Evening star., 1927-05-26
MEMOIRS OF UNCLE JOE CANNON
As Told l. WHITE BUSBEY His Confidential Secretary for
CHAPTER XIV.

w VOW did you first get elected
ss$S::: I: S::", S;"s''.''. .a,'ss asked Mr..
through" he replied. He
carried Illinois by $4,000, and / went
| in with the tide. Or perhaps it would
be better to say that the victory of
that year. 1872, was due to the COM
mon sense of the American people,
their revulsion against insurgents and
reformers and progressives, and their
dislike for seeing mud thrown at a
President. That is lesson which
does not yet seem to have been
learned.
"All the isms were let loose that
wear Most of the highbrows in the
Republican party left it TO form a
third party of the truly good. This
| party nominated Horace Greeley; the
! Democrats indorsed him, and the cam
| paign was made by mudslingng
against President Grant and pretty
nearly everybody else in high office.
The voters suffered silently until
election day and then reelected Grant
by the largest majority ever given to
a President up to that time. The
| Liberal party went on the rocks and
broke up. 1t was the greatest tiasco
Friend Tells Story.
"In that campaign I was political
accident. The leading candidates for
the congressional nomination were
H. p H. Bromwell and Col. Jesse
Moore AS for how / got the nomina-
ton. l had better let my old friend,
Lucian Dunbar of Sterling. tell that
story for me. He was a delegate to
q
wrote me letter about it. and here
it is. You can copy it." And Uncle
Joe handed it over:
Dear Old.Time Friend:
Your announcement that you will
retire from Congress has forcibly re-
minded me of your first nomination.
Vividly do I recall the talks and bal
loting at Talona. At that time | was
living at Charleston and, although but
80 years old, was one of the seven
delegates from Coles County.
After having been placed in nomi
nation the talks Of the candidates.
II. r. H. Bromwell. Jesse Moore and
yourself were about like this:
Mr.. Bromwell said he had served
one term in Congress, during which
time he had lost a lucrative law prac-
tice which he had about regained dur
only sought the nomination at the
solicitation of friends: in fact, rather
preferred to remain at home in the
practice of law, but if the convention
etc, etc, etc.
Speech of Cannon.
Then came Jesse Moore of Macon,
a presiding elder of the M. Z. Church,
who had served one term in Congress,
hut hi n
wanted to stay at home TO work for
Christ and his church. but would ac-
cept the nomination If, etc, etc.
Then came your respected SELF who
said
Boys, you have listened to my good
friend, Mr.. Bromwell, and my beloved |
brother, Jesse Moore. You see that |
neither of them really want the NOM |
ination, but, by God, ] want it, and |
l want it damned bad, too, etc"
Well, you will remember the many |
ballots. the final withdrawal of Mr.. |
Bromwell and your nomination with |
the aid of the Coles County delega- |
tion and it is matter of pride to me |
that l had the honor to cast my vote |
for you at that time. I know of no |
other man living who was a delegate |
to that convention.
Fight Bitterly Contested.
"Still," went on Uncle Joe, Il don't |
suppose that burst of frankness got |
me the nomination. for the convention |
stayed in session three days and the |
fight was bitterly contested. Finally |
Bromwell. to beat Moore, threw his |
votes to me and l was the candidate. |
] was just an accident, but the acci. |
dent went on repeating itself every
two years after 1872, and except on
two occasions I was always elected. i,
/ came to Congress when we were in |
the throes of reconstruction from the |
Civil War. 1 go out of Congress while |
the Nation is confronting great prob |
lens left to it by the greatset foreign |
war ever known. Between these two |
tragic periods of history we have made |
greater progress and had greater pros |
perity than was ever recorded In a like |
period here or anywhere else in the |
world / am thankful to have had a |
modest part in legislation which l be- |