New Britain herald., 1926-11-12
UNCLE JOE DEAD
 AT AGE OF %
(Continued From First Page)

lnceSSant smoker
 Uncle Joe" smoked necessarily, a cigar titled sharply upward to- ward his hat brim. and cartoonists never failed to draw him that way. When he celebrated his S5th birth day on May 2. 1921, President Harding sent box of cigars and a letter telling him that if they were not to his liking to come down to the White House and pick out some thing else. But notwithstanding the sharp bite, Uncle Joe" bravely at- tackled them, declaring it was not right to look gift horse in the mouth when the gift horse was in the White House.
 He Always Smiled
 In the same way MT. Cannon al- ways smiled when reporters exag gerated stories about his swearing and gambling. Hampooned from one end of the country to the other, he merely shrugged his dropping shoul- ders and went back at night to the game. Raising the tariff in the afternoon and the ante at night" was one of his pet remarks, when asked how he killed time.
 Because he never rushed to deny remarks attributed to him, he be- came rich source for some report CTS to draw on for imaginary inter views. During the World war some body wrote that Mir. Cannon had said the army officers in Washing ton wore spurs to keep their feet from slipping off War department desks. Hundreds of officers were bitter in denouncing the former speaker, but he never denied it-he just smiled and gave his cigar Q different tilt. Of course he never said 1t. It was merely an illustration of how words were constantly put in his mouth.
 As speaker, Mir. Cannon knew how to control turbulent body. Holding the gavel in his left hand for he was left -handed-he gave the slab of his desk a glancing blow that sounded like a rifle shot, and brought unruly members to atten- tion. Curses frequently were flung at him as members surged out of the chamber, but invariably he smiled and smoothed the ruffled feelings of a member denied recog- hilton by handing him cigar. That was Cannon's way, and while they hated him in the chair, they loved him in the lobby.
 As chairman of the appropria- tons committee back in the days when there were no billion dollar budgets, Cannon fought eternally to hold down expenditures. He was the actual floor leader in all appropria- ton fights. Never preparing a speech, he stood in the center of a hostile body, sometimes speaking with the voice of child, sometimes screaming and biting off his words, often prancing up and down the center aisle, with his left arm way ing. And at the end when the rat tie of votes showed that he had won, the veteran danced up and down the floor and then retired to the cloak room to do a Highland fling.
 That was his style of debate. He never pretended to be an orator and he was not. Once as he was waltzing up and down the aisle. Speaker Reed, eyeing him closely. called out, sotto voce:
 Joe, you can't make this speech on mileage"
 In his latter years, "Pncle Joe" Capital, heard the whirr of many airplanes, and saw a flock of ma chimes overhead. It recalled his own part in aircraft development. Back In the days when Professor Langley was secretary of the Smith sonian Institution, he went before MT. Cannon's committee with an estimate of needs, Always modest, the professor was about ready to pick up his papers and leave when the chairman asked if that would be all.
 The Flying Machine
 Langley looked at the chairman and smile touched his lips.
 T would like to havetS1o, ,O0O for experimenting with a flying ma chine" he said.
 Cannon jumped half way out of his chair. He glarcd at Langley imagining he had lost his mind.
 Great Heavens" he shouted. "A flying machine to ride np in the air?"
 Langley told him it was exactly that. The committee reared. Being willing. however, to take gamblers chance, and impressed by LanGleS's sincereity, the chairman without a word 10 other members. approv q the expenditure, fought for if in the House and got it.
 And then, when the Langley fly ing ship fell into the Potomac river the newspapers attacked Uncle Joe" from Maine to the Pacific. He was cartooned as Mother Shipton riding through the air on a broom. But years later the Wright brothers took the old Langley ship from the National Museum and Mr. Cannon saw it fly ing over Washington.
 Never Summed Fiqht
 Tn those days he was all energy and never summed a fight He got his first notorietv. as he expressed it. during a clash years ago with Sunset Cox who was attacking the republican side. Cannon tried 10 break in for q word. hut at first Cox refused to yield. Finally Cox agreed.
 And for how long?" asked Speaker Blaine
 As long as the gentleman will keep his left hand in his pocket" Cox replied and Cannon took the floor. He had not been snoat'ng more than half a minute when tho left hand came sweepipe from the yot .a