The Sidney herald., 1957-11-28

6ASdt aLA A4oCo llilSSllG Ol ulS
Democratic party, has too much
wobble and not enough lift to
launch an American political
Sputnik, with or without dog,
but he does have sufficient velo-
city in his erratic rocket so that
he is more apt than not to hit
unattended victims, which in
this reference means his own par
tisan pals. When Paul aims him
self at a political target, his
Democratic cronies should lose no
time diving into bomb shelters.
The most recent example was
when this great unguided missile
was fired in the direction of Re-
publican Governor Aronson, Re-
publican legislators and the state
highway commission, the bullseye
pointed at being highway finan-
cling. What happened was that the
erratic p~rojectile swerved from
its course and landed smack in
the midst of Democrats who, be-
cause they could not impose their
will on the 1857 legislature, not
only prevented increase in high
way funds but reduced them.
When the lieutenant governor
means that, come January, the
gasoline tax will be cut back I'M
cent a gallon, he is indeed vulner-
able, along with his clique of
liberals" who in spite put a
crimp in the highway program.
Apparently these people now feel
a need for blaming someone else
for the situation they have brot
about.
/ don't know why anyone
should be disturbed by Paul Can
mons unpredictable and miscal-
culating blasts. He explodes SO
often that his detonations have
become commonplace. Rather,
they amuse me, for Paul is the
kind Of a politician who just can't
refrain from sounding off. l
doubt whether in his partisan
Nominations he takes himself
as seriously as some folks seem
to take him.
AS an individual Paul Cannon
is an affable fellow who at first
glance (but not at first hearing)
might be mistaken for a prosper
GUS and conservative Republican.
Paul is a merchant in Butte,
that citadel of Democratic strength
where at best a Republican has
no more than a long-odds chance
to be elected anything but Presi-
dent of the Chamber of Com
merce, Rotary club or cemetery
association.
When 1 first encountered this
genial gentleman some years ago,
Silver Bow county had sent him
over as a representative in the
legislature. Paul was not one of
those members who go through a
whole session hardly noticed. The
gentleman from Silver Bow, MI.
Cannon, was seer and he was
heard. He made political progress.
In 1948 he was elected lieutenant
governor. This made him presi-
dent of the senate-the umpire
calling the brawls and strikes,
and woe to any Republican on a
close play!
The relationship between Lieu
tenant Governor Cannon and
Democratic Governor John w.
Bonner was not entirely one of
amity, but l think it can be said
that Cannon did not upset the
Bonner applicant when the COVER
nor was out of the state.
On one occasion when Paul
was acting governor, in the
spring of 1852, the Milk river
went on a rampage and threaten
ed disaster to towns and farms
in the valley. In reaction. to this
crisis, Paul rushed up there and
figuratively, if not literally, dyked
the river with sandbags and by
inference rebuked the wild wat
ers.
In addition to exemplifying a
most commendable humanitarian
spirit, this should have been good
politics. The trouble was, how
ever, that when Paul Cannon ran
for congress that very year, he
was running in the first or west
ern district where the people of
the Milk river area could not
vote for him, the result being that
he barely lost the nomination to
Lee Metcalf who in turn barely
beat Wellington D. Rankin in the
finals.
Paul was out of political office
four years but not out of poll
tic. In 1856 he recaptured the
lieutenant-governorship. Now that
the Democratics have numerical
control of both houses of the leg
islative assembly, he is more in
the swim than he was during his
former term. He is a capable pre-
siding officer and rather accen-
yates the dignity of that august
body known as the senate. But
last winter President Cannon was
as much a part of the Democratic
liberal" pack as anyone, and If
some things have gone awry, he
he has a full share in the re-
sponsibility.
Not without justification in
practical politics, Paul Cannon
believes in pecking away at the
,nnoSition. getting them on the