Evening star., 1922-12-01

he stated, with an emphatic sweep OF
the arm. that l would not accept the
speakership or the leadership II 1t
were brought to me on a gold plat
ter"
May we print that?" a reporter
asked.
Yes, and hope you WILL" Mr..
Mann replied.
In few hours the news had
reached all members. old and new: 1t
settled then and there, and settled
definitely, the moot question as to
whether the veteran legislator from
first came to the House in 1897, could
be dragged into another fight. More
over, 1T cleared the party atmosphere.
for opinion was freely held that il
Mann set out for one OF the high
House positions II would require
powerful effort to beat him.
Sacrificed Health for Work.
Like many others who had gone be-
fore him. Mann paid dearly for his
work. for during his service as mi
nority leader. while Champ Clark was
Speaker Of the House. his strength
failed him. He had attempted too
much. Stricken in body, he was
forced to leave, and for months he
lay ILL.,
1t has been said that his recovery
would have been speedy. except that
he could not keep his mind off his
work. But. finally. he returned. ap-
parentiy In good health. and jumped
again into the thick Of the fray. His
intimate friends have said. however.
that the long, severe strain. culminat-
ing In his illness. sapped mis- strength
have been willing to admit In later
years he worked less arduously, but
the thing was In him and he sIaved
because he loved 1t.
Only three members of the Sixty
seventh Congress had served longer
than Mann. Cannon and Gillett top
ped him. and so did Henry Allen Coop
er of Wisconsin. though Cooper's
fourteen terms were not continuous
Mann came before the Spanish war
and stayed.
Mann's ability is best summed up.
perhaps. In this brief sentence by Rep
resentative Mondell. who succeeded
him as republican leader:
Mann was like a general who uses
MS iorces in mass attack. but he went
tage OF any break"
Superior Parliamentarian.
From the standpoint Of knowledge
OF House rules and his ability to util-
ize them to the best advantage In a
parliamentary tangle or debate, Mann,
according to members who served long
with him. was undoubtedly the ablest
member of the House in a generation.
He had held front rank for years as a
parliamentarian. but he was always
alert. forceful and effective either in
defense or attack. Indeed. he could
tight as hard as either side.
HIS knowledge of legislation, pub
lic and private. often was astounding
to his colleagues. Amy kind Of bill
might bob up at any time, but Mann
seemed to know more about it than
the man who wrote 1t or the chair
man OF the committee which reported
IT. A sort of legislation wizard.
Mann. the free lance. was classed as
a member Of every committee, when
In fact he was not member. But
he studied every bill. He knew what
1t sought. what 1t meant. Time and
again he would take some founder
ing committee chairman In hand and
help him out or with a few harsh
words that cut to the bone. tear and
rip the bill to pieces. cause its rout
and send the man handling it away,
with checks burning
Victor Berger once told Mann that
he spent too much time picking up
pins.
Well. maybe So" the veteran re-
piled. with his characteristic grin,
out somebody must watch these in
nocent little bills. Somebody in the
House must make himself thoroughly
dtSlIked by picking up pin and
sticking it in hundreds of bills carry
ing funds the government of the
United States ought never to be
called upon to pay"
Friend of Farmer.
Born on a farm. Mann always be-
lieved in the farmer. He Was not a
bloc member. but his influence for
farm legislation was greater. perhaps.
than If he had been identified with
any paticular group. He was grad
uated from the University of Illinois
in 1876; he earned his degree as
lawyer practiced for some years, and
for a year or two was a member Of the
Chicago board OF aldermen. For four
years he was master OF chanccry Of
the superior court Of Cook county
After his election to the House in
1897 he jumped into his work and
never deserted 1t. His only other
thought aside from his home, was his
raised and canned with his own hands
fruits and vegetables. With Congress
in recess Mann spent his summers
there. plucking and trimming a multi
tude Of plants. No expert from the
government could go to Congress and
hope to tell it more about flowers than
Mann knew. And that same intimate
knowledge of the flowers that
bloomed and made fragrant the air
every branch of the government serv-
Ice.
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