AMERICA'S EX-SPEAKER.

Auckland Star, Volume 304, Issue 304, 23 December 1926, Page 11

AMERICA'S EX-SPEAKER.

UNCLE JOE CANNON. AMUSING ANECDOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15. The passing of "Uncle" Joe Cannon, America's ex-Speaker of Congress, has recalled a fund of amusing anecdotes. Never did Uncle Joe Cannon fail of a full audience when he spoke. And Uncle Joe, with his ever-present cigar tilted upward toward the brim oi his hat, his liery, rough-and-tumble manner of speaking (Cannon never considered himself an orator, but always drove home his point), his love of "raising the tariff schedules in the afternoon and the ante" at his pet diversion, poker, at night, still jield sway as one of the best known figures in Press columns. Jannon never prepared a speech. He never denied a Press story written about him, however far from the truth it might be. He loved children. He was ! known among his fellows as a twofisted fighter, never hesitating to use ' lurid words or sarcasm against a foe, j being hated by his fellow Congressmen | in the chaii but loved in the lobby. He Liked the Bumps. It was at the very close of his political career that the man who bad been a contemporary of Lincoln, Grant, Cleveland, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Harding in the political arena explained the keynote characteristic of his Scotch-Irish Presbyterian inheritance which had brought him to the forefront of his nation:— "I don't like soft seats," he declared. "I like the bumps, even at 87 years. They remind mc of life." "Watch Dog of the Treasury," "The Dancing Dervish of Danville," "Czar," "The Iron Duke of American Politics". and "Uncle Joe" were the favourite soubriquets applied to him by the Press and the House members. Hooked by Book Agent. Soon after his election to the Speakership Uncle Joe was inveigled into purchasing a set of books on the instalment plan. Discovering that he had been "hooked" he wrote a cheque for the full amount and sent it to the publish-, ing company with the following note:— "This cheque is in full payment, both legal and moral, for sixty volumes of books called for in the contract. The books are not worth a damn, and are high at that. We are never too old to learn, but the way your gentlemanly agent pul it over your Uncle Joseph is worth the cheque." Pressed by friends to prepare a brief autobiography, Uncle Joe wrote:— "Mr. Cannon was born of God-fearing and man-loving parents. He is a selfmade man and did a poor job of it." Tells Story oh Himself. ' * Cannon loved to tell a good story on himself, and was particularly fond of one yarn which he frequently told to illustrate how his pre-occupation in other matters accounted for a characteristic disregard of personal appearance and little details of dress. A messenger called Uncle Joe's attention to the fact that be had come to tbe Capitol without a necktie and was sent out to purchase one. When the messenger returned, Uncle Joe took off his collar, so as to adjust the tie. And then it was discovered that Mr. Cannon had put on two collars, which explained his having neglected the tie. Uncle Joe's forthright manner of expressing his feeling got him in bad on more than one occasion. Once, while walking home from a dinner party at the residence of a distinguished statesman, Uncle Joe discussed the host and hostess with other guests in the group, contrasting the vivacious and sparkling nature of the hostess with the icy mien of the host. "Well, boys," said Uncle Joe, "looking that team over, I should say that the mare was a better animal than the horse." The remark was carried back to the hostess and Cannon was never forgiven. Uncle Joe told a Canadian newspaper correspondent once that he did not remain in public life because he enjoyed it but rather because be simply refused to quit under fire. "Yes, my Canadian brother," said Uncle Joe, "people say I break the Ten Commandments, all of them. But I don't—at least not often. The truth is there is too much Irish in me—damned Irish at that—to quit under fire." Cow Kicked, Pig Loved Him. On another occasion Uncle Joe admitted that he was not a practical farmer. "WSen I was first married my good Quaker mother said to mc, "_STow, son" Joseph, thou hast taken to thee a wife. Get thee a cow, a hive of bees and a pig.' Well, I got them. When I went to milk the cow she kicked mc; when I went to the beehive for honey, the bees stung mc. But that pig—he was so loving and gentle that when he finally got fat I was so devoted to him that I hadn't the heart to stick him." Travelling through the South a number of years ago, Uncle Joe, occupying a lower berth, snored so loudly that a newly-married couple in the upper birth complained to the trainmen. Identified as the Speaker of the House, Cannon was subjected to considerable joshing by his fellow passengers. "I don't know whether I snored or not," insisted Cannon. "I don't lie awake nights to find out whether I snore in my sleep."