Evening star., 1927-05-21
CHAPTER XX.

0RCMPAChhh' VINO p"l'eu
~ down the avalanche on
me in 1910. was some
~ what tinged with the vice
OF insurgency" said Uncle Joe years
nfterward when we were talking all
THIS ever. until he became an in
sergeat against insurgency. Conlical,
vonm sav. OF course, but no man is
more insistent on his rights than the
man who has no regard for the
lfehts OF the other fellow.
"ons of the most picturesque of
the insurgents was and still is Henry
Cooper of Wisconsin, he who made
that great speech against me on the
night of the revolution against
Cannonism. Cooper's most violent
outbreaks of insurgency were after
I became Speaker. but ] was not the
cause of his fall from grace. 1t
dates back a generation, to the time
when Reed was Speaker. and, as
usual. had its origin in trivial ana
personal matter. Cooper was q clever
man, good musician, convincing
talker and an amusing story teller,
hut he had little knowledge of legis.
lative machinery and apparently no
desire to learn. He was satisfied with
his way of doing things and was an
moved when everybody else did not
agree with him.
In Reeds speakership the chair
nanshp of the committee on rivers
and harbors became vacant. Cooper
was next in line for promotion and
expected 10 get the place. But Reed
left it TO the members of the com
,nittee to decide who their new chair
man should be, and they preferred
Theodore Burton of Ohio, afterward
Senator. Then and there Cooper be-
came an insurgent. We were always
told insurgency was a great moral
issue. IT was-the issue of one COM !
mittee craftsmanship. On such mo-
mentous questions does the fate of
parties hinge. Cooper will always be
an insurgent wherever he is. either in |
this life or the life to come, Imagine.
Most Picturesque Insurgent.
Thus the Speaker and | went on |
discussing the small things which /
created insurgents, until we came TO |
the most picturesque insurgent OF |
Murdock of Kansas. who |
finally insurged himself out of the |
Republican party. 1t was in the early |
COS l first met him, when he was the
base ball reporter on the Chicago
Inter Ocean, but he had an ambition
to do politics and got the assignment
to ioin Gov Mckinley in his campaign
fo,- collection in 1893
In less than a week Murdock was
back in Chicago. I took his place
on the Mckinley train and 'immedl-
ately found out why he left the job.
What has the Inter Ocean got against
me?" Mckinley demanded, hotly.
'"That red-headed base ball reporter
would have defeated me had he re-
NAMED through the campaign. He
wrote about the Governor of Ohio as
though he were Old Pop Anse, the
Chicago base ball champion, and you
had to, put politics into base ball
terms to make him understand"
I laughed at the future Presidents
for, as rule, he was very
careful about uttering any criticism
If newspaper correspondents. Ten
ears later l again met Murdock, this
ime in the Speakers room. He had
,een elected to the House as Re-
publican on the issue which of the .
,andidates with red hair had the
'eddest. On that burning issue he
won. 1t was a grotesque campaign. ,
and Murdoch got a good deal of pub
icity all over the country as the man
elected to Congress because he had red
nair.
Wanted Committee Berth.
He wanted a place on the post office
committee and asked me to get it for ,
him. I requested the Speaker to ap-
point him. Mr.. Cannon did not want
10, and when I renewed the subject,
ne outlined his position in words
which l am going to quote, because
hey shed flood of light on the prin-
,iples which guided him in his public
ife. Said Uncle Joe:
81 do not know Of a man I have
assigned to a committee simply be-
2ause he is my friend or because I
ike him. There is not an assignment
On this book for which 1 cannot give
4 public record and back my own rea.
son up with the reasons given by other
- asrrlrk