South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-12-01
REP. JAMES Mann
or ILLINOIS Is 4
PNEUMONIA VICTIM

CContnued from Page one)
sweep OF the arm. chat I would
not accept the speakership or the
leadership II IL were brougH 20 me
on a gold platter
May we print that" a reporter
asked.
Yes. and I hope you will" Mr..
Mann replied
Mann's Power Far-rcaching.
in a few hours the news had
/ reached all members old and new.
I II settled then and there. and set
I tied definitely, the moot question
as TO whether the veteran legislator
. from the second district OF Illinois
who arst came TO the house in 1897,
I could be dragged into another
+ fight. Moreover. Il cleared the
| party atmosphere, for opinion was
T freely held that II Mann set out for
one Of the high house positions. It
+ would require a powerful effort 10
I beat him.
Like many others who had gone
+ before him. Mann paid dearly for
7 his work, for during his service az
minority leader while Champ Clark
I was speaker OF the house. his
strength failed him. lie had at
/ tempted too mrch Stricken IN
body, he was forced 20 leave and
for months he lay H. 10 has been
said that his recovery would have
| been speedy except that he could
not keep his mind Off his work But
finally ne returned, apparently in
1 D 4 Int N
the thick OF the fray His intimate
I friends have said, however. that a
long and severe strain eliminating
Ia his illness sapped his strength
TO a greater degree than he might
I have been willing 90 admit
In later years he worked less
/ ardously, but the thing was I'm him
and ne shaved because ne loved II.
Only three members OF the sixty
seventh congress had served longer
I than Mann Cannon and Gillett
topped him. and so did Henry Allen
I Cooper Of Wisconsin, though Coon
I er's fourteen terms were not con-
/ tinuous Mann came before the
I Spanish war and stayed
/ Mann's ability is best summed up.
I Rep. Mondel, who succeeded him
as Republican leader:
Mann was like a general who
used his forces in mass attack. but
/ he went further and took the pre-
/ caution against any break,
Was "a Parliamentarian.
/ From the standpoint of knowledge
/ Of house rules and his ability to
/ utilize them TO the best advantage
/ in a parliamentary tangle or debate,
/ Mann. according TO members who
| served long with him. was undoubt-
! eddy the ablest member of the
/ house in a generation. lie had held
/ front rank for years as a parlimen-
/ tartan. but was always alert force
| full and effective either in defense
\ or attack. Indeed he could fight
as hard on either side.
His knowledge of legislation,
public or private. often was astound-
ing TO his colleagues. Any kind Of
I bill might bob up at any time.
/ but Mann seemed 10 know more
about it than the man who wrote
I it, or the chairman of the committee
I which reported il. a sort Of legis-
/ lative wizard. Mann. was ciassed as
a member OF every committee. when
\ i'm fact. he was not a member. But
/ he studied every bill. He knew
\ what il sought, what it meant. Time
and again he would take some
I flOundering committee chairman in
| hand and help him out, or with
I few harsh words that cut TO the
/ bone. tear and rip the bill 10 pieces.
cause its rout and send the man
I handling il away with cheeks
/ burning