander Hamilton?" asked
the cub.
That's jeff Levy. He just hooked his
$50 600 overcoat to Martin Littleton to lift
the mortgage on Monticello" was the re-
ply.
And so the skit proceeded with f. c.
Snyder In the role of reporter and -. b.
Clark, r. II. Patchin, George Miller. Os-
wald f. Schuette. Gus j. Karger and
Theodore Tiller as the correspondents
Other Features
Other features of the banquet pro-
gramme were moving pictures of "the
seven ages of Cannon presented by
Henry l.. West, a former reporter and
for some years a District of Columbia
commissioner; lightning cartoon exposi-
tions by Clifford X. Bergman OF WASH
ington, and C. b. McCauley of New York /:
a parody. When the Gnu chu Leaves
for Illinois," by III. c. Stevens, a news
paper correspondent: presentation OF a
bust OF Mr.. Cannon as the gift to him Of
colleagues In the House with Representa-
tive Bartholdt of Missouri as their spokes-
man; songs by the Gridiron Club quartet
and "the watermillon song by Maj. A.
j. Stofer.
Mr.. Cannons speech in acknowledge
ment of the farewell tribute was reserved
until almost midnight.