ABSTRACT

A RHETORICAL STUDY OF THE APPROPRIATIONS SPEAKING OF
CLARENCE ANDREW CANNON IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, l923-l964

BY

William Measey Fulkerson, Jr.

This sTudy provides an hisTorical evaluaTion of The speaking of
Clarence Andrew Cannon in The House of RepresenTaTives. The primary
emphasis of The examinaTion lies in The analysis of AppropriaTion speech-
es, and on speeches by Cannon which mighT significanle aTTecT The appro-
priaTions for The hisToricaI period, and/or would affecT Cannon's appro-
priaTion phIIOSOphy.

ChapTer One explains The goals and meThodology of The sTudy.
ChapTer Two illusTraTes The maTerials which provided Cannon wiTh a back-
ground for public speaking and poliTics, and also describes Cannon's
meThods of speech preparaTion. ChapTers Three Through EighT deal wiTh
six specific speeches under six differenT PresidenTs.

Each chapTer begins wiTh a general seTTing of The period and Then
reIaTes The significanT iTems which mighT affecT The speaker, speech,
audience, and The occasion. The wriTing of The chapTers aTTemst To
creaTe a sense of The Times, and informs The reader abouT The hisTorical
occurrences which place The speech siTuaTion inTo perspecTive.

The chapTers (Three To EighT) analyze Cannon's speaking under Three
headings: logical analysis, emoTional analysis, and eThical analysis.
The speeches are described, analyzed, inTerpreTed and evaluaTed wiThin
The TexT of This Thesis: The acTual speeches follow The TexT. Finally,

The concluding chapTer makes an evaluaTion of Cannon's speaking and poinTs

William Measey Fulkerson, Jr.

ouT cerTain rheTorical principles employed by Cannon ThroughouT his
career.

The resuITs of This sTudy reveal Two major Things abouT The speaking
of Clarence Andrew Cannon. FirsT, his speaking as an experienced Chairman
of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee changed significanle from his early
Congressional speeches. Second, The change in his speaking demonsTraTed
The validiTy of a rheToricaI concepT which has received a greaT deal of
aTTenTion in recenT speech journals.

Cannon's early Congressional speaking was based on The use of
evidence and reasoning. These early speeches demonsTraTe careful prepara-
Tion and careful deploymenT oT argumenTaTive Techniques as The major
emphasis of his speaking. For proof he relied heavily upon TesTimony,
examples, sTaTisTics, and hisToricaI documenTaTion To supporT disjuncTive
and hypoTheTical syllogisms. He also employed several cause-effecT
relaTionships, analogies, and examples To arrive aT The conclusions.

Cannon's IaTer speeches depend almosT enTirely on his personal
experience as chairman of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee and as a Congress-
man. This sTudy illusTraTes The gradual change from a young Congressman
relying on someone else for evidence, To The maTure Congressman relying
on personal experiences. The sTudy also demonsTraTes several misTakes
in judgmenT and changes in Techniques during The growTh and maTuriTy of
The speaker.

The rheTorical concepT of gihgs received special aTTenTion in This
Theses. Since Cannon's early speeches depended on documenTed evidence and
reasoning, while his IaTer speeches depended on experience and posiTion,

The deveIOpmenT of eThos over This forTy-one year period was evidenT. By

William Measey Fulkerson, Jr.

developing careful, documenTed work, by being prepared To respond To his
colleagues' quesTions and argumenTs, Cannon was able To esTablish a
repuTaTion for accuracy and dependabiliTy. As he gained sTaTure in The
House he relied less frequenle on specific documenTs and more frequenle
on his personal experience and opinion. The sTudy demonsTraTes ThaT his
colleagues TrusTed him " . . . abouT Things in general, while on poinTs

u

ouTside The realm of exacT knowledge, where opinion is divided,

They TrusTed him absoluTely (Cooper's The RheToric 91 ArisToTle, p. 8).

 

A RHETORICAL STUDY OF THE APPROPRIATIONS
SPEAKING OF CLARENCE ANDREW CANNON IN
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, I923-I964

BY

William Measey Fulkerson, Jr.

A THESIS

SubmiTTed To
Michigan STaTe UniversiTy
in parTial fulfillmenT of The requiremenTs
for The degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DeparTmenT of Speech and TheaTre

I969

T CopyrighT by
WILLIAM MEASEY FULKERSON, JR.
1970

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This Thesis was accomplished because of The dedicaTion of Those
Teachers aT The B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. level. Of parTicular significance
are Those professors (oTher Than my commiTTee) aT Michigan STaTe Univer-
siTy who gave me encouragemenT and who spenT exTra Time relaTing Their
knowledge and personal experiences: Dr. Fred Alexander, Dr. Gordon Thomas,
Dr. William Lashbrook, and Dr. Jerry Anderson.

I am exTremely graTeful To my commiTTee for Their paTience and
Their promaness in reading my maTerials. Dr. David Ralph has provided
me wiTh excellenT guidance in The preparaTion and decision-making of The
Thesis maTeriaI. Dr. KenneTh Hance and Dr. Madison Kuhn have provided me
wiTh invaluable assisTance in suggesTing changes in wriTing, sTyle, and
maTerial for The Thesis. Dean Jack Bain has been gracious in Taking Time
off from his adminisTraTive duTies To assisT in The compleTion of This
projecT.

I owe a special debT of graTiTude To Mrs. Clarence Cannon for her
gracious leTTer allowing me To use her husband's papers. The WesTern
Manuscrist CollecTion sTaff aT The UniversiTy of Missouri was exTremely
cooperaTive, and The sTaff of The Truman Library also assiTed me in my

seanrch for Cannon maTerials.

I would like To Thank my wife and family for allowing me a shorT

Tenmner and for providing me The Time To finish This Thesis. I would also
like: To Thank The sTaff and sTudenTs aT Fresno STaTe College for providing

enCCNJragemenT and paTience.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. A STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC ADDRESS

MeThodology (2)--The Purpose of The STudy (5)--Sources (7)
JusTificaTion of The STudy (8)

CHAPTER II. BIOGRAPHY AND SPEECH PREPARATION . . . .
Speech PreparaTion (25)--Conclusion (34)
CHAPTER III. CANNON BEGINS WITH COOLIDGE: l922-I928

Logical Analysis (40)—-EmoTional Analysis (48)--EThicaI
Analysis (52)--Conclusion (56)

CHAPTER IV. CANNON AND HOOVER FACE THE DEPRESSION: I928-l932 .

Logical Analysis (6l)--EmoTional Analysis (66)--EThical
Analysis (69)--Conclusion (70)

CHAPTER V. ROOSEVELT AND RELIEF

Logical Analysis (75)--EmoTionaI Analysis (80)--EThical
Analysis (82)--Conclusion (84)

CHAPTER VI. THE TWO MISSOURIANS

Logical Analysis (88)--EmoTional Analysis (96)—-EThical
Analysis (98)--Conclusion (lOl)

CHAPTER VII. CANNON AND EISENHOWER

Logical Analysis (l05)--EmoTional Analysis (Ill)--EThicaI
Analysis (ll2)--Conclusion (Il4)

CHAPTER VIII. CANNON STALLS KENNEDY .

Logical Analysis (lI9)--EmoTional Analysis (I24)--EThical
Analysis (l29)--Conclusion (IBO)

C}V\PTER IX. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT CLARENCE CANNON .

Clannon as an AppropriaTor (l32)--Cannon's Use of The Modes

C>f Proof (l36)--Cannonls EffecTiveness (l38)--EvaluaTion (I42)

36

58

72

86

IO}

|I6

I32

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I47
APPENDIX A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I53
APPENDIX B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I66
APPENDIX C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I75
APPENDIX D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |8I
APPENDIX E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l98

APPENDIX F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

CHAPTER ONE

A STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC ADDRESS

Clarence Cannon, powerful poIiTicaI figure and grandfaTher, has
carved a firm niche for himself in our NaTion's hisTory. The
chroniclers of our Times musT give him Their aTTenTion, for he
was insTrumenTal in molding a responsible, responsive GovernmenT

To lead our NaTion in Times of peril and plenTy.

When a man can conTrol The expendiTures of a governmenT, and is
noT The PresidenT of The governmenT, Then ThaT man, and perhaps The
governmenT ThaT he is conTrolIing, should be invesTigaTed. There have
been several books and arTicles which have deaIT wiTh The power of The
SenaTe and House commiTTee sysTem. There have been debaTes abouT changing
The senioriTy sysTem, buT The soluTions have generally been diSnsgarded
or considered unwise. Clarence Cannon was one of The producTs of The
senioriTy sysTem; and Though he received adverse criTicism abouT his
leadership, aT leasT one member of Congress poinTed To Cannon's rise To

power wiTh pride. RepresenTaTive Ben F. Jensen of Iowa included in his

eulogy of Cannon an ediTorial from The Washianon Daily News.

 

The deaTh of Clarence Cannon plus The succession of George
H, Mahon offers The counTry a glimpse inTo how our GovernmenT works.
There is noThing secreT abouT iT. The glamour of The Presidency
simply disTracTs aTTenTion from a handful of powerful men in The
House of RepresenTaTives whose influence in Their chosen fields is
second only To ThaT of The man in The WhiTe House. Since They sTay
on, and on, while PresidenTs change, This influence even may be
greaTer.

 

IRepresenTaTive CIemenT J. Zablocki, Memorial Service Held Lg The
House_gi RepresenTaTives And SenaTe_Qi The UniTed STaTes, Toquher WiTh
Egmarks PresenTed lg Eulogy Oi Clarence Andrew Cannon (WashingTon, D.C.,

U.S. GovernmenT Office, I964), pp. ZOO-ZOI. CiTed hereafTer as Memorial
Services.

 

2
AppropriaTion IegislaTion musT originaTe in The House, hence

This commiTTee, and parTicularIy iTs chairman, may be said To hold

The GovernmenT's purse sTrings. Chairman Cannon foughT The spend-

ing Trend, working long hours aT iT. Overall iT was a losing fighT,

buT his sharp pencil saved billions?

Since The commiTTee sysTem does exisT and since Clarence Cannon
was head of This commiTTee on AppropriaTions for nineTeen years, if
would seem ThaT an invesTigaTion of his poliTicaI oraTory would be
inTeresTing and valuable. As Jensen poinTs ouT, "IT is noT likely ThaT
Congress will abandon iTs senioriTy sysTem any Time soon, parTicularly
noT so long as, even occasionally, iT produces men of The caliber of
Clarence Cannon.”5 Perhaps The analysis of Clarence Cannon's speeches

will aid in our efforT To undersTand our governmenT and The men ThaT

run iT.

MeThodology

 

The meThodology of This sTudy is hisToricaI and descripTive. IT is
an analysis of a conTemporary poliTical speaking problem. The subjecT
deals wiTh The developmenT of a man as he emerges on The poIiTical scene,
maTures, and passes from The America ThaT he aTTempTed To guard financial-
ly. This sTudy will reveal glimpses of The man in his accomplishmenTs as
a public speaker and public servanT, and iT will reveal his poliTical
philosophy Through his verbal acTiviTy. Clarence Cannon spenT more Time
as appropriaTions chairman Than mosT Congressmen spend in The House.

According To a press release in Columbia, Missouri: "Cannon . . . wenT

 

Zlbid., p. 234.

3Ibid.

3

on The AppropriaTions CommiTTee in l929. He was chairman longer Than

any oTher person in hisTory.”1 The Kansas CiTy STar indicaTed ThaT he

 

was " . . . chairman from I94I To I964, excepT during four years of
Republican conTrol of Congress."5 This lengTh of service cerTainly
gave him sufficienT Time To learn The workings of The commiTTee, and as
chairman he was required To defend The decisions which The commiTTee
made regarding UniTed STaTe expendiTures.

RepresenTaTive Cannon's main addresses deal wiTh The financial
problems of The UniTed STaTes Through The eyes of The appropriaTor. In
Mr. Cannon's case, The eyes are experienced and somewhaT widened by The
giganTic expendiTures of The Federal machine which conTrols our way of
life. According To one poliTical scienTisT, The members of The appro-
priaTions commiTTee felT ThaT There were Three major funcTions of Their
job. They were supposed To guard The Federal Treasury, cuT every budgeT
esTimaTe submiTTed, and serve The consTiTuencies To which They owed Their
elecTions.6 This sTudy will aTTempT To show The deveIOpmenT of The ideas
and The acTions of a man who spenT his life sTudying and jusTifying The
expenses of The IargesT global power. lT will reveal wheTher he is
Typical of The members of This large commiTTee, and his speaking will
demonsTraTe The work and decisions of The commiTTee ThaT he heads.

The main focus of This sTudy will fall on The AppropriaTions speech-

es ThaT Mr. Cannon presenTed To The UniTed STaTes Congress and To The

 

 

4Kirksville, (Missouri) Daily Express, December 23, |965.

5Kansas CiTy, (Missouri) STar, December 2|, I965.

 

6Richard F. Fenno, Jr., "The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee As A PoliTical
SySTem," New PerspecTives 9g The House_gi RepresenTaTives, ED. RoberT L.
Peabody and Nelson W. Posby (Chicago: Rand McNally, I963), pp. 82-83.

 

4

UniTed STaTes people. There is evidence ThaT The head of The Appropria-

Tions CommiTTee is an exTremely imporTanT power in The Federal govern-

menT. The Mexico, (Missouri) Ledger of July 6, I962, sTaTes an ediTorial

view of Cannon's posiTion as Head of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee.
Clarence Cannon, our Congressman, is one of The mosT powerful men
in The world.

And one of The besT.
His power comes from his chairmanship of The House Appropria—

Tions CommiTTee.

IT has been said ThaT nexT To The PresidenT, himself, The
chairman of The House AppropriaTions commiTTee is The mosT powerful
man in our governmenT.

RepresenTaTive RoberT L. F. Sikes of Florida noTed ThaT Cannon
was regarded as an influenTial man in The House. "Some called him The
mosT influenTial man in The House. CerTainly he was one of The mosT
powerful in This greaT body.”8 If RepresenTaTive Cannon is ThaT sTrong
or ThaT powerful in governmenT operaTion, Then The sTand which The Head
of The AppropriaTions commiTTee Takes on The budgeT and iTs expendiTure
would seem To be a viTal maTTer for The counTry and for The PresidenT of
The UniTed STaTes. The sTudy of The ApprOpriaTion speeches should provide
some imporTanT insighTs info The vasT expendiTures of This counTry. The
philosophy of The PresidenT and The Congress, on maTTers of spending,
should be evidenT by Their reacTions To The speeches of The Head of
AppropriaTions CommiTTee.

WiTh This raTionale in mind, The objecTive of This research will be

To uTilize The goals of rheTorical criTicism as AlberT J. CrofT ouTlined

Them;

H—‘

7EdiToriaI, "The Blessings of a Cannon," July 6, I962.

8Memorial Services, p. 66.

 

5

(I) To reporT and inTerpreT The manner in which a speaker's social
values have been relaTed To The social values of his audience in
The course of his rheTorical adapTaTion -- This is The hisToricaI
funcTion of criTicism; (2) To evaluaTe parTicular speeches and
speakers by esTimaTing The appropriaTeness and evaluaTing The
uniqueness of The idea -- adapTaTion in Them -- This is The eva-
luaTive funcTion of criTicism; (3) To re-examine, re-evaluaTe,

and if possible To modify conTemporary rheTorical Theory Through
The examinaTion of The adapTive processes in speeches -- This is
The creaTive funcTion of criTicism.9

From These Three criTerion The ensuing sTudy will examine The
speeches of Clarence Andrew Cannon as he spoke To Congress and To his
consTiTuency, wiTh a primary emphasis on Those addresses which reveal a

developmenT in his poIiTical or rheTorical Theory.

The Purpose f The STudy

 

The Thesis will be consTrucTed so ThaT ChapTer One explains The
arrangemenT and goals of The Thesis. ChapTer Two will be a biographical
sTudy, and an explanaTion of Cannon's speech preparaTion. ChapTers
Three Through EighT will conTain an analysis of six selecTed speeches
given by Cannon during six PresidenTial adminisTraTions: Coolidge,
Hoover, RoosevelT, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy. While Cannon spoke
during PresidenT Johnson's adminisTraTion, The speeches concerned The
budgeTs and programs of PresidenT Kennedy, and Cannon died before Johnson
was elecTed PresidenT.

ChapTer Nine will be a chapTer of conclusions, and finally, There
will be an Appendix, which will include The Tesz of The selecTed speeches.

The speeches have been selecTed from The Congressional Record on

 

9AlberT J. CrofT, "The FuncTions of RheTorical CriTicism," The
l3rovince of RheToric, ed. Joseph ScwarTz and John Rycenga (New York:
Ronafld Press Company, I965), p. 409.

6
The basis of The mosT represenTaTive addresses during each PresidenT's
adminisTraTion. The criTeria for selecTion were inTeresT, subjecT,
lengTh, and Cannon's uniqueness in rheTorical approach. Each chapTer
is based on The speech which besT represenTs The combinaTion of The
above criTeria.

Each chapTer sTarTs wiTh a general seTTing of The period and
relaTes The significanT iTems which mighT affecT The speaker, speech,
audience, and/or The occasion. The wriTing of The chapTers aTTemst To
creaTe a sense of The Times before The speech was given, and iT also
informs The reader abouT The hisTorical occurances which may help puT
The speech siTuaTion inTo perspecTive.

The chapTers Then analyze Cannon's speaking under Three headings:
logical analysis, emoTional analysis, and eThical analysis. Logical
analysis is an analysis of The evidence and reasoning ThaT was used in
The speech. EmoTionaI analysis concerns Those facTors which would
appeal To The emoTions of The audience or in some way affecT Them psycho-
logically. EThical analysis concerns Those facTors which affecT Cannon's
repuTaTion as he is speaking To The immediaTe audience and The effecT of
The speech on IaTer audiences. By using Those parTicular iTems, a definiTe
change and growTh is observable in Mr. Cannon's speaking. The developmenT
of The paper relaTes This change and reveals one of The rheToricaI values
in The disserTaTion.

The analyses were performed by consTrucTing rheTorical ouTlines
including Topical, logical, emoTional, eThical, and sTylisTic ouTlines.
From These ouTlines conclusions were drawn; and These conclusions were
supporTed by represenTaTive examples. The chapTers do noT include speci-

fic secTions on sTyle, arrangemenT, or delivery as separaTe variables

7

of The speaking process. CommenTs on arrangemenT, sTyle, and delivery
which help recreaTe The mood or The inTenT of The speaker are included
wiThin The chapTers, and in The final chapTer. This meThodology is used
because The emphasis of The sTudy is on Cannon's ideas, and The sTylisTic,
organizaTional, and delivery Techniques are covered under The Three con-
cest of invenTion (logical, emoTional, and eThical) used as The Tools

of analysis.

AT The end of each chapTer There is a secTion of conclusions which
are drawn from ThaT chapTer in an efforT To keep The speech and The
speaker in hisTorical perspecTive. This meThodology will help The
reader follow The Techniques of The speaker wiThin ThaT parT of his poli-
Tical career. The individual chapTer conclusions demonsTraTe any imme-
diaTe effecTiveness of The speech, if ThaT judgmenT is available. The
final chapTer aTTemst To draw general conclusions abouT The speaking
over The long span of Time ThaT RepresenTaTive Cannon served in Congress.
Therefore, The procedure of The sTudy is describing, analyzing, inTer-
preTing, and evaluaTing The meThodology of The speaker, The immediaTe

effecTs, and The long Term effecTs of Congressman Clarence Cannon.

Sources

The primary maTeriaI from Cannon's personal files consTiTuTed much
of The informaTion on speech preparaTion, and This maTerial reveals many
of his aTTiTudes Toward governmenTal policies and poliTics. IT was wiTh
IArs. Cannon's kind permission ThaT The files were opened. When The
maTerials were deposiTed aT The UniversiTy of Missouri, iT was wiTh The
sTipulaTion ThaT They were noT To be opened unTil Mrs. Cannon's deaTh,

0r fifTeen years from The daTe of The gifT, excepT wiTh her express

8

consenT, which she has graciously given. OTher maTerials come from
IeTTers and maTerials from Congressmen, oTher collecTions in The Uni-
versiTy of Missouri library, and newspaper arTicles concerning Congress-
man Cannon.

The oTher maTerials are primary accounTs of a less personal naTure.
The Congressional Record and The WashingTon, ST. Louis, and Kansas CiTy
newspapers are frequenle used. Various hisTory and poliTical science
Tesz, and periodicals are referred To in order To help recreaTe The

scene in which RepresenTaTive Cannon spoke.

JusTificaTion_gi The STudy

 

NoT many people know abouT The fiery Clarence Cannon, buT here is
a man who helped conTrol The purse sTrings of This naTion for over
ThirTy-four years. His speeches reflecT The naTure of our spending or
noT spending, and his sTubborn TenaciTy perplexed and embarassed more
Than one PresidenT. The speeches deal wiTh greaT changes in The American
policy of spending. The pockeTbook policy of The naTion can be viewed
Through The speeches of Cannon during periods of inflaTion and depression,
war and peace, silver and gold crises, hoT and cold conflicT, DemocraTic
and Republican adminisTraTions. He aided and defended, aTTacked an re-
pulsed governmenT expendiTures. His speaking porTrays a man of long Term
insighT and experience in governmenfal affairs. There have been no
sTudies on Clarence Cannon; no biOgraphies, noT a Thesis or disserTaTion,
and few arTicles oTher Than newspieces. This sTudy should give The
readers and criTics an unusual view of a powerful figure in a mixTure
of experiences and rapidly changing Times. IT is an opporTuniTy To see

The governmenT and iTs represenTaTives porTrayed Through public speaking.

 

9
The machinery of poliTics and The recording of The resulTanT policy
was viewed Through These selecTed speeches.

There is furTher jusTificaTion for The sTudy however. Too long
conTemporary speech criTicism has been ignored and underdeveloped. Some
lip service has been given To iTs value, buT liTTle progress has been
made for iTs uTilizaTion. The conTemporary sTudy is jusTified because
iT is an effecTive and useful way To geT experT analysis recorded. Even
Though The recorder may be bound by sociological conTexT, he is sTill The
besT qualified individual To analyze The speaker from ThaT sociological
viewpoinT. Why should The journalisT, The diarisT, and The parTicipanT
(speaker) be The only conTribuTing experTs on speaking? Why noT have The
speech criTic analyze The speaker as he sees him so ThaT IaTer wriTers can
make judgmenTs on The speech sTandards as well as provide valuable infor-
maTion abouT The speaker and The Times? There is noThing disTasTeful or
degrading abouT having revisionisTs rewriTe hisTory, especially if They
have new meThods and new informaTion. The socio-influence which surrounds
The wriTer and The speaking of The individual, when criTiqued by The pro-
fessional speech person, should help The IaTer analysT view The speaker
wiTh a wider and more valuable evaluaTion. Clarence Cannon is Too impor-
TanT, and his addresses deal wiTh Too viTal a subjecT, To IeT hisTory
waiT finy years for an analysis. The speeches in This paper are direchy
concerned wiTh The expendiTures of our currenT governmenT or in The deve-
lopmenT of The presenT spending policies. The imporTance of The moneTary
siTuaTion was emphasized by William McChesney MarTin, Jr., when he indica-
Ted ThaT The UniTed STaTes is in " . . . The worsT financial crisis we've

had since l93l."IO While our gold problem is consTanle flucTuaTing, and

 

IOU.S. News é World ReporT, April 29, I968, p. l9.

IO

There are various money problems, The sTudy of The appropriaTions
speeches and relaTed incidenTs should aid The readers in realizing whaT
The governmenT philosophy has been in The lasT forTy years.

A survey of Ph.D. sTudies in speech reveals a ToTal of forTy-Three
sTudies in The area of conTemporary public address. ”ConTemporary" is
being used as including speakers and movemenTs or organizaTions wiThin
The lasT TwenTy-five years. There were sevenTeen sTudies which deaIT
wiTh poliTicaI speakers: John F. Kennedy, Adlai STevenson, Lyndon B.
Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon have had more Than one sTudy done abcuT
Them: Alben Barkley, Paul Douglas, Birch Bayh, George Romney, Ralph McGill,
Barry GoldwaTer, Douglas Mac ArThur, William Z. FosTer, and Lyman Bryson
compleTe The lisT of speakers who deal wiTh popular and poliTicaI issues.

There were eighTeen sTudies on organizaTions, wiTh debaTes over
Supreme CourT decisions heading The lisT. Religious groups, parliamenTary
debaTes, Congressional debaTes and convenTion speaking were The subjecTs
of The oTher sTudies.

Finally, There were eighT sTudies on minisTers ranging from Two
sTudies on MarTin LuTher King To sTudies on Edward Earl Cleveland, George
Vandeman, FulTon J. Sheen, Gerald HamilTon Kennedy, Clarence Edward
McCarTney, and Paul E. Scherer.

Obviously, There is room for more sTudies of The poliTical and
religious naTure. The wriTing of These sTudies would help leave an
hisTorical and rheToricaI legacy of our schools and of our new criTics,
and by compleTing These sTudies, each wriTer should be beTTer equipped
To help form The rheTorical Theory of his Time. This is sufficienT
reason for viewing conTemporary figures, buT The imporTance of The posi-
Tion and The oral viewpoinT which he gives ThaT posiTion is jusTificaTion

for The sTudy of The Honorable Clarence Cannon.

CHAPTER TWO
BIOGRAPHY AND SPEECH PREPARATION

The chapTer on biography and speech preparaTion will concenTraTe
on describing The man, The man's ideas, and The preparaTion of Those
ideas for his public addresses. lniTially The chapTer will Try To
reveal The colorful characTerisTics of The Missouri RepresenTaTive,
followed by The evenTs which led him To his evenTual posiTion as
spokesman for The appropriaTions commiTTee. Finally, There will be a
descripTive secTion on his speech preparaTion.

. . . we shall miss his counsel, his candor and The courage

which he held sTeadfasle To his convicTions abouT whaT was

righT and besT for America.I

For all of The commenTs abouT his looks and his sTubbornness,
There is liTTle doubT ThaT Clarence Cannon was respecTed and admired
for his Tenacious abiliTy To fulfill his job wiTh a sTeadn unwavering
waTchfulness.

Cannon parTicipaTed in aT leasT Two vocaTions which would have
aTTracTed public noTice, and he was excellenle prepared for boTh
responsibiIiTies. ConvenTion delegaTes and Television audiences will

remember him as The parliamenTarian for The DemocraTic convenTion.

PeOple who are observanT abouT public affairs will remember him as

 

IMissouri HisTorical Review, V. LIX, (OcTober, I964), p. l4l.
A commenT by Lyndon Johnson in The obiTuary secTion of The magazine.

 

I2

The Head of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee and member of The House of
RepresenTaTives for TwenTy-one Terms from Missouri. The_§ggih.§ige
Observer in ST. Louis characTerizes The Two careers which kepT Cannon
in fronT of The public for This long period.

Millions of TV viewers of The DemocraTic NaTional
ConvenTion saw siTTing nexT To The convenTion chairman a sour,
TighT-lipped man whose face will long be remembered by The
audience, alThough few knew who he was and fewer knew his
anTecedenTs.

ThaT man of sour visage happens To be Clarence Cannon of
Elsberry, Missouri, who has served fourTeen Terms in Congress,
is chairman of The powerful House AppropriaTions CommiTTee and
probably knows more abouT governmenT fiscal policies Than any
man alive, and generally is regarded as one of The mosT power-
ful, able and valuable men in public life.2

Cannon was probably remembered by Television audiences and
colleagues because of his feaTures and his personaliTy. The newspapers
and magazines are filled wiTh descripTions of This Missouri Congressman.
His lengTh of service aided These descripTions and commenTs, and his
increasingly acTive role in governmenT broughT him exTra aTTenTion.

The SaTurday Evening PosT commenTs ThaT ”He has been a main prop in The
House scenery for so long ThaT iT has led To The waggish Theory ThaT he
musT have been creaTed on The House floor by an acT of Congress.”3
Newsweek depicTed his feaTures poignanle.

There was abouT him a quinTessenTial air of wry comedy,

a suggesTion ThaT he mighT, aT any momenT, sTarT reciTing The Mad

HaTTer's lines from Alice in Wonderland, or lay abouT him vig-

ourously wiTh an inflaTed rubber bladder. He reminded many of

a sorT of dehydraTed W. C. Fields, oThers of a Cruikshank draw-
ing from Dickens. He had a IighT-bulb for a nose, a Temper of

 

2SouTh Side Observer, ST. Louis, Missouri. This was an undaTed
clipping in The unsorTed files of The Cannon collecTion in The Missouri
UniversiTy Library. FourTeen Terms would make The daTe of The clipping
around l95l.

3P. F. Healy, ”Nobody Loves Clarence,” SaTurday Evening PosT,
V. CCXXII, (March 25, I950), p. 39.

 

l3

mercury fulminaTe, and a voice like Donald Duck's. To cerTain
of his colleagues (aT leasT Three of Them he aT differenT Times
had punched in The jaw), he was irascible, canTankerous, and
ornery. BuT behind The growl, and beneaTh The moTley face
naTure had ThrusT upon him was an incisive, sensiTive, and
dedicaTed public servanT.4

Time gives a picTure of The Congressman when iT describes his

feaTures and his dress as he appeared in Congress.

Millions remember him mosle from The Televised session of
DemocraTic ConvenTions. He was The hunched-one liTTle hobgoblin
who always seemed To be whispering parliamenTary advice info The
ear of PermanenT Chairman Sam Rayburn. He had a sploTch nose,
squinTy eyes and a mouTh ThaT always made if appear as Though
he had jusT eaTen a peck of green persimmons. He wore black
shoes, black socks, and a black Tie. He was grumpy as all geT-
ouT and he seemed To Take a perverse pride in being unpOpular.5

The SaTurday Evenigg PosT was more causTic in iTs commenTary as if

aTTempTed To classify Cannon as an ogre beyond all ogres.

looks.

He has The face of Grumpy, The WalT Disney dwarf, and a
disposiTion To maTch. His nose is long and bulbous, his eyes
small and shrewd, his mouTh pinched, his cheeks and brow deeply
furrowed. A slender man sligthy below medium heighT and Topped
by a swaTch of graying black hair, his lifelong working "Uniform”
has been a black suiT, black Tie and whiTe shirT. As he haunTs
The House corridors, his head held aT a pensive angle, his hands
ThrusT deep inTo his suiT-coaT pockeTs, and his face plunged
inTo saTurnine gloom, he could easily be misTaken for a frankly
unscrupulous underTaker or a professional mourner.

Cannon was aware of The remarks made abouT his personaliTy and his

One of his Missouri colleagues reporTs a reTorT by Cannon when

he was accused of being Two-faced by an opponenT. ”Don'T you Think if

I had Two faces I'd use The oTher one insTead of This one?"7

 

4”ExiT Clarence Cannon,” Newsweek, LVllI, (May 25, I964), p. 3I-32.

5”The Guardian,” Time, LXXXIII, (May 22, I964), P- 22'

6Healy,.gp. ciT., p. 38.

 

7Richard Bolling, House OuT.gi Order, (New York: E. P. DuTTon &
Company), I965, p. 90.

l4

His appearance probably caused him less Trouble Than his meThods
of defending his ideas. Being accused of being irascible and a penny-
pincher would seem To be a condemnaTion of a man, buT in Cannon's job
if was even more acuTe. He was consTanle assaulTed for his efforTs
To save The Taxpayers' money, and whaT could noT be blamed on TighT—
fisTedness was blamed on age. Newsweek in The arTicIe, "The Missourian
Who HaTes To Spend," Typifies The commenTs villifying whaT many Taxpayers
applauded.

Key man in The currenT Congressional economy wave is
RepresenTaTive Clarence Cannon, Terrible-Tempered Missouri
DemocraT who was firsT elecTed To The House in I923, has been
chairman of The powerful AppropriaTions CommiTTee since |94l
(excepT for The GOP conTrolled 8OTh and 83rd Congresses)

. . As a man who has dedicaTed his legislaTive life To
cuTTing The Federal budgeT, dour, 78-year old Cannon is almosT
The perfecT picTure of a penny pincher . . . . STernfaced
and bulbous of nose, Cannon has been likened To a man who
has jusT sniffed an overripe egg; he brings The same ouTIook
To governmenT efforTs To spend money . . . . DespiTe his
banTam size, he never hesiTaTed To fighT for economy even
wiTh his fisTs (in I950, colleagues had To separaTe Cannon
from Then SenaTor KenneTh McKellan in a squabble over a
money bill) . . . . Cannon usually has been forced To squirm
in frusTraTion while The House or SenaTe resTored his budgeT
cuTs . . . . BuT This year, he may geT his revenge.

ForTune magazine also quesTioned Cannon’s abiliTy To keep pace
wiTh his Congressional responsibiliTies and wiTh The special problems
of mainTaining The respecT and conTrol of The legislaTive problems.9

Keeping pace was noT The real issue in The above criTicisms or for
oTher aTTacks on Cannon and his Techniques. Even in IaTer years he was

funcTionally consisTenT, and he pursued The job as he felT ThaT iT

should be performed. Fenno indicaTes ThaT age was noT a jusTifiable

 

8"The Missourian Who HaTes To Spend," Newsweek, XLIX, (May l3,
I957), p. 34.

9"Has Congress Broken Down,” ForTune, (February, I952), p. 84.

l5

reason for The criTicism when he poinTs To Cannon's abiliTy To susTain
The pace.

For all of his forTy years in The House, however, Cannon had

been a fearless and independenT curmudgeon, and for mosT of

These years he freely and frequenle criTicized The SenaTe

for iTs appropriaTions behavior. Since Cannon was anyThing

buT senile in I962, The "ocTogenarian" explanaTion begs The

quesTion.

The criTicisms seem To sTem from The personaliTy and posiTion.
Every chairman makes enemies in his job. The picking and choosing of
individuals for commiTTee posiTions and The assessmenT of bills and
projecTs are bound To cause fricTion. BuT The job of The appropriaTions
commiTTee is excepTionally vulnerable To criTicism and enemy making
(especially To a man who is a conscienTious objecTor To whaT he consi-
dered unnecessary spending). Each peT projecT ThaT was rejecTed due
To Cannon's cuTs, each individual commiTTee which saw iTs plans
ThwarTed because of insufficienT funds or jusTificaTion looked for an
excuse and a vicTim. The logical "fall guy” was The appropriaTions
chairman, who was funcTioning as an execuTioner. ThaT is noT To say
ThaT Mr. Cannon aTTempTed To endear himself To oThers or To make The
axe any duller when iT fell. QuiTe To The conTrary, The axe fell when
There was ample jusTificaTion (as defined by The commiTTee or iTs
chairman), and in The case of an execuTion There was IiTTle recourse
in appeal or saTisfacTion for The acT. Cannon was a loner, he was

independenT, and he was powerful. He was deTermined To accomplish his

goals, and he would defend his ideas and ideals.

 

IORichard F. Fenno, Jr., The Power of The Purse, (BosTon: LiTTIe,

Brown and Company, I966), p. 637.

I6

In facT, Cannon would physically defend his views if necessary,
and on occasion iT seemed necessary in The House. AT The age of 54,
he engaged MilTon A. Romjue in a Tussle in The House of RepresenTaTives.
Mr. Romjue, also a DemocraT from Missouri, received a spliT lip and
was confined To his home, reporTedIy a resulT of influenza. Mr. Cannon,
unmarked, denied any alTercaTion.

In May of I945, RepresenTaTives Taber and Cannon parTicipaTed in
a scuffle in Cannon's office. The 65 year old Taber claims ThaT he held
The 66 year old Cannon down. IT should be noTed ThaT Cannon was un-
scafhed while Taber rushed from The room wiTh a badly spliT lip. BoTh
accused The oTher of some nasTy remarks.

AnoTher alTercaTion Took place beTween The 72 year old Cannon and
63 year old RepresenTaTive Phillips in l95l. All of The incidenTs made

The New York Times, buT The ForTune magazine describes Cannon's expla-

 

naTion of The I95I incidenT. ”I only acT in self-defense in such
maTTers."Il
All of These problems, accusaTions, and personaliTy conflicTs
would seem To deTer a man from accomplishing much as a leader of The
public, buT Cannon's perserverance and accomplishmenTs were above and
beyond aspiraTions of mosT men. Perhaps his canTankerousness came from
his ancesTors, among whom was James Cannon, a RevoluTionary war soldier
and KenTucky Indian fighTer.l2 Clarence's home was in The rough and

ready small communiTy of Elsberry, Missouri. Born To Rolfe and Ida

Cannon on April ll, l879, he spenT his youTh in a rural aTmosphere.

 

IIForTune,lgp. ciT., p. 84.

IZHealy,.gE. ciT., p. I34.

 

I7

AfTer compleTing his educaTion in Elsberry, he Then wenT To LaGrange
Junior College. He received a B.A. and an M.A. from William Jewell
College in I903 and I904. He sTudied law aT The UniversiTy of Missouri
from l904-l908 and TaughT hisTory aT STephens College in Columbia.'3
In I906 he married Ida Dawson WhiggingTon, who, according To The
SaTurday Evening PosT, was a wise ”invesTmenT.” 'WMTS. Cannon's gracious
charm is now considered one of The Congressman's mosT valuable poliTical
asseTs."'4

In I9Il, he became a confidenTial clerk To Champ Clark, Missouri's
famous Speaker of The House. During I9I6, he conTinued his hisToricaI
sTudies by wriTing down precedenTs and acTions in The House while
serving as The House ParliamenTarian.

Cannon's orderly mind had been fascinaTed by The rules ever

since he discovered ThaT House procedure differed from ordi-

nary parliamenTary law and ThaT Congressmen were wasTing aT

leasT a Third of The House's Time arguing in confusion over

The rules. Cannon began To wriTe down The gisT of each poinT

of procedure as he wenT along in a loose-leaf noTebook he

kepT behind The Speaker's desk. This so impressed Speaker

GilIeTTe, who headed The House when The Republicans Took over

in l9l9, ThaT he reappoinTed Cannon and The IaTTer became

The firsT House parliamenTarian To serve under boTh parTies.'5

While he was parliamenTarian he had esTablished such a repuTaTion

ThaT he became The parliamenTarian of The DemocraTic NaTional ConvenTions.

He compiled Cannon's PrecedenTs, a Twelve-volume hisTory of House

 

parliamenTary Tangles, and Cannon's Procedures described as a kind of

Emily PosT eTiqueTTe book for Congressmen.I6 Newsweek sTaTed, "AT 62

 

'3Missouri HisTorical Review, 9g. ciT., p. I40.

 

'4Healy,,gg. ciT., p. I34.

 

'5Ibid.

IGW. "EXIT,”QQ. ciT., p. 32.

I8

RepresenTaTive Cannon is The naTion's ouTsTanding auThoriTy on parliamen-
Tary procedure."l7
From a career as parliamenTarian Mr. Cannon became an elecTed

represenTaTive from Clark's ninTh disTricT, and he served longer Than
any oTher Missouri SenaTor or RepresenTaTive in Congress. His main con-
lTribuTion was in The area of ApprOpriaTions, where he had served as a
member of The commiTTee since I929. In l94l, Cannon was selecTed as The
head of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee by having his name drawn ouT of a
haT. RepresenTaTive ClifTon A. Woodrum of Virginia was appoinTed member
of The commiTTee aT The same Time as Cannon, and They boTh had been
elecTed and officially appoinTed aT The I923 session of Congress.'8
From This period Mr. Cannon esTablished his repuTaTion as an
economy-minded (excepT on farm issues) individual who wielded all The
power he could musTer as AppropriaTions chairman. The power was from
Two sources. " . . . he heads The mosT powerful commiTTee in Congress
and he is The mosT experT pracTiTioner of legislaTive sTraTegy in The
House."'9
Cannon noT only had The power, he had The repuTaTion for being
capable of wielding ThaT power if necessary. Besides having The power,
Cannon puT iT To use. ”No man in WashingTon is more feared Than Cannon,
for many people consider his power To be equal To, if noT greaTer Than,

Speaker Rayburn."20

 

'7"Fizz|ed Feud," Newsweek, XVIII, (SepTember 22, l94l), p. l8.

'8lbid., p. l8.

 

'9Healy,‘gp. ciT., p. 38.

 

ZOlbid., p.39.

 

I9

LengTh of service is a criTerion for office under The senioriTy
sysTem, buT a man musT sTiII be effecTive To become powerful. As The
appropriaTions chairman, Cannon used sTraTegy To The uTmosT. He concen-
TraTed on developing conTrol Through parliamenTary pracTice, and he per-
formed Those acTs which would aid his philosophy of economy. An example
of This manipulaTion shows how The AppropriaTions Chairman handled The
Speaker of The House.

Rayburn was frequenle aT odds wiTh The commiTTee
oligarchs, who rule Their own commiTTees wiTh The assured arro-
gance of absoluTe monarchs.

WiTh one of Them, Clarence Cannon of Missouri, chairman
of The House AppropriaTions CommiTTee IaTe in The I950's, he ran
a collision course. RepresenTaTive Vaughan Gary of Virginia,
chairman of The subcommiTTee handling budgeTs on foreign aid,
was criTical buT noT hosTile. One day Cannon simply replaced
Gary, selecTing in his sTead OTTo Passman of Louisiana, a
vociferous opponenT of foreign assisTance programs.

AnoTher insTance of Cannon's TacTics was evidenT during The I965
budgeT preparaTions. This insTance shows Cannon's poliTical independence
under pressure condiTions as well as The power invesTed in The man and
The posiTion.

In I964, PresidenT Johnson was able To keep his fiscal
year I965 budgeT low by including a considerable number of
budgeT requesTs in supplemenTals for The fiscal year I964 --
To be presenTed To The CommiTTee early in I964. Chairman
Cannon, perceiving ThaT Texan AlberT Thomas was likely To be
lenienT wiTh Texan Lyndon Johnson's supplemenTal requesTs,
abrupTIy abolished The subcommiTTee. A member of The Defi-
ciencies SubcommiTTee agreed wiTh Cannon's assessmenT of The
siTuaTion. "We would probably have given Them mosT of whaT
They wanTed," he said. ”Under The circumsTances Cannon was

righT. He's a very wise man and if was a wise move on his parT."22

 

Z'Bolling, 29. ciT., p. 7|.

22Fenno,_g_p_. ciT., p. 24l.

20

The power and The manipulaTion were evidenT buT To whaT purpose?

Business Week in I954, commenTed ThaT ”Clarence Cannon, crusTy Missourian,

 

will be chairman of The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee, where The DemocraTs may
harass The adminisTraTion mosT effecTively."23 These predicTions of
harassmenT were from The Republican viewpoinT, buT They were inTended
To poinT ouT The meThods and The goals of The economy and The posiTion
ThaT Cannon would Take againsT The adminisTraTive measures. Fenno
Takes some commenTs from The Hearings on The BudgeT for l96l which
describe Cannon's appropriaTion philosophy.

The greaTesT duTy devolving upon The Congress, and one of

The mosT difficulT, is ThaT of proTecTing The money of The Tax-

payers in The federal Treasury. There are Today some people who

wanT To geT in The federal Treasury, wanT federal money, so many

IobbyisTs, and unforTunaTely so many members of The Congress who

in a deTerminaTion To have federal funds for personal or local

purposes, will use every possible efforT, will resorT To every
device, To geT money ouT of The Treasury puT There by The Tax-
payers and puT There under realizaTions of The responsibiliTy

of The Congress To proTecT The resources of The naTion.

NaTion's Business added iTs reporT of Cannon's influence on The
governmenTal spending. "Clarence Cannon of Missouri will lead assaulT
on The budgeT . . . . He Told The House ThaT The budgeT was deceinul.
His final reporT is likely To accuse budgeT-makers of padding in some
places and of neglecTing major iTems like defense, agriculTure and
public power."25

Cannon's colleagues knew ThaT poliTics was seldom The issue aT

sTake and no one could accuse him of overwhelming parTisanship or

 

23Business Week, November 6, I954, p. 27.

24Fenno,_qp_. ciT., p. I57.

25”These FourTeen Men Will Shape Your FuTure," NaTion's Business
XLII (March, I955), p. 85.

2I

dependence on oThers To mainTain his policies. According To The Wash-

ingTon PosT, Cannon refused To speak wiTh PresidenT Kennedy on The

 

Telephone abouT an impasse ThaT had developed beTween Cannon's commiTTee
and The SenaTe AppropriaTions CommiTTee.26 Bolling reporTs ThaT "In
fairness, Cannon was evenhanded in his aTTiTude Toward The leaders
of his parTy. DemocraT Cannon even refused To meeT wiTh DemocraT Ken-
nedy, The PresidenT, To discuss The foreign assisTance bill."27

His independence regarding The parTy was noTed by a commiTTee
member who described The paTTern of cooperaTion and reacTion wiTh oTher
parTy members.

There's noT much rapporT wiTh The leadership. They respecT

Mr. Cannon, buT They don'T consider him a good DemocraT.

He's noT a parTy man. He‘s noT reliable. They don'T feel

They can TrusT him.28

Some Missouri people would have evidenle argued wiTh The above
quoTe. AT leasT They would have placed less value on his bending To

poliTical pressures. For insTance, in an undaTed newspaper clipping

from The Kansas CiTy DemocraT, The headlines read, ”Missouri's candidaTe

 

for PresidenT received a greaT ovaTion aT The Springfield meeTing."29

HisTorically The menTioning of a Missourian for PresidenT would invaria-
bly mean ThaT he's a DemocraT, buT The supporT for Presidency would
seem To indicaTe Clarence Cannon had some popular supporT, ouTside
of his own disTricT. NeverThless, iT musT be concluded ThaT Mr. Cannon

did noT go ouT of his way To make himself popular wiTh his fellow

 

26WashingTon PosT, OcTober I4, I962, p. 24.

 

27Bol|ing,_gp. ciT., p. 75.
28Fenno,_gp. ciT., p. 429.

29LocaTed in a folder along wiTh his oTher clippings on miscellaneous
iTems aT The UniversiTy of Missouri WesTern ManuscripT CollecTion.

22

Congressmen, and his concern wiTh whaT he considered sound economic
policies, in spiTe of parTy poliTics, was anoTher conTribuTing facTor

To The unpopulariTy among The DemocraTic leaders. According To Cannon,
economic consisTency was The mosT imporTanT negaTive facTor in The
DemocraTic adminisTraTions. He sTaTed in an arTicle for The American
PoIiTicaI Science Review ThaT ”Weak as The incenTives Toward parTy
solidariTy may be in comparison wiTh organized pressures iT is never-
The less self-evidenT ThaT no parTy can safely sacrifice consisTency

in iTs legislaTive record."30 Because he did sTrive To mainTain a
consisTency in spending policies and because This consisTency demanded

a rigid economic spending formula, Cannon was bound To cause new leaders
and new adminisTraTions greaT consTernaTion, especially if They believed
ThaT a change was necessary.

The TesTimony of his colleagues shows The greaT desire for economy
and The independence of his decisions. The posiTion of chairman of The
powerful appropriaTions commiTTee is bound To cause feelings of prejudice
and unresT, and of course Cannon's aggressiveness and decisiveness did
noT aid in The disposiTion of ThaT job or The feelings involved. However,
The consTiTuenTs of his disTricT and of The sTaTe of Missouri greaTIy
appreciaTed The efforTs ThaT Cannon made in Their behalf. A supporTer
of liberal farm policies and a TighT hand on The dollar was The combina-
Tion which led Them To supporT Mr. Cannon.

Two undaTed newspaper clippings from The ChillicoThe ConsTiTuTion

Tribune and The Ralls CounTy Record suggesT ThaT iT did noT require

 

30"Congressional ResponsibiliTies,” Clarence Cannon, The American
PoliTical Review. (April, I948), p. 309.

23
a greaT amounT of numey her Cannon To be reelecTed in his disTricT.
"No slush fund here,” and "Should be unanimous” were The respecTive
TiTles in This paragraph.

IT cosT Clarence Cannon four cenTs To be renominaTed for
Congress from The ninTh disTricT. His elecTion should be
unanimous. He is a greaT man and our people love him for
The greaT work he has done.

The organizaTion behind Mr. Cannon heaped praise on his posiTions and on
his accomplishmenTs. One of The leTTers in The same folder of clippings
was from The CommiTTee To keep Cannon in Congress.

Because by reason of facT ThaT The people of This disTricT
have kepT him in Congress for TwenTy years or more he has

been able To build himself inTo one of The mosT powerful

and influenTial men in our lawmaking legislaTure insTiTuTion.
And he became chairman of The greaT appropriaTion commiTTee of
Congress.

This posiTion of greaT influence has enabled him To do
more for The benefiT of farm producers and rural residenTs
Than any oTher man in The naTion.

Farm income TwenTy billion dollars for I946 compared To
six billion in I940. Three Times as much money as six years
ago and Ten Times as much as lasT year of The Hoover adminis-
TraTion. Cannon was largely insTrumenTaI in bringing This
increased farm income. All naTional and sTaTe farm organiza-
Tions will endorse This sTaTemenT.

Missouri produces abouT four percenT of naTional farm
income and This disTricT produces abouT l/6 of The sTaTe's
ToTal. This means nearly one percenT of The naTion's producTion
or in I946 an income of I60 million dollars for This disTricT
compared To less Than finy million in I940, and abouT l/lOTh
ThaT income in I932.

ProsperiTy for The farmer means prosperiTy for all.
Everybody from This disTricT profiTs from iTs vasTIy increased
farm income; business large and small . . . . WiTh ThaT much
exTra money coming To us every ciTizen shares in The prosperiTy.
Apply iT To our own counTry and see whaT iT means To us. Cannon
helped maTerialIy To bring This abouT. LeT's keep him where he
can be of such enormous benefiT To us. AfTer lasT war prices
wenT up like a rockeT and immediaTely came down like a sTick.

 

3'The Ralls CounTy Record as quoTed above is similar To The Chilli-
coThe clipping excepT The ChillicoThe paper poinTs ouT ThaT The four
cenTs expendiTure was for Two posTcards.

24

We can avoid ThaT calamiTy This Time by puTTing a floor under
farm prices ThaT will hold. Congress only does ThaT and Cannon
more Than any oTher man in The UniTed STaTes can help To do This
--from his powerful posiTion as Chairman of The House Appropria-
Tions CommiTTee can and will push This program. Farm prices,
disposal of possible surpluses, find foreign markeT for farm
producTs, proTecT us from again seeig Ten cenT corn and TwenTy-
five cenT wheaT and Three cenT hogs.J [gig]

This example of ”Cannon for Congress” maTerial illusTraTes why
some of The people of The ninTh disTricT supporTed Mr. Cannon.

An ediTorial in The Mexico Ledger sums up The aTTiTudes of The
Cannon supporTers. The TiTle, "The Blessings of a Cannon," gives an
indicaTion of The respecT ThaT The members of The rural areas held for
Mr. Cannon.

Clarence Cannon, our Congressman, is one of The mosT powerful
men in The world.

And one of The besT.

His power comes from his chairmanship of The House Appropria-
Tions CommiTTee.

IT has been said ThaT nexT To The PresidenT, himself, The
chairman of The House AppropriaTions CommiTTee is The mosT powerful
man in our governmenT. Our counTry is properly proud ThaT This
greaT power is held in The capable hands of Clarence Cannon.

For Clarence Cannon is firsT an American and second a Congress-
man. FurTher, he has unmaTched dedicaTion, a Towering knowledge of
our governmenT, The highesT inTegriTy, The deepesT and broadesT of
human undersTanding. . . .

In AugusT, we have an opporTuniTy To renominaTe Mr. Cannon for
Congress. And, in November, we will have The OpporTuniTy To reelecT
him which we can be sure, The NinTh Congressional will do.

Does he have OpposiTion? NoT really. One of The office seekers
opposing Mr. Cannon, recenle aTTempTed To aTTracT some aTTenTion by
announcing: ”I fighT To free our children from life of increasing
slavery. . . . We're going To win This one for our kids." 33

He sounds more like he's running againsT Mr. Kruschev. . . .

A long period of service ended in The passing of Mr. Cannon. He

was characTerized as honesT, independenT, dedicaTed, knowledgeable, and

 

32From The same folder as The newspaper previously ciTed.

33Mexico Ledger, "The Blessings of a Cannon," July l6, I962.

 

25

conTroversial. He was acclaimed by his colleagues for his diligence and
comprehensive undersTanding of appropriaTions problems.

His papers reveal maTerial abouT The governmenT and abouT American
hisTory, and also reveal The characTer of The man. Among Those mixed
papers was found a Bible verse which cerTainly explains The moTivaTions
if noT The reason for Clarence Cannon's service: ”Prove all Things.
Hold fasT ThaT which is good.” FirsT Thessalonians 5 seems To be a

maxim which The AppropriaTions Chairman found valuable and producTive.

Speech Prepgrafion

 

The main evidence used in describing Cannon's speech preparaTion
was found in an old wooden file IocaTed in The UniversiTy of Missouri
library in iTs hisTorical collecTion. Much of The maTerial was impos-
sible To idenTify as To iTs origin, buT The unique way in which iT was
puT TogeTher shows Cannon's Technique for collecTing and assembling
maTerials. Among The maTerials were requesTs for informaTion from The
Library of Congress. For example, he had a noTe asking The Library
sTaff To do research on BriTish appropriaTions and Their ramificaTions.

There were large numbers of quoTaTions which had been clipped from
Typed sources, and one folder marked wiTh pencil conTained insTrucTions
To disTribuTe The maTerials inTo speech folders. There were pamphleTs
on The freedom of speech and freedom of acTion; and There was The

Age 91 Reason Magazine, which included an arTicle on Thomas Paine and

 

nunerous clippings which were unidenTified.
From These Types of sources sTuffed in folders, Cannon would
'Type or would have Typed This maTerial on narrow sTrips of paper To be

[MasTed on sheeTs of paper which were made up of old noTebooks. There

26

were many loose sTrips of paper which he IaTer pasTed on envelopes To
use in consTrucTing his speeches. A look aT The process of preparaTion
from his campaign folders will help To show how and To whaT exTenT he
prepared These maTerials. Several envelopes will be described To
subsTanTiaTe The above maTerials.

The firsT example of campaign speaking in The collecTion comes
from a folder marked simply, ”I920.” Inside The folder was a noTebook
which conTained a ToTaI of forTy-five TypewriTTen pages on The paper of
The Journal Clerk. The beginning pages were composed of differenT
inTroducTions for several separaTe communiTies, where he was evidenTIy
scheduled To speak, and There was also a daTe lisTed for IaTe 0cTober
and November. The TexT of The speech is Typed wiTh many x's and
correcTions, which indicaTes ThaT The maTerial was reworked and marked
ouT in order To consTrucT The mosT desireable sTrucTure and meaning.
The speech conTained many generalizaTions which chasTised Republicans
for Their adminisTraTion, and praised The DemocraTs. IT was a compleTe
and well organized speech, repleTe wiTh maTerials and argumenTs supporTing
Champ Clark for The I920 campaign.

The campaign folder of I922 conTained a TwenTy-nine page speech,
and gave addiTional clues To Cannon's developmenT and knowledge as a
speaker. He Took an old 8%" x ll” book, and pasTed The Typed speech on
To The pages of ThaT book. There were several noTeworThy iTems from
This folder, which gave some clues abouT his meThod of speech prepara-
Tion. FirsT, we have boTh an ouTline and a manuscripT of The speech.
Secondly, he divided The speech inTo Three secTions: inTroducTion, body,

and conclusion. The labeling of These Three areas indicaTes ThaT he was

27

conscious of This TriparTiTe division, and ThaT he probably had some
realizaTion ThaT There is a difference in The funcTion of each division.
AnoTher noTiceable iTem was an absence of quoTaTions or any idenTifiable
documenTaTion of maTerials in The speech.

In The ”I924" folder There was a noTe wriTTen which declared The
address To be imperfecT because, ”Down from memory and is an inaccuraTe
TranscripTion of The speech.” This noTe was wriTTen aT The Top of The
speech and puT inTo brackeTs. There was no addiTional informaTion To
indicaTe how he prepared, or why he had To Transcribe This parTicular
speech afTer he delivered iT. The speech is a ThirTy-four page manu-
scripT which is addressed To The farmer abouT his problems, and if he
did Transcribe iT from memory he musT have prepared exTensiver for ThaT
lengTh of speech. The delayed Transcribing of a ThirTy-four page speech
would probably noT occur from an imprompTu occasion. AT The end of The
speech he again noTes ThaT iT is poorly recorded.

The "I926” folder was unique in ThaT iT had copies of Telegrams
asking for informaTion and sTaTisTics on various problems in Missouri.
The speech was a forTy-eighT page manuscripT which had several Types
of supporTing maTerials, buT none of These maTerials was documenTed.

The "I928" manuscripT was daTed and designaTed for use in Mexico,
Missouri, on OcTober 5, I928. This manuscripT was only four pages long,
and The folder lacked clippings and wriTTen maTerials. The speech
was composed of examples abouT famous women; and The Thesis concenTraTed
on providing The women wiTh The righT, privilege, and honor To voTe.

The "I930" folder held a ThirTy page speech which was To be given
aT FIinT Hill on 0cTober 5, I930. This was The opening of The campaign

and was The only speech referred To in The folder. There are several

28

inTroducTions in The folder, which provides some evidence ThaT he
adjusTed To parTicluar audiences. The speech is again concerned wiTh
geTTing women involved wiTh The public issues of The day, and he seems
To concenTraTe on encouraging The women To become acTive, and To use
The nineTeenTh amendmenT. No doubT he was encouraging Them, aT leasT
indirechy, To voTe for Clarence Cannon.

The "I932” maTeriaI is arranged in an ouTline form. The following
is a reproducTion of whaT was wiThin The folder.

AppreciaTion of supporT

PrevenTed from aTTending in lasT campaign by auTomobiIe accidenT
EndorsemenT of local candidaTes

lmporTanT elecTion

Changes I. PopulaTion 2. Food habiTs 3. Erosion (marked
Through) 4. War machinery 5. TransporTaTion 6. New major indus-
Tries 7. Foreign changes in governmenT (marked ouT) 8. DebTor

To crediTor naTion 9. CenTralizaTiOn of indusTry l0. ReapporTion-
menT of Congress

Depression

Causes of Depression I. deflaTion by reserve board 2. Tariff
prevenTion exporT of farm producTs 3. lack of organizaTion--
unable To deflaTe labor 4. surplus 5. unemploymenT

RooseveIT

Federal DeposiT guaranTee

Flexible Tariff

DefIaTion of dollar

AgriculTure AdjusTmenT AcT -- farm leaders -- crisis -- loan --
finy-finy pariTy

Need five congressmen

Soldiers compensaTion and bonus

Old age pension 54
Division noT beTween parTies buT beTween old and new ideals

In addiTion There is an arTicle from The Hannibal Courier PosT

 

which reporTs roughly The same maTerial ThaT his Topics, as shown above,
cover. However, The reporT of The speech does noT follow The same order
as Cannon has in his folder. There also seems To be a greaTer concen-

TraTion on The differences beTween The Two poliTical parTies.

 

34The parenTheseS in The above reproducTion are mine.

29

The "I934” speech was very close To The "I932" ouTline excepT for
The commenTary on The ”New Deal." Cannon's speaking here indicaTes ThaT
he was a sTrong opponenT of The New Deal, and he associaTes many of The
acTs wiTh The former Republican adminisTraTors.

The I936 campaign seems To show some slighT changes in Cannon's
meThods of preparaTion. The "I936” folder conTains several ouTlines
and drafTs of speeches, and also has exTra clippings in The folder.
There is a TwenTy-seven page manuscripT wiTh a one-page ouTline aTTached
To The speech. WiThin The speech he sTrongly endorses The fuTure
Governor STark; This represenTs The firsT Time ThaT he becomes overTIy
involved in sTaTe poliTics (aT leasT in The folder maTerial). ”By Their
fruiTs" seems To be The main Theme, which is also The TiTle of a speech
inserTed in The Conggessional Record given on March 2, |93I. The speech
quoTes Oliver Cromwell, "In The name of The Lord I beseech you breThren
consider iT possible ThaT you may be misTaken." Pope Plus The llTh is
quoTed as saying, ”The world is upside down, only The hand of God can
come To The aid of humaniTy." This again shows his inTeresT wiTh
hisTorical maTTers, and demonsTraTes The use of The hisTory of public
speaking in his speeches.

From I938 on, The maTerials become quiTe skeTchy in The folders.
For example, The ”I938 folder" includes only a number of newspaper
arTicles which Tell ThaT Cannon spoke in Their Town. ShorT newspaper
arTicles from Louisiana, Monroe CiTy, CenTer, Troy, and Mexico reveal
his iTinerary. The I942 campaign maTeriaI has The daTes ThaT he cam-
paigned (0cTober 24 To November 2), and The number of speeches given (I8)
in ThaT campaign. The I944 campaign musT have been more sTrenuous

because The folder IisTs sixTy-five speeches and Towns in ThirTy-four

30

days (OcTober 3 To November 6). The file did noT conTain folders from
I944 unTil I950.

In The I950 folders, Cannon reverfed To his previous Techniques
wiTh a sligthy differenT meThodol0gy. He had several whiTe envelopes
wiTh The speeches ouTlined on Them. There were Three differenT ouTlines,
buT They were quiTe close To each oTher in conTenT and organizaTion.

He noT only changed The inTroducTions, buT he became adepT in changing
The ouTlines by rearranging The order and The main headings so ThaT each
delivered speech seemed differenT. Perhaps The speech and accuracy

of communicaTions caughT up wiTh Cannon, and Therefore he feIT ThaT he
musT vary his speeches. Perhaps he also noTices ThaT his audience was
more Than farmers and farm relaTed-merchanTs. The ”I952" folder
demonsTraTed how he changed his approach To a parTicular Topic. He
prepared a noTebook, lisTed headings, and assembled Typed sTrips under The
headings. MosT of These maTerials were differenT meThods of saying The
same Things. From This maTerial he could draw The mosT precise and
descripTive phrase To use in his currenT speech.

The ”I954” maTerial consisTed of an ouTline of a speech and a sheeT
of paper IisTing The Things ThaT he wanTed To discuss.

The only oTher folder maTerial available on his speeches was a
I958 folder, which conTained a manuscripT and an ouTline ThaT did noT
seem To maTch The speech. This is The exTenT of The available maTerials
on Cannon's speech preparaTion.

The purpose of describing The speech folders was To help recon-
sTrucT Cannon's meThod of speech preparaTion. WiTh The speech maTerials
and addiTional evidence, iT is possible To show his meThodology of

preparaTion, and To see The value ThaT Cannon puTs on The arT of public

3|

speaking. The following synThesis was made on The basis of The maTerials
in The folders.

The process which Cannon used seems To indicaTe his awareness of
careful preparaTion. He would iniTially cuT ouT arTicles, clippings,
and quoTaTions, and puT Them in folders. From These maTerials he would
proceed To weed ouT and rewriTe much of The informaTion. He would
Type on 2” x 8%" sTrips of paper a sTaTemenT abouT The subjecT. He would
Then make a noTebook ouT of envelopes or old pieces of paper, and aTTach
The sTrips under subjecT headings. (QuiTe ofTen he used Ilé” x 8%” Congres-
sional envelopes). The headings were usually Typed on pink or green
paper To show a differenTiaTion in subjecT headings and supporT maTerial.
By The Time The preparaTion process had been concluded, almosT all
idenTiTy of The source had been removed and only The idea remained.
SomeTimes specific iTems were underlined wiTh blue pencil, and occasionally
a commenT was penciled on The page. From These maTerials an ouTline and
a manuscripT were compleTed. There was no evidence as To which came
firsT, buT They boTh occur ofTen enough TogeTher To infer ThaT he used
one To compleTe The oTher. There were addiTional maTerials which lead one
To believe ThaT he made references To former speeches on The Topics on
which he mighT speak. The bulk of his quoTed maTeriaI was from sTaTemenTs
of speeches or speakers, and The reference To Them was idenTifiable only
Through a knowledge of The individual or his works.

Cannon's supporTing maTerial seemed well researched, buT he evi-
denTIy feIT ThaT iT was noT necessary for him To reveal The source in his
speeches or even in his preparaTions. EvidenTIy he believed ThaT The
people came To hear his conclusions from experience as a Congressman,

and he gave Them his personal experiences. IT was also evidenT ThaT

32
besides The manuscripT preparaTion, Cannon was conscious of The indivi-
dual audiences. For example, earlier maTerial in This chapTer indicaTes
ThaT he spenT Time consTrucTing parTicular inTroducTions for parTicular
audiences. AnoTher example of audience analysis can be found in a card
inserTed in one of The miscellaneous folders.
”When you have a fighT on, send ouT a number of speeches
jusT before you sTarT back home. When you meeT people, They

will say ThaT I heard from you. If They don'T geT anyThing,

They will say you fellows don'T seem To be doing anyThing up

There.“

IT should be noTed ThaT There were several bills from The Congres-
sional prinTing office for The mass prinTing of speeches ThaT had been
senT in The mail. Sending speeches Through The mail was a relaTiver
cheap meThod of campaigning, especially when franking privileges were
available To cover The expense.

WiThin many of The folders are newspapers from The Missouri
communiTies where Cannon spoke on his campaigns. The daTes of The
papers were in advance of his scheduled speech, and indicaTes ThaT Cannon
was sTudying local happenings before his speaking engagemenTs. From This
maTerial he could adapT To his parTicular audience.

A noTe card in a miscellaneous maTerials folder illusTraTes The
value ThaT Clarence Cannon placed on The effecT of a speech.

The highesT degree of care should be Taken in selecTing

Those people who will inTroduce The speaker. Pick people wiTh
like aTTiTudes and opinions.

Make speeches, make speeches, make speeches, never less Than
one a day, and five or six if pracTicable. The effecT of a speech
of an able Talker ouTweighs The many personal leTTers and much
organizaTional work. On The conTrary, one speech badly delivered,
releasing an unpopular Theory, or ineffecTively sTaged, may lose
To a poor audience or under discouraging condiTions will do more
harm Than good. Have speeches seT and carefully adverTised and
sTaged. Take more care in geTTing ouT your crowd and geTTing

33

iT in a recepTive frame of mind Than in The preparaTion and
delivery of The speech if possible. Of course, on auTomobile
Tours every speech To a small crowd gaThered around informally
can be delivered wiThouT noTice and wiTh good effecT.

AnoTher example of campaign advice is from a defensive viewpoinT, and
illusTraTes how an effecTive speech in The hands of an opponenT could be
negaTed.

The mosT dangerous man is The fellow who makes a ThirTy day
campaign. Has his IiTeraTure all ready and addressed and organi-
zaTionally ready and speeches all ready and goes in a whirlwind
campaign afTer Too laTe To meeT and answer him. Can make wild
sTaTemenTs and geT away. Too IaTe To geT The counTry aroused.

EasiesT man is The one who sTarTs Too early and begins
To make speeches, issues sTaTemenTs, makes commiTmenTs and issues
planorms. Have a sTenographer Take down The speeches and mail you
a couple of copies. Send one To him and ask him To verify and

reTurn iT. IT will scare him To deaTh. He will noT dare make

unsupporTed sTaTemenTs and will be on The defensive all The Time.
If he has someThing gocd, make a speech in Congress and send

copies all Through The disTricT ahead of him. If he makes a mis-

Take, make a speech denouncing ThaT wiThouT referring To him and
send iT ThroughouT The disTricT.

Obviously Cannon was aware of The implicaTions of The spoken word.
The above maTerials show ThaT he found iT necessary and desireable To
speak, buT more imporTanle ThaT iT was viTaI To speak well. He was also
inTimaTely aware of The concepT of organizaTion and preparaTion, and he
was especially aware of The percepTiveness of his audiences. The aTTempT
To gain The iniTiaTive and To eliminaTe The effecT of his OpponenTs'
argumenTs before They were widely presenTed shows his respecT for The power
of The spoken word, and for The value of keeping his consTiTuenTs in-
formed. The refusal To crediT his opponenT wiTh any new and good ideas
also indicaTes ThaT he was aware of The uses of The burden of proof; and
by forcing his opponenT To prove his poinT, Cannon used his posiTion as
presumpTion. In oTher words, his opponenT musT prove his poinT; and if

iT is good, he has To esTablish The facT ThaT iT was his idea and noT

34
Cannon's. A final insighT mighT be found in his abiliTy To force his
OpponenT To aTTempT To documenT all of his maTerials, and To inTimidaTe
him Through consTanT checking while The maTerials in Cannon's speeches
go relaTively undocumenTed. Thus, The man in power was using his posi-
Tion To hold The inexperienced and naive in check while The incumbenT

Congressman was free To use all means of persuasion.

Conclusion

Clarence Cannon was a dynamic man who carefully proTecTed his
inTeresTs and his posiTion. He was conscienTious in his work and in his
meThodology for mainTaining conTrol of his consTiTuency and his commiTTee.
He was obviously conscious of his capabiIiTies, and he used To his advan-
Tage many of The asseTs ThaT he possessed. He was aggressive, analyTicaI,
and indusTrious in his endeavors. The evidence also indicaTes ThaT Can-
non was asTuTely aware of The power of public speaking boTh as a campaign
Tool and as a means of Transferring informaTion To his consTiTuenTs. He
inTenTionally made speeches in Congress on subjecTs ThaT his adversary
had iniTiaTed. Thus he eliminaTed poTenTial issues and deprived his
OpponenTs of any conceivable advanTages. His preparaTion, his raTionale
for acTion, and his conscious use of psychological campaigning demonsTraTe
The aggressiveness, The indusTry, and The advance planning which are
necessary To keep a poliTician in office.

The conclusions regarding his speech preparaTion were drawn from
circumsTanTial maTerials from folders found in The WesTern Manuscrist
CollecTion aT The UniversiTy of Missouri Library. Cannon's commenTs
wriTTen on To The maTerials were invaluable in gaining insighT inTo

his preparaTion, and iT also revealed many of his views on public

35
speaking. The facT ThaT he was successful in reelecTion would indicaTe
ThaT his preparaTion Techniques did noT harm him, and his commenTs as To
The effecTs of a bad speech would seem To asserT ThaT he feIT ThaT his
public addresses were imporTanT in his career. If They were noT (and
This will be invesTigaTed IaTer), Then The exTenT of research, organiza-
Tion, and The general area of being prepared should noT be among The
firsT areas of suspicion when looking for The causes of inadequaTe

response.

CHAPTER THREE
CANNON BEGINS WITH COOLIDGE: I922-I928

The beginning Congressman has many Things To learn in his new job.
Ordinarily he musT learn abouT The workings of Congress, and he needs To
learn how To converT The inTeresTs of his consTiTuency inTo naTional
IegislaTion. Usually a Congressman serves an apprenTiceship on minor
commiTTees, and Then, if he is re-elecTed, and if he does his job well,
he is promoTed To more imporTanT jobs.' Clarence Cannon had an advan-
Tage over mosT Congressmen, as he had viewed Congress when he was a
confidenTial clerk To Champ Clark, and he was parliamenTarian of The
House under DemocraTic and Republican Speakers.

Even wiTh This advanTage Cannon chose To waiT To deliver a major
address. He may have been waiTing for The righT momenT, The righT
Topic, or perhaps he was Trying To find a Topic of local inTeresT which
would fiT inTo naTional IegislaTion. A look aT The hisTorical evenTs
will help illusTraTe The selecTions available To The new Congressman,
and iT will aTTempT To show why This beginning Congressman sTuck wiTh

his consTiTuenTs' problems.

 

'Richard F. Fenno, Jr., gives a deTailed descripTion of The roles
played by new members of The appropriaTions commiTTee in his arTicle,
"The AppropriaTions CommiTTee As A PoliTical SysTem,” New PerspecTives
£21_:fle House 9i RepresenTaTives, ED. RoberT L. Peabody and Nelson W.
Fkylsby (Chicago: Rand McNally, I963), pp. 79-I08. See especially,
pp. 95-98.

36

37

Cannon mighT have picked an economic Topic in I924, excepT for
The facT ThaT Coolidge prosperiTy was in full swing. A look aT The
adverTisemenTs of goods and services causes The presenT consumer To
wanT The pasT prices wiTh presenT salaries. For insTance, BesT and Com-
pany was selling "men's English Oxfords” for $I0.00 and coffee was selling
for ThirTy-nine cenTs a pound. The American scene supporTed golf, and
why noT when one could buy a single club for $2.50, or a compleTe seT
for $9.95. Women's walking sTicks were on special aT B. Alean and
Company. (IT should be noTed ThaT The adverTisemenT does noT specify
Their use). Men's haTs of The sofT varieTy lisTed aT $3.50 for The
winTer monThs.

Magazines had an unusual price for The currenT observer, and
an even more unusual meThod of adverTising. In The May 23, I924

New York Times, The CurTis company adverTised an arTicle concerning The

 

currenT farm problems in The CounTry GenTleman magazine.

 

A silenT man on mosT Topics, The PresidenT Talks wiTh
freedom abouT agriculTure, defining his beliefs, his policies

for relief of The naTion's farmers. He undersTands farming as

no oTher PresidenT in recenT years had undersTood -- he is The

firsT farm boy in 35 years To become PresidenT of The UniTed

STaTes. Read David Lawrence's exclusive inTerview wiTh Mr.

Coolidge in The May 24, issue. (Five cenTs a copy, $I a year)

The above prices were righT in line wiTh The markeT. Many people
were invesTing; and if They could have predicTed The rise of The Bull
MarkeT, They would have purchased General ElecTric sTock for 220%,
General MoTors for 83, B. F. Goodrich for 2|, Coca Cola for 66, Sinclair
for 203, Sears for 83, Packard for l0, U.S. Rubber for 30, and WoolworTh
for 3l8%. The dips and unbelievable rises would have been a good Topic

for a s eech if The " reaT de ression” had been anTicipaTed by Cannon,
P 9 P

buT in I924, prices and prosperiTy did noT indicaTe The evenTual crash.

"Violence" would have been a good Topic for The year, and aT leasT
one oTher speaker used if as a sTep To oraTorical fame. Clarence Darrow
defended Leopold and Loeb in The Franks murder case. Frederick Lewis
Allen describes Darrow as "a radical, a friend of The underdog, an
agnosTic, who had recenTIy jumped inTo The limelighT Through his
defense of Leopold and Loeb."2 WiThin a year Darrow would engage anoTher
famous oraTor, William Jennings Bryan, in The famous Sc0pes Trial; and
while This mighT noT be violence in The same sense, iT cerTainly creaTed a
violenT reacTion. The Topic of violence in religion was handled by
The courTs in Those years, and Cannon couldn'T, or aT leasT didn'T, find
a speech Topic in violence or religion.

The newspapers covered many popular acTiviTies in The sporTs
world; in baseball, RabbiT Maranville won a game for The PiraTes in
The I4Th inning; and racing, Tennis, golf, fencing, boxing, fooTball,
baskeTball, polo, crew, pockeT billiards, and rugby all received

coverage in The New York Times. While many Missourians have been

 

inTeresTed in sporTs, The province of sporTs rheToric among poliTicians
is occupied wiTh professional sporTs anTi-TrusT suiTs in I924.
There were many poliTical problems which Cannon mighT have picked

as a subjecT for a major speech. On inTernaTional Topics, PresidenT

Coolidge wroTe a leTTer opposing The independence of The Phillippine
Islands and said, ”The Phillippine people are by no means equipped
for The heavy burden . . . of poliTicaI independence."3

 

2Frederick Lewis Allen, Only YesTerday, (New York: Harper and Row,
I964), p. I68. The brackeTs are mine.

 

3Irving and Nell Kull, fig_Encyclopediaigi American HisTory, (New
York: Eagle Books, I965), p. 366.

 

39

Cannon Took excepTion To The remarks, and while IaTer supporTing The
efforTs for The naTion's independence, did noT speak on The issue in I924.

There were oTher inTeresTing poliTicaI problems. The TeapoT Dome
invesTigaTion was a conTroversial Topic, especially for an elecTion year.
And while The campaigning was highlighTed by The furor, The NaTional
EIecTion resuITs were noT indicaTive of The furor. Cannon's decision To
leave The affair To older and wiser poliTicians appears To have been a
wise one, because iT did noT affecT his disTricT.

Since if was an elecTion year, The poliTical convenTions nominaTed
Their candidaTes. The Republicans nominaTed Calvin Coolidge for Presi-
denT, and The DemocraTs nominaTed John W. Davis of WesT Virginia and
Charles W. Bryan as his running maTe. There was a Third power in The
I924 elecTion which was significanT enough To gain aTTenTion. Burl
Noggle evaluaTes The abiliTies of The Third parTy candidaTe.

Coolidge and Davis were The Two leading conTesTanTs, buT aT

leasT one minor parTy candidaTe was Their equal, even Their su-

perior, in abiliTy and achievemenT. The Republican SenaTor

of Wisconsin received The presidenTial nominaTion on a Pro-

gressive ParTy TickeT 4

WiTh all of These poTenTiaI issues, Cannon had To pick someThing
which would heighTen his appeal wiTh The people of his disTricT and
esTablish his compeTence as a member of Congress. The firsT Term in
office is an imporTanT one in esTablishing a repuTaTion and image for
The voTers of a RepresenTaTive's disTricT. Therefore, Clarence Cannon

selecTed an issue which would aTTracT supporT from his consTiTuenTs as

well as demonsTraTe his posiTion on a naTional Topic. He selecTed The

 

4Taken from Burl Noggle, TeapoT Dome, (New York: NorTon Library,
I965), p. I65. He aTTribuTes The idea To KenneTh McKay, The Progressive

IWavemenT-gi I924, (New York, I947).

4O
McNary-Haugen Farm Relief Bill as his speech Topic. IT was a measure
concerning price equiTies of farm producTs, and The resulTs of The bill
would have far-reaching effecTs on The farm communiTy and on The
organizaTion of farm cooperaTives.

Because This was a local concern, because if was a Topic on which
Cannon was prepared To speak, and because The local concern would be
incorporaTed in naTional IegislaTion, he selecTed This Topic as his firsT
major address. An impressive defense of local inTeresT would help
insure his reTurn To Congress even againsT an incumbenT PresidenT in
prosperous Times. This speech on The McNary-Haugen bill will be The

subjecT of analysis ThroughouT The remainder of The chapTer.

Logical Analysis

The purpose of Cannon's speech seems To emanaTe from his experience
in a farm communiTy and his already vasT experience as a parliamenTarian.
Having served as parliamenTarian under boTh Republican and DemocraTic
House Speakers, he was aware of The meThods of eliminaTing a bill before
iT can be presenTed adequaTely. In The beginning of his speech, he
aTTempTed To clarify The issue:

If The House agrees To a moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing
clause afTer The reading of The firsT secTion, There will be no
opporTuniTy To read The bill under The five-minuTe rule and, of
course, no opporTuniTy To offer amendmenTs. ThaT is a final
disposiTion of The bill wiThouT opporTuniTy for perfecTing
amendmenTs of any kind.

Cannon's iniTial purpose was To prevenT The passing of The moTion To

sTrike The enacTing clause. IT was This parliamenTary foresighT which

provided The inTroducTion for This speech.

‘

5Congressional Record, May 23, I924, p. 9343. See Appendix A for
compleTe TexT.

 

4l

The Topic was suiTed To him because of his knowledge of The needs
of his Congressional disTricT, and This debaTe afforded him The opporTu-
niTy To speak in behalf of The farmer. The effecTs of farm prices were
severely felT in a small farm communiTy. Missouri, as a prime agricul-
Ture producer in I924, and Elsberry, as a small communiTy, made Cannon
acuTely aware of The price compeTiTion facing The farmer. A knowledge
of whaT The bill would accomplish provided The raTionale for his Thesis
sTaTemenT.

The bill is merely designed To give The farmers an
opporTuniTy To organize and develop Their own markeTing machinery,

a Task accomplished by every oTher indusTry many years ago, buT

hiTherTo denied The farmer by condiTions of environmenT and

economic handicaps.
He repeaTed The purpose of The bill, and was more specific abouT whaT
The farmer would gain from a bill of This naTure. The efforT was
primarily poinTed To equaTing indusTry and farming.
IT proposes To provide for The use of The farmer The

same markeTing advanTages now uTilized by The producers of manu-

facTured goods. IT proposes To relieve The domesTic markeT of

The surplus which depresses The price and sell iT abroad under

The jurisdicTion of a cenTraIized experT agency similar To ThaT

employed by sTeel, TexTiIe, and oTher indusTries. IT creaTes for

This purpose a GovernmenT agency To be known as The UniTed

STaTes AgriculTural ExporT CorporaTion.

Realizing whaT The bill would produce, Cannon delivered The Thesis
sTaTemenT of The speech. IT was To pass The bill in order To give The
farmer an opporTuniTy To form The necessary proTecTion ThaT oThers have
soughT Through IegislaTion.

The only course Open Then is To bring agriculTuraI prices

To a par wiTh The prices of oTher commodiTies To make The farm
dollar worTh as much as The indusTrial dollar, To apply To

 

6lbid., p. 9347.

——

7lbid., p. 9545.

42

agriculTure The same principles already applied To oTher indus-
Tries, and ThaT is whaT The McNary-Haugen Bill proposes To do.8

The recurring Theme was To give The farmer equaliTy Through The
passage of The McNary-Haugen Bill. The speech spenT mosT of iTs
conTenT jusTifying This sTaTus of equaliTy. The following secTion
describes The meThodology of The speaker as he jusTified The parallels
beTween indusTry and farming.

Cannon's analysis of The problem seems To jusTify The acTion he
asks for ThroughouT The speech. The evidence ThaT he presenTs seems
To be valid, since he supporTed The mainpoinTs of his speech. For
example, he used sTaTisTics compiled by The Congress, by The New York
Federal Reserve Bank, by STandard Oil, U. S. STeeI, and by several
prominenT railroads. He used Tax sources, The Missouri Bankers'
AssociaTion, The DeparTmenT of AgriculTure, The DeparTmenT of Labor,
and NaTional STock Yards, and several general figures from some smaller
organizaTions. There was also a use of quoTaTions from hisTory, from
Abraham Lincoln, from SecreTary Wallace; from a leTTer from The B a 0
Railroad, from The meTropoliTan newspapers, and from his personal
experience. IT should be noTed ThaT The speaker used many pieces of
evidence To esTablish a poinT and ThaT he made an efforT To mix The
Types and sources of evidence in order To supporT The conclusions from
various viewpoinTs. For example, The poinT which Cannon esTablished
concerning The growTh of The UniTed STaTes was illusTraTed wiTh quoTa-
Tions which seem To cover and supporT The poinT ThaT he was Trying To

prove. Following are some of The sources which he used To prove his poinT.

 

lbid.

43

The year I923, was incomparably The greaTesT year in indus-
Trial and financial growTh and developmenT since The discovery of
America. Figures compiled by The New York Federal Bank indicaTe
ThaT during The year, 200 represenTaTive corporaTions manufacTuring
pracTically every commodiTy consumed by modern civilizaTion, and
profiTs of $834,000,000 as The record year for volume of business
and percenTage of profiTs. The dividend of 300 percenT aggregaTing
$3l8,423,295.38, declared by The STandard Oil group, The surplus of
more Than $6,353,350, reporTed by The InTernaTional Shoe Co.; The
annual revenue of half a billion dollars flowing inTo The coffers
of The UniTed STaTes STeeI CorporaTion and iTs surplus of $54,259,
993,64 are Typical of The unprecedenTed earnings of pracTicaIly
every greaT business in The counTry.

His use of differenT Types of evidence is shown when he described
The recenT success of The railroads.

The Pennsylvania Railroad drew a revenue for I923 in excess
of $775,000,000, a new high-wafer mark, and The general passenger
agenT of The BalTimore & Ohio Railroad, in a circular leTTer To The
members of This House, announced ThaT The year I923 was The mosT
prosperous in The hisTory of The BaIiTmore 4 Ohio Railroad.

The same Technique was used in showing ThaT The farmer was in an
exTremely unequal siTuaTion. And The comparison was supporTed wiTh
similar proofs. There is a large volume of evidence ThaT supporTed The
poinTs ThaT Cannon was making. Therefore, his speech was noT weak
because of The amounT of supporTing maTerial. The skill of analysis
and synThesis is revealed in Cannon's meThod of relaTing The evidence To
his argumenTs and formulaTing iT info a logical sequence. The evidence
was used To formulaTe a primarily deducTive speech. Many of The major
argumenTs were consTrucTed on The hypoTheTical syllogism. For example,
he iniTiaTed his speech by explaining The consequences of a parliamenTary

moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause. The premises for The hypoThe-

Tical syllogism were wiThin The conTexT of Cannon's explanaTion. BuT To

 

44
make sure ThaT The audience undersTood The effecTs, he puT The major
premise in The "if, Then” sTrucTure when he said:

If The House agrees To a moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing
clause afTer The reading of The firsT secTion, There will be no
opporTuniTy To read The bill under The five-minuTe rule and, of
course, no opporTuniTy To offer any amendmenTs.

The speaker proceeded To give reasons why The debaTe should noT
be cuT off, and in facT, he argued ThaT The bill should be passed. His
minor premise was ThaT:

ElemenTal jusTice demands ThaT agriculTure receive The same
OpporTuniTy which has been accorded every oTher inTeresT in The
counTry since The session began, and as a moTion is offered To
sTrike ouT The enacTing clause and deny furTher consideraTion
iT should be decisively defeaTed and The farmer given aT leasT
an opporTuniTy To presenT his case. [Applausej'

The conclusion was obvious, Then, ThaT The enachenT clause should
be IefT in The bill. The whole inTroducTion of The speech was Tied up
in This hypoTheTical syllogism and smooThly led Cannon inTo The main
TexT of The speech, which was designed To show The use and effecTiveness
of The McNary-Haugen Bill.

AnoTher insTance of The hypoTheTical syllogism demonsTraTed how

The farmer could profiT under The McNary-Haugen sysTem.

If The price of The 404 arTicles advanced, The price of hogs
would advance; if The price of The 404 commodiTies declined, The
price of hogs would decline.

So The farmer could always be cerTain ThaT The dollars which
he received for his hogs would buy as much as They boughT before
The war. He could no longer be robbed, as under The presenT sys-
Tem, by having The manufacTurer raise The price of The 404 neces-
siTies while The packer aT The same Time lowers The price of hogs.l3

There are several ways of approaching whaT Cannon is saying; buT probably

 

" bid., p. 9343.

lbid., p. 9344.

45

The plainesT way is simply, ThaT, if The farmer is no longer To be
robbed Then, Congress should pass IegislaTion (The McNary-Haugen bill)
which keeps prices correlaTive wiTh manufacTured iTems. The farmer
should noT be robbed, Therefore, pass The McNary-Haugen bill. This
syllogism noT only was powerful as a logical meThod, buT iT had signifi-
canT language implicaTions and paTheTic appeals which will be discussed
IaTer.

Cannon also used a disjuncTive syllogism in This speech. He
compleTed The syllogism by sTaTing The alTernaTives; and afTer denying
The desirabiliTy of one alTernaTive, he esTablished The second alTerna-
Tive as The only possible soluTion.

EiTher farm producTs musT be raised To The level of non-
agriculTural goods or The price of The IaTTer musT be broughT

down To ThaT of farm producTs. This is The greaT problem in The

UniTed STaTes Today. The IaTTer course is noT To be considered.

IT is neiTher pracTicable nor desirable. The only course open

Then is To bring agriculTural prices To a par wiTh The prices

of oTher commodiTies -- To make The farm dollar worTh as much as

The indusTrial dollar, To apply To agriculTure The same prinCiples

already applied To oTher indusTries, and ThaT is whaT The McNary-

Haugen bill proposes To do.

By explaining The alTernaTives and illusTraTing The effecT of boTh
clauses, and Then proceeding To use former argumenTs To jusTify his con-
clusion, Cannon is Technically correcT in his use of The disjuncTive
syllogism. The quesTion which was noT posed was, are These The only
alTernaTives? CerTainly They would be The desirable alTernaTives for

The defender of The syllogism, buT an opponenT may see oTher possible

soluTions.

 

46

As an advocaTe, Cannon used These deducTive meThods carefully and
accuraTely, and his conclusions musT be judged valid unTil alTernaTives
can be suggesTed.

He was also adepT aT The meThods of inducTion. The speech was
consTrucTed in such a way ThaT iT was necessary To show ThaT The UniTed
STaTes was wealThy, ThaT indusTry had received many aids from The
governmenT, and ThaT The farmer had received neiTher weaITh nor aid.
Cannon illusTraTed all of The poinTs inducTively by giving an abundance
of examples, by showing cause and effecT, and by comparing The alTerna-
Tives aT issue.

Examples, sTaTisTics, TesTimony, and personal experience were
previously discussed as evidence. The volume of maTerials gave credence
To his posiTion on The McNary-Haugen bill. The inducTive cause-effecT
illusTraTion furTher sTrengThened his posiTion and can besT be illus-
TraTed in Cannon's explanaTion of farm spending.

When we come To invesTigaTe This remarkable discrepancy
beTween The buying power of The farm dollar and ThaT of The
indusTrial dollar we find iT is direcTIy due To meThods and
condiTions of markeTing.l5
Cannon Then proceeded To illusTraTe This cause-effecT relaTion-

ship by using specific insTances of pasT farm spending and fuTure plans
for farm expendiTures, and from These insTances he drew his conclusion.

The comparison-conTrasT Technique was illusTraTed in describing

The wide differences beTween farming and business. In The sTrucTure of

The speech, he builT The enTire firsT secTion on The success of America

 

I5lbid., p. 9545.

47

and business. Then, very discreele, he depicTed how IiTTle The farmer
really has financially. This comparison Technique dominaTed The speech
unTil he reached an explanaTion of The McNary-Haugen bill. Here is a
descripTion of The ciTy, and counTry environmenT as viewed by Cannon.

While indusTry is enjoying an era of prosperiTy never
dreamed of and labor is receiving The highesT wage since The
dawn of civilizaTion, The farmers of America are in direcT
disTress. Farm producTs are selling aT less Than The cosT of
producTion; Taxes remain unpaid; crediT is exhausTed; farms are
being abandoned; counTry banks are failing; foreclosures are
common; and sTandards of living have declined To a minimum.
While The roar of Traffic and The hum of prosperiTy fill The
ciTies, ouT in The counTry only a few miles away are ruin and
privaTion.'9

The differences were alarming for The farmer, and The rewards of The
Two differenT aTmospheres were illusTraTed in The move away from counTry
life. This secTion of The speech porTrays The greaT division beTween
The prosperous and The non-prosperous, and iTs inTenT was To show The
vasT financial disTance beTween The Two groups. AnoTher illusTraTion
shows how Cannon viewed The double sTandards applied To The Two areas.
We are Told ThaT The farmer's problem can noT be solved

by The enachenT of laws; ThaT we can noT IegislaTe prosperiTy.

Apparenle iT is all righT To IegislaTe for The millionaire

banker, The Wall STreeT capiTalisT, The indusTrial baron and

The railroad manipulaTor, buT when The farmer presumes To ask

for a living wage The propsiTion is branded as economically

unsound and socialisTic and he is given faTherly advice and Told

he musT help himself.

The deducTive and inducTive meThods used by Cannon were well
consTrucTed. He supporTed his reasoning wiTh several Types of proof,

and he aTTempTed To give sufficienT examples in order To insure credi-

biliTy of The argumenT. In This I924 speech, he had argumenTs, evidence,

 

'6lbid., p. 9344.

'7lbid., p. 9346.

48

and organizaTion, and he correlaTed The maTerials To his argumenTs and

To his main Thesis sTaTemenT.

EmoTional Analysis

 

The appeals ThaT Cannon used To aTTempT To arouse The emoTions of
The audience show ThaT he was aware of The audience ThaT he was addres-
sing. Even more imporTanle, The speech reveals ThaT he selecTed
appeals ThaT mighT geT a favorable reacTion from his audience. The major
appeal ThroughouT The speech was ”jusTice.” The firsT quesTion would
obviously be, how do you know The Theme was jusTice? And secondly, whaT
audience was he addressing? The firsT quesTion is relaTively easy To
answer. There are aT leasT Ten references To The Theme of jusTice wiThin
The speech. The opening and closing of The speech are based on The
concepT of fair play, and The body of The speech conTains a large number
of advanTages which indusTry had accumuIaTed, and which had been denied
To The farmer. The firsT hisTorical example used porTrayed The plighT
of The farmer, and iT also compared jusTice of Today and yesTeryear.

One of The principal grievances charged againsT King John

of England, during his regency for Richard, was ThaT he refused

To hear The common people. The wealThy and noble could always

secure an audience, buT The peasanT, The farmer, and The laborer,

The bone and sinew of medieval England, were denied and refused

redress. If This moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause is

agreed To, The SixTy-eighTh Congress subjecTs iTself To The same

criTicism. The rich and powerful have never failed To receive

a respechul hearing by This Congress.

According To The speech TexT, Cannon received applause in The nexT

paragraph when he argued ThaT The enachenT resTricTion would deny The

 

lbid., p. 9343-44.

49

baresT elemenTs of jusTice. OTher phrases ThroughouT The speech show
ThaT The farmers' posiTion in socieTy was below The sTandards of The resT
of The populaTion. He also illusTraTed ThaT The amounT of work and ef-
forT of agriculTure, compared To indusTry, was grossly disproporTionaTe
To The awards which The farmer received. Such sTaTemenTs as, "BuT The
farmers' disadvanTage does noT end There. ThaT is only The beginning;"
and, "Under This double sysTem of shorTchanging, The farmer is rapidly
being reduced To peonage," illusTraTes ThaT Cannon was aiming aT a more
jusT alignmenT of profiT for The farmer.'9

This was noT The only manner in which Mr. Cannon applied his appeal
To jusTice. His quoTaTion from Abraham Lincoln and a phrase from The
preamble To The ConsTiTuTion was an aTTempT To sTir The feelings of
paTrioTism, and To remind The audience ThaT The UniTed STaTes would never
knowingly propagaTe injusTice. The final paragraph sums up The inequi-
Ties ThaT The farmer has received and This appeal also received applause
from The audience.

The farmer deserves well aT The hands of The NaTion. He has

produced unsTinTedly The mosT essenTial elemenT of naTionaI wealTh.

He has fed To surfeiT our armies in war and our ciTizens in peace.

Suffering rankling inequaliTies, he has neverTheless generously

and paTrioTicalIy conTribuTed his all wiTh meager reward. We musT

noT fail him in his hour of need. LeT us pass This bill and

resTore To him and The rural America Their righTful share Of The

NaTion's prosperiTy. [Applause]20

Since The Theme of jusTice is so prevalenf, The quesTion as To whom

Cannon was addressing needs To be asked. The firsT response To The

quesTion, of course, is The RepresenTaTives. Cannon, as a relaTively new

50

member of The House, was supporTing The bill and was urging The oTher
members aT leasT To give iT an opporTuniTy To be debaTed in full. This
approach would be especially appealing To Those RepresenTaTives who
represenTed farm communiTies and sTaTes, similar To Cannon. His speech
was also useful in demonsTraTing how well The new RepresenTaTive from
Missouri could defend his areas' inTeresTs. This Type of debaTe speech
was well suiTed To Cannon's abiliTies (as was noTed earlier) and under
mosT condiTions seems To be logically sound and well supporTed. The
appeals To jusTice and To The responsibiliTies of The proTecTors of The
consTiTuTion seem To be well adapTed To The law makers.

While The above descripTion fiTs The audience in The chamber, iT in
no way precludes The possibiliTy ThaT The speech was delivered for
someone oTher Than The House of RepresenTaTives. In facT, many of The
quoTaTions seem To show an appeal far beyond The halls of The House.
The appeals To paTrioTism and jusTice, The illusTraTion of The farmer
and The use of The consTiTuTion were appealing To The Missouri home-folk
as well as To The lawmakers. Perhaps The use of Missouri examples was
even more appealing To his consTiTuenTs Than iT would To The House mem-
bers. His supporTing maTerial builds The presTige of The farmer and his
use of The Missouri Farmers AssociaTion is a good illusTraTion of The
poinT.

The Two greaTesT livesTock commission companies in The
CenTral WesT, if noT in America, are The Farmers' Commission Co.,

organized by The Missouri Farmers' AssociaTion, and Producers'

Commission Co., organized by The Missouri Farm Bureau FederaTion.2'

 

5|

and

The Missouri Famers' AssociaTion organized in I9l4, is Today The
largesT dealer in poulTry and eggs in The UniTed STaTes and
handles a larger volume of business in The Two commodiTies Than
eiTher Armour or SwifT.2

The appeal To The local audience is furTher demonsTraTed when
Cannon exTended his remarks by giving examples of how The McNary-Haugen
bill would benefiT The farmer. His examples were based on The Missouri
farmer and he illusTraTed how The bill would benefiT The Missourian.

During The year I923, The STaTe of Missouri produced
37,947,000 bushels of wheaT, l96,000,000 bushels of corn and
approximaTely l,lll,600,000 pounds of pork.

The Table below shows The addiTional revenue which would
have been derived from These producTs had The raTio price been
in effecT:

Missouri, I923
APPROXIMATE INCREASE IN WHEAT, CORN AND HOG VALUES IF RATIO
PRICES HAD BEEN IN EFFECT

 

Wheaf ________________________ $19,352,970
Corn ........................ 3|,497,600
Hogs ........................ 46,687,200

Tofa. --------------------- $97,537,770

In oTher words, under The McNary-Haugen bill The STaTe of

Missouri would have received in one year from These Three commo-

diTies alone approximaTer $I,OO0,000,000 more Than The prices

acTually paid The farmers who produced Them.23

According To Cannon, The Missouri farmer should be quiTe concerned
wiTh The obvious loss of income. The reason Then ThaT Cannon supporTed
The bill becomes clear, and very real when felT in The pockeTbook,
especially when according To Mr. Cannon, iT was an unjusTified and an
unnecessary loss.

Finally, Mr. Cannon shows The Tragedy of The siTuaTion, and he

illusTraTes how The Missouri farmer is Typical of The naTion's sTruginng

agriculTure populaTion.

2%bnx,p.9yn.

 

2¥bnx,p.9ym.

52
And Missouri is no excepTion. The enTire farming indusTry
is affecTed by a devasTaTing financial blighT. According To a
survey by The DeparTmenT of AgriculTure The average gross annual
income per farm in The UniTed STaTes is $7I2. This is noT for
each person buT for each farm. IT is The piTiful reward of Those
who work The longesT hours, under The mosT adverse weaTher condi-
Tions, and aT The mosT laborious profession known To man.

While iT is True ThaT Cannon is addressing his consTiTuency, which
is almosT ToTalIy a farm populaTion, he is speaking for The farmer

everywhere when he says:
While The roar of Traffic and The hum of prosperiTy fill

The ciTies, ouT in The counTry only a few miles away are ruin

and privaTion.25

The young represenTaTive seems To be aware of cerTain emoTionaI
appeals and ThaT These appeals covered a wide range of IisTeners. The
appeal To jusTice fiTs boTh The immediaTe Congressional audience and The
audience of farmers. The aTTempT To influence The Congressmen mighT

enable Cannon To pass The bill. The appeal for The farmer would gain

him supporT wheTher he won The debaTe or noT.

EThical Analysis

WheTher one analyzes The speaking of Clarence Cannon from The
ArisToTelian definiTion of "eThos” or from a modern vieWpoinT of
”Personal Proof" The resulT is The same. This sTudy will use The Terms
"compeTence, good characTer, and good will" To describe The occurence of
eThical appeal in Cannon's speaking. This secTion of The chapTer will

view his eThos Through The TexT of his speech, and if will relaTe his

24Ibid., pp. 9344-45.

25lbid., p. 9344.

53
-eigg§ To The probable audiences.26
The major meThod of esTablishing compeTence was discussed Through-
ouT The logical analysis secTion. The young Congressman worked hard
To esTablish a valid chain of reasoning, and he supporTed his argumenTs
wiTh a large supply of evidence. The evidence came from many sources,
and The whole speech gives an impression of respecTable argumenT. Whe-
Ther The audience compleTely agreed wiTh his conclusion is noT imporTanT
aT This poinT. The imporTanT quesTion is wheTher or noT They had
respecT for The work and meThodology. While There is no evidence
available for This speech, if was This kind of speech which won him a
repuTaTion as a conscienTious worker.

Fully armed in every debaTe and discussion he was a
formidable ally when he was on your side of an issue; equally
formidable if he were on The oTher.

AnoTher RepresenTaTive from Missouri was more specific abouT Cannon's
abiliTy To be fully armed for debaTe.

Mr. Speaker, perhaps To me The greaTesT TraiT of This
very disTinguished American was ThaT he was whaT I would
regard as a Congressman's Congressman. He was a real sTudenT.

He did his homework. He had sTrong views buT he backed Them

up Through The work in which he engaged.28
These examples are demonsTraTions of The repuTaTion ThaT Cannon developed
as a speaker. This parTicular speech illusTraTes how The young Missouri
RepresenTaTive achieved his repuTaTion.

RepresenTaTive Carl Vinson knew Cannon when Clarence was firsT

brcmghT To WashingTon, D. C. wiTh Champ Clark. He was impressed wiTh

—_

26KenneTh G. Hance, David C. Ralph, and MilTon J. Wiksell, Principles
ELL Speaking, Second ediTion, (BelmonT, California: WadsworTh Publishing
CO-, I969), p. 80.

27RepresenTaTive Joe D. Waggonner, Memorial Services, p. l00.

28RepresenTaTive Thomas B. CurTis, Memorial Services, p. 2|.

54

Cannon from The firsT Time he meT him, and was pleased when Cannon was
elecTed To Congress. He found ThaT Cannon was a very capable and
respecTed Congressman. "He had already made his mark in The House even
before becoming a Member, and he immediaTely aTTained a posiTion of
prominence and respecT.”

Cannon's use of local maTerials gave an impression of compeTence
To his consTiTuency as well as To his colleagues. His use of Missouri
businesses noT only kepT him in Touch wiTh Missouri problems, if gave
The voTers an opporTuniTy To check on The siTuaTion as Cannon explained
if.

He also used his parliamenTary knowledge To inTroduce The subjecT
of his speech. Since he had been parliamenTarian under boTh Republican
and DemocraTic Speakers of The House, This acknowledged compeTence gave
him an enTry info a Topic aT which he was noT yeT an acknowledged experT.
Perhaps This was an aTTempT To deveIOp compeTence from one subjecT
(parliamenTary procedure) inTo anoTher area (farm problems).

By using jusTice as a Theme, and by illusTraTing ThaT The farmer
was being unfairly discriminaTed againsT, Cannon was building his appeal
in The eyes of his disTricT voTer.. This was an efforT To esTablish good
characTer. To illusTraTe ThaT he was only asking for a fair deal, Cannon
reviewed The IegislaTion.

In facT, The farmer in urging This IegislaTion is asking
no favors and seeking no special consideraTion. The bill is noT

a measure proposing class IegislaTion by depriving oThers of Their

righTs as is so ofTen and so unjusle charged, buT proposes merely

To resTore To The farmer righTs of which he has long been deprived
by IegislaTion already on The sTaTuTe books.

29Congressional Record, May 23, I924, p. 9346.

55

IT is difficulT To believe ThaT an audience of RepresenTaTives from
The farm area, or ThaT residenTs of a farm communiTy, could find Cannon
a man of ill will in This speech. The opponenTs of The McNary-Haugen
bill would undoubTedly view The siTuaTion wiTh a differenT perspecTive.
However, The Technique, and The aTTempT To force The OpposiTion inTo an
unfavorable lighT, musT be admired.

While opponenTs may have discerned a degree of ill will when Cannon
slipped a biT of sarcasm in The speech, his supporTers would have pro-
bably approved of This TacTic.

. The financial experTs, in summing up in The meTropoliTan
newspapers The siTuaTion on January I, I924, announced ThaT Wall
STreeT had enjoyed a greaT year and was ”saTisfied.” Those
conversanT wiTh whaT is required To gorge iT can well undersTand
whaT is meanT when iT is announced ThaT Wall STreeT is ”saTisfied."30
The very naTure of his procedure and producT was an iniTial

form of eiflgs building, when The whole of Cannon's career is puT inTo
perspecTive. The sTandards of evidence and reasoning were high in This
speech, and These sTandards were respecTed by men such as RepresenTaTives
Waggonner and CurTis. The appeals To paTrioTism and jusTice can be
viewed as personal values of The new RepresenTaTive, and These values
helped esTablish The characTer of The speaker. The degree wiTh which

he mainTained These sTandards will be closely waTched ThroughouT This
paper.

There is one oTher facTor which Cannon used To esTablish a favor-

able repuTaTion as Congressman.

_—

3Olpid., p. 9344.

56

Even in The busy life he led, he always mainTained an
immaculaTe appearance in a well pressed suiT. For a man who
had reached The age of 85, he was Truly a remarkable person.3|
EvidenTIy Cannon was aware of impressions and he aTTempTed To eradicaTe

any unnecessary complicaTions of eThos by mainTaining sTricT sTandards

of research, preparaTion, and appearance.

Conclusion

 

The young Clarence Cannon had an excellenT grasp of The principles
guiding The use of evidence and reasoning. He had sufficienT and repre-
senTaTive evidence and he used iT in a varieTy of ways. His logical
consTrucTion was accuraTe and imaginaTive, and The syllogisms are
supporTed and valid as he used Them. He used Theme repeTiTion To carry
his poinT, and his comparison and conTrasT Techniques were inTeresTing
and enlighTening in describing The difference beTween The farmer and The
ciTy folk.

The emoTional appeals by Mr. Cannon revealed a consciousness of
his poTenTial audience. He appealed To The vicTimized farmer by ciTing
The ConsTiTuTion, Abraham Lincoln, jusTice, and equaliTy. He used The
same appeals To convince The Congressmen ThaT The bill was jusTified and
necessary. The complicaTions of working wiTh The Two audiences were
vasT, buT The speech was appealing To boTh groups.

A measuremenT of This speech is difficulT To assess. Was The
speech a success? A correlaTion beTween This speech and his re-elecTion
is impossible, buT The amounT of inTeresT ThaT speeches of This naTure

CreaTed is described by Burl NOggle:

 

 

3'RepresenTaTive William J. Randall, Memorial Services, p. 3|.

57

BuT John P. Gleason, while noT denying The self-inTeresT
ThaT business displayed in The l920's, has found ThaT debaTe
and publiciTy on The McNary-Haugen plan among businessmen was
"decidedly beneficial” To The American farmer. AIThough mosT
businessmen )pposed The plan, They did begin To realize ThaT
someThing musT be done abouT The farm problem. The McNary-
Haugen campaign ”helped To prepare The business communiTy for
(New Deal form) IegislaTion of The l930's.32

AT The very leasT Cannon esTablished a viewpoinT which his
consTiTuency and colleagues could evaluaTe for fuTure use. AT The mosT

he creaTed a showdown which The SaTurday Evening PosT described.

 

Being a farmer himself, and represenTing a wholly rural
disTricT, Cannon is an especially fasT man wiTh a billion when
iT comes To farm IegislaTion. Cannon's canniness has pushed
every Type of aid To agriculTure since I924, when his parlia-
menTary skill forced a voTe on The pioneer McNary-Haugen farm-
price-supporT bill -- a showdown_neiTher major parTy wanTed in
ThaT presidenTiaI-elecTion year?3

32Burl Noggle, "The TwenTies: A HisToriographical FronTier," The
Journal 91 American HisTory, Vol. 53, (SepTember, I966), p. 308.

33R. F. Healy, "Nobody Loves Clarence,” SaTurday Evening PosT,
V. CCXXII, (March 25, I950),

CHAPTER FOUR

CANNON AND HOOVER FACE THE DEPRESSION: I928-l932

The years of The Hdover adminisTraTion were years which saw Cannon
spend his speaking Time clarifying his views abouT governmenT spending
compared To governmenT income. IT was also a Time which necessiTaTed
speeches To gain supporT from Missouri voTers. Depression Times were
Times which had To be spenT placaTing The consTiTuenTs, or aT leasT a
Congressman musT appear To be making an efforT To saTisfy Their needs.

IT was necessary To keep The disTricT populaTions informed abouT Congres-
sional affairs so ThaT The depression could be explained and perhaps
seTTled in some manner. CerTainly wiTh a Republican sTiII in The WhiTe
House (even Though he was a new one) a sTalwarT DemocraT looking for issues
should noT be aT a loss for a subjecT which jusTifies his sTand and poinTs
ouT The inadequacies of The Republican adminisTraTion.

Cannon, however, did noT choose The rouTe of parTisan poliTics and
opponenT casTigaTion. RaTher, he conTinued To build on his former farm
policies (such as The McNary Haugen Bill) and spending, and he also
esTablished several Missouri projecTs as necessary and desirable.

By March 30, I932, The economic siTuaTion required a forTy million
bushel of wheaT disTribuTion ThroughouT The organizaTional machinery of
The Red Cross. In July, an addiTional forTy-five million bushels of
WheaT and 240,000,000 pounds of coTTon were added for furTher disTribu-
Tion by The REHj Cross. Grain and coTTon prices dropped sTeadily, and,

58

59
The farmer suffered because of The many price Ierowns. Cannon had
illusTraTed The problem as early as July 28, l93l, when he issued a

' He showed wheaT

sTaTemenT Through The DemocraTic NaTional CommiTTee.
aT 23¢, corn aT 30¢, and coTTon aT 6-7¢, wiTh prices sTilI Tumbling.

A look aT The average yearly prices of wheaT, corn, and coTTon demon-

sTraTes The markeT problem.

I925 I929 I930 I93I I932 I933
WheaT l.437 |.O36 .67l .39l .382 .744 dollars/bushel
Corn .70l .799 .5l8 .32I .3I6 .520 dollars/bushel
CoTTon I9.6l I6.78 9.46 5.66 6.52 IO. l7 cenTs/pound 2

While farmers in The Middle WesT were given a moraTorium on Taxes
in some counTies of Kansas, There was no moraTorium on droughT or on The
plague of grasshoppers reporTed in Iowa, Nebraska, and SouTh DakoTa.3

The depTh of depression was reached in ThaT I932 period. Besides
The farm problems, The STock Exchange prices dropped from a I929 high
ToTal index of 26.02 To a I932 low of 6.93f' UnemploymenT reached
fifTeen million by The end of The year, wiTh The naTional income cuT
from $8I billion To $42 billion. On July I, I929, SecreTary Mellon
predicTed a Tax cuT for The year (because of a surplus of $l85 million

and a $300 million surplus esTimaTed by l93l), buT The depression soon

made iT impossible for his predicTion To be realized.5

‘.

'New York Times, July 28, l93l, "Blames High Tariff for Farmer's
Ills.”

 

2The STaTisTicaI HisTory g: The UniTed STaTes from Colonial Times 12
TTNe PresenT, (STanford, ConnecTicuTT: Fairfield Publishers, I965, pp. 296-
297, 30l .

3Irving S. & Nell M. Kull,‘Ag Encyclopedia 91 American HisTogy,
PP- 38I~82.

4|bid., p. 657.

5N. Y. T. headlines on July I, I929.

60

Foreign policy was ofTen forgoTTen during This period for several
reasons: (I) domesTic policies caused sufficienT aggravaTion and
unseTTled problems; (2) STimson and Hoover did noT view cause and solu-
Tions in The same manner; (3) and The lack of cooperaTion evenTually
beTween The PresidenT and The SecreTary of STaTe led To a sTalemaTe.
Richard W. Leopold verified ThaT These Types of problems exisTed beTween
STimson and Hoover.

He (STimson) was readier To supporT diplomacy wiTh armed forces

and To mainTain peace Through consulTive TreaTies. He believed

ThaT economic sancTions could resTrain an aggressor, while Hoover

feared They would precipiTaTe hosTiliTies. The PresidenT was

cauTious, circumspecT, and keenly alive To domesTic pressures;

The SecreTary was bold, forThrighT, and deeply concerned wiTh

foreign problems . . . . For ng years They worked in harmony

and Then drifTed sTeadily aparT.

The depression was a good reason for sTressing domesTic problems
because The domesTic problems were immediaTe To The people, and The
soluTion of Those problems necessiTaTed The aTTenTion and acTion by
Congressmen. The small businessman and The rural populaTion were
dependenT on The acTion ThaT Congress would Take regarding prices and
sTabilizaTion. The voTers were anxious To know whaT Their Congressmen
had in mind as a soluTion. There is liTTIe wonder Then, ThaT on March 30,
I932, Cannon gave a speech designed To bring revenue inTo The governmenT.

JusT eighT days IaTer Franklin Delano RoosevelT broadcasT his "for-
goTTen man" speech, which would keynoTe his preconvenTion campaign. Can-
non was appealing To The same kind of individual wiTh The same, Though more
IimiTed, objecTive in mind; reelecTion To Congress.

The amendmenT presenTed by Cannon was designed To force The big busi-

nessses To pay a larger share of The Taxes and iT was also designed To

 

 

6Richard W. Leopold, The GrowTh 91 American Foreigg Policy, (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, I962), p. 410.

 

 

C ._

6|
prevenT The large corporaTions from eliminaTing The small, independenT
businesses. The developmenT of The soluTion, The aTTempT To equalize
compeTiTion, and The increase of governmenT income are The major poinTs
of The speech. The logical Techniques used in This speech differ sig-
nificanle from The speech previously examined and The change in The

Techniques will be closely followed.

Logical Analysis

 

The firsT argumenT ThaT Cannon advanced was designed To show ThaT
The weighT of evidence was favorable To The amendmenT. While The argu-
menTs appeared To be documenTed iT was really an appeal To presTige. The
efforT To include so many imporTanT personages seems To aTTempT To preclude
a subsTanTive examinaTion of The issues. Who could refuse The amendmenT
or deny The supporT by The Speaker of The House, The majoriTy leader, and
The acTing chairman of The Ways and Means CommiTTee and sTilI voTe
logically? The inference was ThaT because of The powerful supporT, The
amendmenT musT make sense.

All Three disTinguished Members of The House wiTh Their long

experience in maTTers of Tax IegislaTion and wiTh an inTimaTe

knowledge of The principles of TaxaTion, hearTily indorsed [gig]

The proposal presenTed in This amendmenT when if was under

consideraTion in I929.

The evidence, Then, was based on The presTige of his colleagues,
and This was perhaps one of The mosT significanT misTakes in his public
speaking career.

There are several possible explanaTions regarding Cannon's acTion.

He could have been aTTempTing To force Garner inTo a public sTaTemenT; he

-___.2

7Conggessional Record, March 30, I932, p. 7I24. See Appendix B for
compleTe TexT.

 

62

could have used Garner's I929 supporT as evidence of The value of The
proposiTion; or, he could have failed To check wiTh The leaders regarding
Their presenT disposiTion Toward The maTTer. The lasT of These possi-
biliTies seems To be The mosT likely because Cannon does noT pursue a
logical course of discussion ThaT would reveal Garner's inconsisTencies,
nor does he push Garner for a supporTed explanaTion of The change in
posiTion. Also, he drOps all discussion abouT The leaders' aTTiTides
Toward The bill, and franTically aTTemst To subsTiTuTe documenTed
maTerials in place of presTige. Finally, There is no furTher reference
To Garner or The oTher leaders as evidence for The sTrengTh of The
proposiTion. The analysis of The evidence and reasoning will demonsTraTe
The shifT in Cannon's approach afTer Garner's inTercession. Therefore,
Cannon evidenle failed To check his sources in order'hafind ouT wheTher
The Speaker of The House was sTiII supporTing an amendmenT which aTTempTed
To force The corporaTions To pay Their shaTe of Taxes raTher Than avoid
TaxaTion by consolidaTing Their reTurns.

The Tax sysTem ThaT Cannon was discussing allowed large corporaTions
To discounT Their TaxaTion by Taking losses on The subsidiary companies.
The discounTing on subsidiary companies noT only avoided a large amounT
of TaxaTion, iT faciliTaTed The crushing of small independenT businesses
which were forced To pay normal Taxes. AT The end of Cannon's alloTTed
Speaking Time, Garner felT compelled To explain his presenT posiTion on
The maTTer. The essence of The sTaTemenT was raTher condemning.
"MR. GARNER- I refer To The commiTTee amendmenT, of course. I Think

YOU will make a misTake if you adopT The Cannon amendmenT."8

63

Speaker Garner had an explanaTion for his change in posiTion. He
explained ThaT while money was being losT, as Cannon illusTraTed, Through
consolidaTed reTurns, and ThaT while he had foughT a hard baTTle To
eliminaTe The consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns, The former posiTion
had Two major flaws. FirsT, The financial siTuaTion would noT yield
much. Second, afTer The firsT year The bookkeepers could readjusT To
eliminaTe much of The effecT of The amendmenT.

The effecT of Mr. Garner's sTaTemenT was caTasTrophic To Cannon's
speech. IT ruined mosT of The logical basis for accepTing his posiTion.
The facT ThaT Cannon had relied on The presTige of The mosT imporTanT
members of The House is easily illusTraTed. There were pracTically no
oTher sources in The speech. There was one illusTraTion from The ngig,
buT The resT of The speech was supporTed by illusTraTing how DuPonT
Company and a few oTher companies had escaped TaxaTion by allowing sub-
sidiaries To Take losses which alleviaTed The parenT corporaTions' Tax
problems. IT is True ThaT Cannon porTrayed The sTep-by-sTep procedures
which The companies used To evade The Taxes; iT is also True ThaT he
porTrayed The companies' meThods of eliminaTing compeTiTion. He did noT,
however, give a source for any of The informaTion. NoTice how he
described The working order of The organizaTion wiThouT sTaTing how he
had accumulaTed The informaTion or how he had verified The accuraTeness
of The informaTion.

The resulT is ThaT The chain sTores noT only escape TaxaTion buT

They use The law To drive ouT compeTiTion. Whenever a chain sTore

is esTablished in a new IocaTion, or whenever compeTiTion becomes

Troublesome, The chain sTore deliberaTely lowers prices, and runs aT

a loss unTil The home sTore across The sTreeT is driven To The wall

and eiTher closes or sells ouT. The loss in This branch of The

chain is crediTed in The Tax reTurns againsT profiTs made in oTher
branches and The chain escapes TaxaTion while if crushes The home

merchanT. Then when compeTiTion is eliminaTed The chain resTores
prices To a profiTable basis and recoups iTs losses and is prepared

64

To open up a new locaTion or sTrangle any independenT merchanT
who Tries To enTer The field.

LaTer Cannon did verify ThaT The governmenT was losing millions of
dollars by having The loophole in The law. He sTaTed ThaT The "Federal
Trade Commission afTer exhausTive hearings”confirmed ThaT The governmenT
was losing millions of dollars unnecessarily, buT This is The closesT
ThaT he came To supporTing his maTerial.

The conclusion of The speech shows The effecT of The unanTicipaTed
swiTch by Garner as Cannon shifTed ground. Forced inTo abandoning his
amendmenT, he Tried To salvage his argumenTs by swiTching To a recommen-
daTion To increase The raTe requesTed in The commiTTee amendmenT.

BuT may I aT The same Time suggesT an increase in The amounT To be

conTribuTed by These corporaTions over ThaT proposed by The commiT-

Tee? Do you realize ThaT consolidaTed corporaTions Taking advan-

Tage of This law, consTiTuTing only Two per cenT of all The cor-

poraTions making Tax reTurns To The Federal GovernmenT, received

finy per cenT of The enTire corporaTion income of The UniTed

STaTes? Going furTher, do you realize ThaT five per cenT of The

corporaTions of The counTry making Tax reTurns, and enTiTled To

addiTional exempTions under This law, received nineTy per cenT of

The T6Tal gross income paid To all The corporaTions of The UniTed

STaTes? IT seems incrediBle, buT iT is shown by The records of

The Treasury DeparTmenT.

He packed as many sources and sTaTisTics in These few minuTes as
he had in The resT of The enTire speech. He used four sTaTisTical

examples and The UniTed STaTes Treasury as a source. The closing of The

speech provide several possible explanaTions of Cannon's reacTion To

Garner's sTaTemenT. He may have had more maTerials and more sources To

9|bid., p. 7I25.

lbid., p. 7I27.

rui-

65
call on, if necessary; buT iT appears ThaT he assumed ThaT The group had
enough informaTion from previous debaTes. From This conclusion he musT
have counTed heavily on The weighT of The presTigious members of The
House To carry his argumenTs. Or perhaps he was caughT unaware of The
abiliTy of The companies To adapT To The Tax sTrucTure. The maTerials
in The conclusion would indicaTe ThaT he recognized ThaT he had made a
TacTicaI error in relying on The presTige, and he was aTTempTing To
recover supporT by supplying The missing argumenTs.

Do you realize ThaT consolidaTed corporaTions Taking
advanTage of This law, consTiTuTing only Two per cenT of all The
corporaTions making Tax reTurns To The Federal GovernmenT, receive
finy per cenT of The enTire corporaTion income of The UniTed
STaTes? Going sTilI furTher, do you realize ThaT five per cenT
of The corporaTions of The counTry making Tax reTurns, and enTiTled
addiTional exempTions under This law, received nineTy per cenT
of The ToTaI gross income paid To all The corporaTions of The
UniTed STaTes? IT seems incredibler buT iT is shown by The
records of The Treasury DeparTmenT.'

The alloTTed speaking Time was used up, and his colleagues Took
advanTage of his misplay by seizing The opporTuniTy To quesTion him.
Meanwhile, Cannon sTruggIed To exiT somewhaT gracefully from The scene
by wiThdrawing The amendmenT while asking for an adjusTmenT To The
presenT law.

From The sTandpoinT of argumenT and evidence, This was an exTremely
weak speech by Cannon's previous sTandard. His inabiliTy To supporT
his argumenTs or, more imporTanle, To anTicipaTe The change in supporT
resulTed in The desTrucTion of The supporT of his speech. By removing

The assumpTion ThaT The bill was supporTed by The leaders of The House,

The speech was devoid of presTige and subsTanTive supporT; and conTained

*

"lbid.

66

only an informaTive descripTion of The way companies used Their sub-

sidiaries. Even This was wiThouT subsTanTial documenTaTion.

EmoTional Analysis

”Mr. Chairman, I TrusT The commiTTee will approach This proposiTion
wiTh an open mind.” The above sTaTemenT is parTicular'ly deceiving when
if is analyzed wiTh The informaTion ThaT The speaker ThoughT he had.IZ
Cannon immediaTely inTroduced an amendmenT which he ThoughT was sup-
porTed by The Speaker of The House, The majoriTy leader of The House,
and The acTing chairman of The CommiTTee on Ways and Means. Cannon
aTTempTed To increase The presTige facTor, IisTing The qualificaTions of
These men in Tax maTTers. This would have been a valuable and inTeresTing
Technique under normal circumsTances. However, The opening sTaTemenT
regarding ”an open mind” allows liTTle room for Cannon To maneuver when
The House leaders repudiaTe Their supporT for his amendmenT. If The
commiTTee follow his advice, Then Cannon's amendmenT musT be rejecTed
on The basis of supporT and presTige.

In addiTion To presTige Cannon relied on The familiar appeal To
jusTice. He also headed The argumenT wiTh an appeal To a beTTer-balanced
budgeT.

This amendmenT noT only offers a means of assisTing in
balancing The BudgeT by greaTIy decreasing The exempTions of our
largesT corporaTions buT iT also prevenTs The GovernmenT from

becoming a parTy To unfair compeTiTion Through which The corpora-
Tion wiTh many branches desTroys compeTiTion and eliminaTes The

lbid., p. 7l24.

67

smaller and independenT corporaTion engaged in The same business.

This secTion of The law gives The chain corporaTion an unfair

advanTage over The individual corporaTion; and iT is only American

fair play To repeal iT and puT The smaller corporaTion and The
independenT corporaTion on a plane of equal advanTage so far as

The law is concerned.

There were several appeals To American fair play, and There was al-
so an emphasis on phrases such as ”unfair compeTiTion” and ”unfair ad-
vanTage." All of These accenTuaTed The necessiTy for change, and They
anTicipaTed argumenTs in favor of The original amendmenT by forcing The
defender To be supporTing an unAmerican, unfair proposiTion.

Cannon was noT conTenT wiTh using Americanism and jusTice. He
referred To a Bible sTory To illusTraTe The exTenT of The problem. ”The
law which This amendmenT prOposes To sTrike ouT penalizes David and
assisTs GoliaTh." This parTicular appeal merely highlighTed The dif-
ference beTween The Two groups, and while The appeal To The ulTimaTe
auThoriTy was noT a ThreaT in This case, aT leasT iT was a reminder of
final jusTice.

Cannon used Two oTher Types of emoTionaI appeals in This speech.
One was an efforT To use The firsT premise (ThaT They are robbing The
governmenT) To prove ThaT large businesses are inTenTionally hurTing The
small businesses. He described The meThodology used by The chain sTores.

The resulT is ThaT The chain sTores noT only escape TaxaTion,
buT They use The law To drive ouT compeTiTion. Whenever a chain
sTore is esTablished in a new IocaTion, or when compeTiTion becomes

Troublesome, The chain deliberaTely lowers prices and runs aT a

loss unTil The home sTore across The sTreeT is driven To The wall
and eiTher closes or sells ouT. 4

68

Therefore, The big businesses were commiTTing Two acTs which deserve
correcTion, and The whole aTTack was fraughT wiTh moral overTones. While
Cannon did noT accuse The businesses of violaTing The law, he did accuse
Them of using Their sTrengTh and posiTion To eliminaTe The "David's"

from The compeTiTive markeT. His inference was ThaT The companies may

or may noT be violaTing The law, buT They are Taking an unfair advanTage
of The lesser companies.

Cannon's final sTaTemenT in his address was an efforT To jusTify
his resoluTion. Any emoTional impacT ThaT he may have builT from pres-
Tige was losT, buT The inTenT of This secTion of The speech would be
hard To misconsTrue. He was obviously Trying To leave his audience wiTh
an emoTional jusTificaTion for The amendmenT.

Now, if we are driven To The exTreme of Taxing The chewing
gum of The children, surely we oughT To permiT The greaTesT
money-making corporaTions To pay Their jusT and lawful share
of The Taxes.

The final fuTile aTTempT To jusTify The Taxing of These corporaTions
SLJffered from lack of supporT of The Chairman. Regardless of The imagi-
naaTion of The criTics, iT would be difficuIT To imagine Cannon recreaTing
a favorable mood in The audience. While The logic of The speech may
Fuax/e been relaTively unTouched by counTer-argumenTs, The mood and The
LJreasTige were enTirely eliminaTed by The shifT of posiTion by The Speaker
(DT ‘The House. Regardless of The effecT of The speech up To The poinT
OT inTerrupTion, The shifT of supporT was exTremer damaging To his

amefidmenT and To The IaTer suggesTion ThaT The Tax percenTage be in-

CFea sed.

69
EThical Analysis

There is liTTle doubT ThaT This speech did liTTle To advance The
image ThaT Clarence Cannon had worked Toward since his enTry inTo The
House. The Technique of associaTing The presTige of The House officers

To provide sTrengTh for The measure evenTuaTed noT only a loss of sup-

porT, buT a reverse of posiTion on The bill. Cannon's efforT To salvage

his posiTion on The issue, and his aTTempT To jusTify his wiThdrawing

of The amendmenT reveals The damage To his posiTion.

Mr. Chairman, for 20 years I have cooperaTed aT every
opporTuniTy wiTh The genTleman from Texas, The Speaker of The
House, and This occasion shall noT be an excepTion To The rule.

I am glad To have This unexpecTed opporTuniTy To express my high
regard for him. I have followed him always gladly and always
wiTh profiT, noT only because I am an organizaTion DemocraT, buT
because of my deep personal affecTion. I shall wiThdraw my

amendmenT.

This parTicular speech would lend supporT To ArisToTle's hypoThesis

ThaT ”we mighT almosT affirm ThaT his characTer (eThos) is The mosT

poTenT of all The means To persuasion.”'7 In This speech, Cannon's

secondary presTige was aT leasT Temporarily damaged. In oTher words, his

dependence on The supporT of The House leaders was caTegorically denied.
Regardless of The reason behind The move, Garner erased Cannon's enTire
supporTing argumenT; and in addiTion, he asked ThaT The Cannon amendmenT

be rejecTed. This probably eliminaTed any influence ThaT Cannon may have

personally developed because The Congressmen would have To rejecT Garner's

reconmendaTion over Cannon's. AT This Time in his career iT is doubeul

ThaT Ckmnon would have carried sufficienT presTige To fighT The Speaker

'6lbid., p. 7I27.

l7ArisToTle, The RheToric 9i ArisToTle, TranslaTed by Lane Cooper,
(New ‘York: AppleTon-CenTury CrofTs, Inc., I960), p. 9.

70

of The House. Since Garner made one sTaTemenT, and Cannon wiThdrew his
amendmenT as a resulT, iT appears ThaT greaTer eiflgs won The baTTle.

There is anoTher reason ThaT ArisToTle's hypoThesis seems sup-
porTed in This speech. The argumenTs, Though poorly supporTed, were
never really aTTacked by Garner. In facT, several Congressmen asked
quesTions which Tended To supporT Cannon's general Thesis. However,
once The Garner sTaTemenT was made, The inTenT of The speech was voided,
and The argumenTs were never considered. While Cannon's IaTer use of
evidence and reasoning may have helped mainTain his image as a responsi-
ble speaker wiTh a jusTifiable posiTion, if was noT direcTed Toward
winning supporT for a specific purpose. Thus, eThos, or The lack of iT
in This case, was The major facTor in This speech.

The decision To reTreaT and change TacTics allowed Cannon To
salvage a few pieces. AT leasT aT This poinT he did noT launch an aTTack
which mighT irreparably damage his presTige. He evidenle esTimaTed ThaT
his chances of vicTory were minimal, or ThaT The risk was noT jusTified
aT The Time. Perhaps he felT ThaT The Temporary loss of presTige was

comparaTiver more advanTageous Than a direcT spliT wiTh The Speaker of

The House.

Conclusion

 

The conclusion regarding This speech and speaking siTuaTion would
have To be ThaT Mr. Cannon avoided a very uncomforTabIe siTuaTion.
TTue STandard of evidence which he had developed in previous speaking
siTWJaTions was parTially abandoned in This speech, and he subsTiTuTed
(DresT‘ige of oThers for The evidence. By failing To check wiTh Speaker

GarTmer To find ouT abouT his currenT posiTion on The bill, Cannon made

7l
a dangerous assumpTion which should have been a lesson in poliTics and
in public speaking. The aTTempTed use of emoTional language and The use
of examples do noT overcome The weak basis of argumenT which Cannon used
in This insTance. His presTige, noT yeT as greaT as The Speakers',
was Temporarily reduced; and he chose noT To force a clash of persona-
liTies or posiTions aT This Time.

The effecT of The speech on Cannon's career was minimal. His
evenTual poliTical success, and his public speaking effecTiveness seem
To indicaTe ThaT This speech did noT affecT Cannon's presTige adversely.
The nexT chapTer, however, will illusTraTe ThaT Clarence Cannon learned

a lesson on evidence and eThos.

CHAPTER FIVE
ROOSEVELT AND RELIEF

WhaT were you doing in January, I939? Were you eaTing lunch aT The
HoTel TafT in New York for sixTy-five cenTs? Were you buying a pair of
Nunn Bush Shoes for $6.95? Was your wife buying a corseT aT Macy's
January Sale? AfTer all, for $5.98 To $I0.89, you could be among The
besT dressed in New York. Macy's adverTisemenTs had a fooTnoTe which
said, "We sell only for cash. ResulTing economics including efficiency
and volume save we esTimaTe six percenT. We endeavor To have The prices
of our merchandise reflecT This saving, subjecT To IimiTaTions over which
we have no conTrol." The Macy's adverTisemenT indicaTes ThaT cash was
an imporTanT business elemenT conTrasTed To The crediT money which we use
Today.

OTher economic facTors were shown in The pages of The New York Times.
For insTance, General ElecTric had a I938 high of 48 poinTs and a low of
27%. AlThough There was a January average price of 4lé, recovery was
slow and uncerTain. MosT of The sTocks were from five To Ten poinTs
below The I938 high. Business had a long way To go To recover losses
ancl confidence,

There were several oTher evenTs in The news ThaT had an effecT on
'The speech The Clarence Cannon made on January l2, I939. Mr. Cannon
Tcmfl< a sTand againsT The proposiTion ThaT "The ExisTing MeThods of
AdnflrwisTering Relief Funds be Changed." By Taking ThaT sTand, he was

suppKDrTing RooseveIT's Theory of recovery. The proposiTion seems simple

72

73

enough; buT The economics of The Time, as well as The daily evenTs,
caused a deeper inTeresT and a greaTer significance Than jusT spending
relief money. Why should There be any change? (Basically, The change

was To be a cuT in appropriaTions). Was Congress Tired of giving away

 

money? Was The counTry now economically sound? Was unemploymenT signifi-
canTIy decreased; enough To remove a large proporTion of The aid? The
answer, by Cannon, To all These quesTions is ''no”. There were oTher
Things ThaT were insTrumenTaI in The decision To propose This measure.

The new headlines of January I0, II, and l2 reveal a major foreign

 

policy decision which caused economic concern in This counTry. ”Chamber-
Iain Off Today on Rome Trip,” ”Kennedy, BulliTT Spur Arming Drive,” "Our
Air Supremacy is Held Endangered,” ”Rebels Say Troops Are in MonTblanc,”
and "BriTain ProTesTs Franco ViolaTions.”

On January 5, PresidenT RoosevelT had submiTTed his budgeT message
To Congress. NaTional Defense had Taken $I, 3l9, 558,000; and January
l2, in a special message, he recommended an addiTionaI $535,000,000 To
be spenT in The nexT Two years. The money was channeled inTo prepara-
Tions for defense in The anTicipaTion of an armed conflicT. A majoriTy
of Americans expressed approval of Chamberlain's Munich agreemenT in
I938. BuT by January of I939, American officials were doubeul of HiTler's
good inTenTions. In his annual message on January 5, RoosevelT called
for American uniTy in The face of foreign ThreaTs To free insTiTuTions,
and for a heavy increase in American armamenTs. The suspicions were
well founded. Even Though Germany announced her World's Fair pavilion
aS'The Freedom Pavilion, designed To celebraTe Germany yesTerday and
Tomor—row, The HiTler army would be in Czechoslovakia by March.

The UniTed STaTes was also boThered by The Japanese aggression.

 

74

SecreTary Hull was Taking enough acTion To make The headlines wiTh "An

Air MuniTions Ban Shows Hull's Concern Over Japanese AcTions.” HiTler,

Mussolini, and Japanese miliTary were more Than men, power, or aggressors.
They were economic facTors as well.
His legislaTive

Business was also causing RooseveIT concern.

acTions, if noT challenged by The Supreme CourT, were ignored by The

worker and The manager. Such news as The ”N.L.R.B. Loses FighT To
Enforce Order,” "PresidenT Assigns HOpkins To Reconcile Labor Group,
STudy Wagner AcT Changes,” and ”Deadlock in CourT on TVA is Rumored,"

seem To indicaTe ThaT business was resisTing RoosevelT or New Deal

meThods of recovery.

The House Republicans were aTTacking The spending policies of The
AdminisTraTion, buT They were noT sTrong enough To conTrol The House.
They had sufficienT power wiTh some DemocraTic supporT To push financial
issues inTo heaTed debaTe and public aTTenTion, and Thus They proposed

an economic Topic for debaTe. As expecTed, The conservaTive side of The

House was noT willing To give away money, and as long as The Republicans

did noT make The issues a parTy maTTer, They coulj geT supporT from The

dissidenT DemocraTs.

Money was needed everywhere. Economically The counTry was sTill

comparaTively unsound, and $I50,000,000 ouT of The relief budgeT of

$875,000,000 could damage The recovery process. RepresenTaTive Cannon

cxanTended ThaT a significanT amounT of damage would be done To The

eccnwomy. In a vigorous proTesT, he demonsTraTed noT only ThaT The

danfifige would be To The peOple who were unemployed, buT ThaT The mulTi-

pl Rer effecT would hurT our whole economy. Thus, The whole business

cycles would be affecTed.

75

WiThouT The war, his argumenTs mighT have carried more weighT. The
”New Deal” would cerTainly have been affecTed To a greaTer exTenT. BuT
who realized on January I2, I939, ThaT HiTler would sTarT his BliTzkrieg
in Two monThs? The debaTe cenTered on The advisabiliTy of spending funds
for relief, which would provide money for The people who were seriously

affecTed by unemploymenT and personal adverse condiTions.

Logical Analysis

The purpose of This speech was To rejecT The debaTe proposal ThaT
The relief appropriaTion should be reduced by I25 million dollars.
Cannon was inTenT on showing ThaT There was_gg jusTificaTion for The
proposal. A quick look aT The divisions of The speech will show how he
defended The enTire relief appropriaTion.

The final sTaTemenT in The inTroducTion demonsTraTes The resulT of
The budgeT commiTTees' acTion. ”BuT jusT aT This criTical period The
commiTTee brings in a proposal To dismiss from employmenT more Than a
million workmen Today earning Their daily bread in producTive employmenT."I
From This sTaTemenT, Cannon propelled his aTTack upon The commiTTee.

The enTire body of The speech was a confirmaTion of The purpose
sTaTemenT. RepresenTaTive Cannon aTTempTed To demonsTraTe ThaT The plan
of The proposiTion was injurious To The naTion. He conTended ThaT The
proposed measure specifically eliminaTed work for I,l5l,300 men. He

used The buying power of These men To show The mulTiplier effecT on our

economy.

 

lCongressional Record, January I2, I939, p. 249. See Appendix C for
conm>leTe TexT.

76

The P.W.A. esTimaTes each family To average 3% persons. ThaT
is a conservaTive esTimaTe, as The TradiTional miliTary raTio is
five To a family. BuT even aT The minimum esTimaTe, The number of
dependenTs affecTed by This reducTion would aggregaTe 4,026,550
persons. AT The Army raTio iT will affecT 5,726,500 people. BuT
iT goes furTher Than ThaT. The business creaTed and supporTed by
The needs of This vasT number of peOple, Their Trade wiTh merchanTs,
arTisans, and professional men, gives employmenT To numerous oTher
workers, who wiThouT This business, will also be Thrown ouT of
employmenT. So, on a conservaTive esTimaTe, The proposiTion of The
commiTTee here is To Take away The subsisTence of from six To eighT
million people. IT is noT necessary To draw on The imaginaTion To
undersTand whaT ThaT would mean To The people Themselves or To The
business inTeresTs of The counTry.

According To Cannon, if eiTher of The esTimaTes were acTuaTed iT
would cause a significanT effecT on The economy. The TheoreTical discus-
sion illusTraTed ThaT The proposed cuT in relief should cause harm To
millions of people. While Cannon did noT provide evidence ThaT his
TheoreTical projecTion would acTually come abouT, The poTenTial harm was
evidenT in his sTaTisTics concerning The base effecT plus The mulTiplier
effecT.

AfTer showing The harm of The commiTTee's proposal, Cannon demon-
sTraTed in his second argumenT ThaT There was no evidence To supporT The

budgeT cuT.

The commiTTee gives no Tenable reason for iTs ruThless recom-
mendaTion excepT a desire To save money. In facT There is no rea-
son. Every wiTness called by The commiTTee demonsTraTed The need
for increased raTher Than decreased employmenT. Every iTem of The
evidence submiTTed To The commiTTee supporTed The PresidenT's
recommendaTion of $875,000,000. You can read The hearings Through
from The firsT page To The lasT, and There is noT one line, or a
single sTaTemenT ThaT jusTifies a decrease of a dollar in The
appropriaTion or a reducTion of a job in The employmenT program.
The proposal To reduce The amounT is unwarranTed, so aT variance
wiTh The evidence, so unjusTified by The sTaTisTics submiTTed in
The hearings, ThaT iT is impossible To escape The conclusion ThaT

 

lbid.

77

The commiTTee meT wiTh The preconceived deTerminaTion To cuT The
amounT recommended by The budgeT. No maTTer whaT amounT had been
recommended, The commiTTee would have cuT iT. If The requesT had
been for $500,000,000 The commiTTee would have cuT iT. If The
esTimaTe had been for $200,000,000 They would have cuT iT. Ap-
parenle iT is a purely arbiTrary cuT unsupporTed by any facT or
formula. And cerTainly iT is noT supporTed by The American people.

This second argumenT was very general and raTher weak in direcT
evidence. The Technique was designed To show ThaT There were no reasons
given for The reducTion of The funds. The maTerial was well placed,
quesTioned The commiTTee's moTives, and served as a TransiTion info The
more powerful argumenT, public opinion.

The Third argumenT was by far The besT-supporTed. The argumenT
was designed To be a reminder To The Congressmen ThaT They were represen-
TaTives of The public demand. AlThough he never expliciTIy sTaTed The
effecT on Congress, The public power argumenT was a powerful reminder of
The exisTence of home voTers.

For example, Cannon reporTed a viewpoinT held by several economisTs
who wroTe To PresidenT RoosevelT in order To show supporT ouTside of
Congress for mainTaining The relief funds.

Dear PresidenT RooseveIT: We, The undersigned economisTs,

are addressing ourselves To you in order To express our opinions

on a naTional problem of greaTesT imporTance which falls wiThin

our sphere of professional compeTence.

Newspaper reporTs, which have noT been denied, indicaTe ThaT

The Works Progress AdminisTraTion is planning To cuT iTs rolls by

a Third during The nexT Two or Three monThs. This acTion, we

undersTand, is conTemplaTed in order To sTreTch The presenT relief

appropriaTion and To lay The ground for a greale reduced deficiency
appropriaTion nexT spring. Such a policy would involve Throwing

some million breadwinners and Their families inTo desTiTuTion dur-
ing The severe winTer monThs. IT would involve a reducTion of

 

3lbid.

*—

78

more Than $50,000,000 per monTh in direcT wage paymenTs in addiTion
To some $30,000,000 in wage expendiTures. Such a cuT in consumer
purchasing power would, we believe, consTiTuTe a severe ThreaT To
The conTinuance of The presenT economic recovery, and mighT even
cause a serious seT-back in business acTiviTy.

The rapid upsurge in business during The lasT six monThs has
been a source of encouragemenT To Those who believe ThaT The severiTy
of swings in business acTiviTy need noT be accepTed faTalisTically
buT can be sucessfully counTeracTed by wise social acTion. Thanks
To The vigorous acTion Taken lasT spring by The Federal GovernmenT
under your leadership, The recession of I937 was arresTed; and The
curve of business and employmenT Turned upward. The expanding of
The spending program was The chief governmenTal insTrumenT used in
fighTing The recession and sTimulaTing The recovery. FurThermore,
during These six monThs The major channel for The disbursemenT of
new purchasing power has been The Works Progress AdminisTraTion,
and we believe ThaT The Works Progress AdminisTraTion should
conTinue To perform This funcTion unTil privaTe indusTry clearly
demonsTraTes iTs capaciTy To absorb all Those released from The
relief rolls.

We conclude. Mr. PresidenT, ThaT The curTailmenT of The Works
Progress AdminisTraTion aT The presenT Time would be parTicularly
ill-Timed from an economic as well as a humaniTarian viewpoinT,
and we sTrongJy urge ThaT The conTemplaTed policy of curTailmenT
be abandoned.

Cannon did noT depend solely on The leTTer as evidence; he also
used Two oTher Techniques To supporT The leTTer. He borrowed The pres-
Tige of The economisTs when he described Their posiTions.

Of The sixTy-nine signers of The sTaTemenT, ThirTeen are mem-
bers of The faculTy of Harvard, seven are from Yale, seven from
Columbia, six from NorThwesTern, six from Brooklyn College, five
from MounT Holyoke, and four from TufTs. Among The oTher insTiTu-
Tions represenTed are Brown, Williams, AmhersT, STanford, UniversiTy
of Wisconsin, UniversiTy of Illinois, UniversiTy of Chicago, Cornell,
New York UniversiTy, UniversiTy of MinnesoTa, and PrinceTon.

Finally, he compared The experTs ThaT he was using wiTh The commiT-

Tee's experTs.

 

79
On The oTher hand, There is noT an economisT from any college
or universiTy in The UniTed STaTes who has endorsed This unwarran-

Ted, unscienTific, and arbiTrary reducTion of The amounT recom-

mended by The PresidenT.6

The proof of The poinT was noT dependenT merely on The sTaTemenT of
The economisTs. Cannon also used The TesTimony of minisTers, Teachers,
businessmen, veTerans, and mayors. The essence of Their leTTers indicaTed
an inTeresT in The counTry raTher Than personal gain. The variance of
sources also illusTraTed a breadTh of opinion. The use of eighT documen-
Ted examples of public disapproval illusTraTed how imporTanT Cannon valued
This Third poinT.

The Three argumenTs ThaT Cannon used could be classified as TheoreTi-
cal, emoTional, and pracTical, in ThaT sequence. AT The same Time he
demonsTraTed a poTenTial harm in The proposal; incompeTency in The commiT-
Tee; and, finally, mass approval of The relief budgeT. This sTrucTure
reveals a conscious efforT aT arranging maTerials for a maximum of under-
sTanding and effecT.

The conclusion was abrupT and direcTed as a rebuTTal for pasT and
fuTure Congressional debaTe. The only value in ciTing any parT of The
conclusion is To reveal one inconsisTency in Cannon's speaking for fuTure
reference. NoTe The argumenTs and precedenTs for an unbalanced budgeT in
This conclusion.

And in Their argumenT on balancing The budgeT They go back

and quoTe a message of The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes, delivered

when The public debT was $2l,OO0,000,000, The mosT specious argu-

menT made in This debaTe. Why noT go back To I9I6, when The debT

was $|.000,000,000? IT would have been jusT as consisTenT.
BeTween The Time when The debT was $I,OO0,000,000 in I9I6,

 

6lbid.

—

80

and The Time when The debT was $2l,OO0,000,000, This counTry wenT

Through a Trying ordeal, and The genTleman does noT quesTion ThaT

debT. Since The Time The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes wroTe

ThaT message The counTry has gone Through anoTher greaT Trial, a

depression ThaT broughT disasTer To more people Than The war, and

no one will say ThaT The money was noT well spenT if iT saves The

American people.7

No oTher speech in This research revealed Cannon jusTifying an
unbalanced budgeT.

The inTroducTion and conclusion of This speech are abrupT and of
liTTle imporTance To The body of The address. They are inTeresTing adjuncTs
of hisTory buT ThaT is The exTenT of Their value. The main Thesis of The
speech was well supporTed wiTh repeTiTion, inTernal summary, and numerous

sources of informaTion. Logically Cannon appears To have supporTed his

aTTack in This speech.

EmoTional Analysis

 

The use of emoTional maTerial is easily idenTified in Three parTs
of The speech. The firsT parT of The inTroducTion was designed To com-
pare The posiTion of The budgeT cuT advocaTes wiTh The French reTreaT.
An hisTorical analogy illusTraTed whaT The American people did noT wanT
To do.

Mr. Cannon of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, on The eve of America's
enTry inTo The world war, insuring vicTory for The Allies, a panic
seized a large parT of The French people and Three enTire army
corps IefT The fronT-line Trenches and reTreaTed on Paris. Today
in America's war againsT The depression, wiTh vicTory already in
sighT, There are Those who would sound reTreaT. Already wiThin
reach of Their goal our comrades falTer. They are unwilling To
keep men moving up inTo The fronT-line jobs. There is general
agreemenT ThaT The campaign for employmenT is succeeding. All
auThoriTies reporT a general upTurn in business on every fronT.

 

7Ibid., p. 250.

8|

BuT jusT aT This criTical period The commiTTee brings in a proposal

To dismiss from employmenT more Than a million workmen Today earn-

Their daily bread in producTive employmenT.8

This obvious appeal To pride idenTified his opponenTs as cowards,
who were afraid To sTand up and fighT when The going was rough. IT was
This Type of aTTack which brings Cannon's aggressiveness To The fronT.

AnoTher emoTional appeal occurred in The body of The speech and The
plea aTTempTed To demonsTraTe The effecT of cuTTing The producTiviTy of
The breadwinners. To deprive The families of The means of living was a
sTrike aT self-preservaTion. The descripTion of The poTenTial depriva-
Tion is worTh noTing.

ThaT is The sole issue presenTed by This resoluTion. BuT iT
is a more imporTanT quesTion Than may appear aT firsT blush. These
l,l5l,300 men are breadwinners. They are heads of families. When
you deprive Them of work, you deprive Their dependenT families of
supporT.

Cannon also made use of The Type of emoTionaI arousal when he des-
cribed whaT The Teachers saw as They performed Their duTies.

Mr. Chairman, This is The recommendaTion of The Teachers of
The land who come in daily conTacT wiTh The child problem, who
know family condiTions, who see children coming To school some-
Times wiThouT breakfasT, and someTimes wiThouT shoes. They know

ThaT if This reducTion is made There will be a good many more
wiThouT breakfasT and wiThouT needed cloThing and medical care.

l0
He made one more significanT emoTional appeal To his audience in
The closing of The speech. He referred To The pomposiTy of The Congress-

rnan or his lack of real undersTanding of The effecTs of passing The bill.

[YT any raTe The poinTed remark was inTended To creaTe dissonance beTween

 

8lbid., p.249.

82
The voTing Congressman and The sTarving families.

BuT The Congressman, in his superior wisdom, comes in, and he
sees ThaT The child has on iTs plaTe boTh bread and poTaToes. ”Oh,"
he says, ”you have Too much,” and The Congressman, by his voTe on
This resoluTion, reaches over and Takes The poTaToes off The plaTe.
IT is hard on The child, perhaps, buT iT helps balance The budgeT.

Now, This is noT melodrama. IT is The ineviTable resulT in homes
all over The NaTion of an affirmaTive voTe on The pending resolu-
Tion.

The appeals which Cannon used would indicaTe ThaT he was in close
conTacT wiTh his consTiTuency. His argumenTs were designed To proTecT
people who were sTruggling To mainTain a living under adverse condiTions,
and much of his farm disTricT would have suffered from The cuT by The
Congress. The facT ThaT Cannon was defending These people would noT go

unnoTiced aT elecTion Time.

EThical Analysis

Clarence Cannon was piTTing his repuTaTion againsT The members of
The BudgeT commiTTee regarding The amounT of apprOpriaTions given To
W.P.A. Mr. Woodrum had yielded‘Hflrh/ minuTes To Mr. Cannon To enable
him To address The House on The quesTion, and he spenT IiTTle Time
building his presTige or his compeTence on The maTTer. He accepTed him-
self as an auThoriTy and expecTed everyone else To accepT him. Former
incidenTs (Two fighTs and innumerable quarrels) gave him The repuTaTion
ass a gruff, aggressive, and indomiTable individual. In This insTance,
he carried The gruff manner over inTo his speaking, and This parTicular
spueech illusTraTed a dynamic, concerned Congressman. The following

secrfion will analyze a few of The Techniques ThaT he used wiTh his

 

"lbid., p. 250.

83

audience.

In This speech iT was suggesTed ThaT his audience was noT The
Congress, buT raTher, his consTiTuenTs. The speech is concerned wiTh
The breadwinners; The heads of families. Cannon conTends ThaT if These
poor people were IeT ouT of work, Then The whole economy would suffer.

In oTher words, according To This speech, The jobless working men were
The core of The economy and Cannon was on Their side.

AnoTher Technique of developing his personal proof was Through The
evidence ThaT he used. By Taking These quoTaTions and leTTers as repre-
senTaTive of his sTand, Mr. Cannon was saying ThaT business, farming,
labor, Teachers, mayors, churchmen, economisTs, and veTerans have all
agreed ThaT The relief budgeT should noT be cuT. He was equaTing his
feelings wiTh The sTaTemenTs of These groups and concluding ThaT "we The
people are righT." He reinforces his personal idenTificaTion wiTh These
groups when he sarcasTically speaks abouT The ”Congressman, (who) in his
superior wisdom, comes in, and sees ThaT The child has on iTs plaTe boTh
bread and poTaToes. 'Oh,' he says, 'you have Too much,’ and The Congress-
man, by his voTe on This resoluTion, reaches over and Takes The poTaToes
off The plaTe."'2 Cannon was aTTempTing To diverce himself from The
Congress, or aT leasT from The Congressmen who would sToop To such
ignominious behavior. He did noT wanT To Take anyThing away from The
[neople, especially someThing which would cause harm To individuals.

The lasT use of personal proof was in his sTaTemenT ThaT The pro-

pc>sal had no meriT, maTerial grounds, or any jusTificaTion. Cannon was

 

'Zlbid.

84
saying ThaT if The reducTion in relief foods had jusTificaTion, Then he,
along wiTh The people ThaT he had quoTed in The speech, would voTe for
The measure. However, his evidence had indicaTed ThaT The bill had no
meriT, Therefore, as a raTional man, he could see no reason To voTe for
iT. Therefore, he implicile says ThaT Those who are irraTional will
supporT The measure.

His conclusion was a meThod of idenTificaTion. He jusTified The
deficiT spending because iT saved The American people, and ThaT was good
enough for Clarence Cannon.

The speech Then was designed To separaTe Cannon from Those repre-
senTaTives who would voTe againsT The people. IT can be classified as

as appeal for popular supporT and undersTanding.

Conclusion

The purpose of Cannon's maneuvering seemed To be direcTed Toward
The people of The naTion (or aT leasT Missouri), raTher Than Toward The
Congress. The only menTion he made of Congress was sarcasTic and
designed To show his posiTion relaTive To The commiTTee. The ToTal
sTand was a firm rebuTTal of The commiTTees' decision. The maTerials
of experience were well used, and The language occasionally carried
connoTaTions ThaT were designed To creaTe empaThy wiTh his home audience.
‘Ferms such as ”breadwinner,” ”comrades," ”dependenTs;" and phrases such
ass ”wiThouT shoes," and ”iT saved The American people," and The sTealing
poTaToes argumenT were meThods of creaTing a favorable image. The image
depicTs a conscienTious Congressman againsT a commiTTee which is merci-
less and incompeTenT.

This parTicular speech represenTs a compleTeness ThaT has noT

been evidenT in earlier works. IT was The firsT speech sTudied which

85

demonsTraTed a skill in using all Three modes of proof. He made effecTive
use of arrangemenT, and he builT his speech logically wiTh common know-
ledge and personal proof as his evidence. His experience and concern for
The safeTy of The American peOple gave him excellenT appeal as a proTec-
Tor in Time of need. The display of independence from Congress demon-
sTraTed To The voTers ThaT RepresenTaTive Cannon was doing Things for The
besT inTeresTs of his consTiTuency and America as a whole, regardless of
his colleagues. This independence was characTerisTic of Mr. Cannon's
career as a member of The appropriaTions commiTTee, and This speech dis-

plays some of The beginnings of ThaT independence on moneTary maTTers.

CHAPTER SIX
THE TWO MISSOURIANS

In Time of naTional crises, The hardships are someTimes forgoTTen
because of The concenTraTion on The problems of The counTry, and in Time
of naTional joy The hardships are suppressed because of The concenTraTion
on having a good Time. BoTh crisis and naTional joy were evidenT in The
year I945. The loss of American soldiers creaTed a naTional grief ThaT
was surpassed only by The inTense sorrow feIT when PresidenT RoosevelT
passed away. This beloved leader had carried The hope and confidence
of a naTion caughT by The war. The funeral, The memories, The concern
can be mosT accuraTely recreaTed by The counTry's response To our recenT
Tragedies.

The apprehension abouT The new PresidenT by The naTion was sur-
passed only by Harry S. Truman's apprehension abouT Harry S. Truman.

As he said, ”The overwhelming facT ThaT faced me was hard To grasp.

I had been afraid for many weeks ThaT someThing mighT happen To This
greaT leader, buT now ThaT The worsT had happened I was unprepared for
iT."I

His explanaTion of The shock and The disbelief was communicaTed

TO his moTher and sisTer in a personal leTTer.

—__‘

'Harry S. Truman, Year 9i Decisions: Memoirs by Harry S. Truman,
(New York: SigneT Book, I965), p. I5.

86

87

IT was The only Time in my life, I Think, ThaT I ever feIT
as if I'd had a real shock. I had hurried To The WhiTe House
To see The PresidenT, and when I arrived, I found I was The
PresidenT. No one in The hisTory of our counTry ever had iT
happen To him jusT ThaT way.2

His apprehension did noT prevenT him from pursuing a course of
acTion. He seT abouT The Task wiTh a fury and deTerminaTion ThaT can aT
leasT be admired. The misTakes were overlooked because of The efforT,
and The problems did noT mounT To a significanT degree before vicTory
came To The naTion. The TravesTy of aTomic weapons, The lengTh of war
and war weariness, The labor problems, and The loss of Their greaT leader
were all overshadowed by The success of ending The war. The joy of V. E.
Day and evenTualIy of V. J. Day was greeTed wiTh wild enThusiasm and
delirium on The parT The American people. One of The sTrongesT memories
of childhood was The nighT of V. J. Day. The honking of horns, The
celebraTion by buying a milkshake, The spilling of ThaT milkshake wiThouT
scolding, The shouTing of families and friends whose faThers and sons
would be reTurning burned an image in a five year-old mind.3

In The ciTies The crowds were enormous, enThusiasTic, and aT The
Time unconcerned wiTh The fuTure. Eric Goldman shows The acTiviTy of
America aT The announcemenT of vicTory.

Across America The TradiTional signs of vicTory flared and
shrieked. In Los Angeles, yelling paraders commandeered Trolley
cars, played leapfrog in The middle of Hollywood Boulevard, hung
HirohiTo from scores of lampposTs. SaIT Lake CiTy, Thousands

snakedanced in a pouring rain and a ST. Louis crowd, suddenly
hushing iTs whisTles and Tossing aside The confeTTi

3This auThor's personal experience Took place in Moberly, Missouri,
Whicflw was a small rural Town like Cannon's Elsberry.

88

New York CiTy, hardly unaccusTomed To furor, amazed iTseIf. WiTh

The firsT flash of V. J., up wenT The windows and down came The

Torn Telephone books, The haTs, boTTles, bolTs of silk, books,

wasTebaskeTs, and shoes, more Than five Thousand Tons of jubilanT

shoes, more Than five Thousand Tons of jubilanT IiTTer. Whole

families made Their way To Times Square unTil Two million people

were milling abouT, breaking inTo snaTches of The conga, hugging

and kissing anybody in sighT, greeTing each Twinkle of V-J news

on The Times elecTric sign wiTh a cheer ThaT roared from The

EasT River To The Hudson.4

The ending of The war eliminaTed some problems, buT iT creaTed
oThers. The joy of The war's end could Temporarily hide The problems,
buT peace broughT forTh financial complicaTions ThaT ordinarily would
be hidden. Clarence Cannon was noT oblivious To The problems ThaT
would face a naTion Turning from war. His speech on November 27, I945,
revealed a percepTiveness abouT The financial fuTure of The UniTed
STaTes. His concern wiTh balancing The budgeT, providing employmenT,
curTailing unnecessary expendiTures, and providing for a naTional
awareness was porTrayed in a speech in The House. The end of The war
did noT mean ThaT The U. S. could conTinue spending aT previous raTes,

and RepresenTaTive Cannon applied his insighT To The fuTure naTional

problems in This AppropriaTions speech.

Logical Analysis

"No naTion can be indefiniTely mainTained Today on a deficiT budgeT."

"In The end disasTer musT overTake any naTion which fails To pay iTs way.

These sTaTemenTs are inTeresTing on Their own meriT, buT as a major
assumpTion and Thesis of Cannon's speech They deserve careful analysis.

Chairman Cannon was obviously in favor of a balanced budgeT, and he

-__

4Eric F. Goldman, The Crucial Decade, (New York: VinTage Books,
I960),IL 34.

 

89

ciTed hisTorical precedenTs as a means of esTablishing ThaT all counTries
which failed To pay meT wiTh disasTer. He exTended The challenge To The
lisTener when he said, "In The sevenTeenTh and eighTeenTh cenTuries
every adminisTraTion ThaT came To power or fell from power in The major
European naTions eiTher rose or was wrecked upon iTs fiscal policies.T5
This was a general sTaTemenT which Mr. Cannon did noT documenT or
elaboraTe upon, buT This sTaTemenT was evidenle used To jump To The
conclusion ThaT all counTries which failed To balance Their budgeTs
deTerioraTed as a resulT. Cannon did noThing else To esTablish This
premise, buT (in The inTroducTion and conclusion of The speech) he did
use The premise as a ThreaT To The U.S. fuTure. He spenT mosT of his
Time on The premise ThaT "no naTion can be indefiniTely mainTained on
a deficiT budgeT."6 IT would be hard To prove ThaT a naTion had survived
in The same form wiThouT paying iTs own way since all governmenT sTruc-
Tures prior To The eighTeenTh cenTury have fallen. The second premise,
Then, is where The crux of The speech develops; and The quesTion is
sTill debaTed Today. Can a governmenT survive wiThouT a balanced
budgeT? Mr. Cannon obviously Takes The ”No!” posiTion, and This was a
rTeversal from The lasT speech analyzed. There was no doubT abouT The
{DosiTion ThaT he was Taking in This speech. However, he was more
<:oncerned wiTh The Timing of The demise Than wiTh The Theory or argu-
nKenT as To wheTher iT would Take place. He assured The audience ThaT
UH<jer The presenT philos0phy of spending, deTerioraTion would Take

Plaace. The quesTion was, when would The deTerioraTion cause The fall

——

5Congressional Record, November 27, I945, p. ll04l. see Appendix D,

6lbid.

 

90

of The UniTed STaTes? Cannon's speech was designed To consider The
I945 financial siTuaTion as a ThreaT To U. S. sTabiliTy.

AfTer The above assumpTions are clarified, iT is easier To IocaTe
The Thesis sTaTemenT of The speech. His Thesis sTaTemenT was, "Unless
we can mainTain This NaTion on a sound financial basis There is disasTer
ahead of us and for The world."7 This is easily Trasferred To The
hypoTheTical syllogism sTrucTure by showing ThaT if This naTion does noT
mainTain a sound financial condiTion, Then There is disasTer ahead.
The previous assumpTions lend supporT To This consTrucTion by showing
ThaT all governmenTs wiThouT financial solvency have fallen: Therefore,

The U. S. would be no differenT. He Then proceeded To show why The U. S.

was in such a criTicaI period.

IT was criTical before we enTered The war, before we dreamed
ThaT a war was possible. IT is criTical because a decade before
The opening of The war we had developed a spending psychology
and enTered upon a period of unresTrained and uninhibiTed expendi-
Ture. We boughT whaT we wanTed. Too ofTen we boughT whaT we saw
wheTher we were cerTain we wanTed iT or noT. We did noT sTop To
counT The cosT or To consider The source from which The money
came To pay for iT. The resulT was a spending spree such as The
world had never seen before.8

From This general descripTion of American habiTs, Cannon gave

specific examples of The effecTs of U. S. spending.

For The fiscal year I933, The agriculTural apprOpriaTion bill
ToTaled $I75,000,000, To be exacT $l75,67l,665. ThaT was a large
sum . . . . In I940, The agriculTural appropriaTion bill was $l,l94,
I498,633. In seven years The bill had jumped seven hundered per cenT.

He also compared lnTerior, STaTe, JusTice, Commerce, and Labor DeparTmenT

exPGndiTures, noTing The drasTic changes in Their ToTal composiTion.
N
7

13141., p. I|O42.
8 .

”49., p. IIO42.
9

9I
Cannon noTed ThaT The sTaTisTics were for peace Time expendiTures, and
he used This informaTion To prove ThaT The American peOple and govern-

menT were spending exorbiTanle. His concern was wiTh The aTTiTudes

Toward spending.

The alarming feaTure of The siTuaTion is noT ThaT in This
shorT period of six or eighT years appropriaTions and expendiTures
mushroomed, and pyramided, and skyrockeTed. The alarming feaTure
is ThaT Today-under vasTIy differenT circumsTances, and sTeadily

shrinking revenues wiTh hugi[sicl burdens of new responsibiliTies-
There seems To be a general impression ThaT we can conTinue The

free and unTrammeled spending of prewar days.'0

The condiTions showing an alleged need for a change in spending
philosophy were illusTraTed by Cannon when he reviewed The presenT
obligaTions and duTies of The American naTion in The nexT few years.
He was concerned wiTh problems of inTeresT, shrinking revenues, TaxaTion,
miliTary mainTenance, inTernaTion (UK N.) obligaTions, veTerans' expen-
diTures, and rehabiliTaTion. All of These examples were used To

demonsTraTe The growing disTance beTween The Tax dollars and The

expended dollars.

The alarming Thing is ThaT noTwiThsTanding we have all These
new expenses and fixed charges To meeT now ThaT The war is over,
and wiTh The decline in income, There is a general expecTaTion
noT only ThaT we will conTinue To spend aT The old raTe of expendi-
Tures. The people aT home are demanding iT. I have been alarmed
aT The leTTers I have received from my congressional disTricT.
From one Town in my congressional disTricT They wroTe ThaT They
wanTed To build a posT office, an airporT, a new sewer sysTem, and
a hospiTaI and They expecT The Federal GovernmenT To pay for a
large parT of if jusT as in The old W. P. A. days.

WiTTIThe fuTure painTed so bleakly, Mr. Cannon's original "If"
clause aappears To have liTTle chance of being implemenTed. In facT,

The risee of spending seems To be The order of The day. However, The

M

”m.

II ll044.

£3.qu p-

92

speech IaTer offered an alTernaTive To The presenT course when Cannon

recommended ThaT The Congress noT voTe such large and, as he described
Them, "unnecessary" expendiTures. He illusTraTed a manner of dealing

wiTh The pressures puT on by The "spend-mad people."

I explained ThaT There were no funds available from which
such expendiTures could be meT and ThaT They would noT be available
unTil afTer Congress voTed Them. Then I said, "As much as I regreT
To have To disappoinT you, I musT voTe againsT The appropriaTions
of any money for such purposes. The counTry is Too deep in debT
and we musT begin cuTTing iT down. Under The circumsTances I feel
I would have To voTe againsT The appropriaTion for money To sTarT
anoTher W.P.A.

They were all business. They Talked iT over for a minuTe and
Then said, ”You are righT abouT iT. We do noT wanT you To voTe ThaT
money. Of course, if everybody else is going To geT iT Then we
wanT ours; buT if nobody is going To geT iT ThaT suiTs us . . . .
And They wenT away saTisfied. BuT IeT me Tell you ThaT The conser-
vaTive businessman-The inTeIligenT, average, solid ciTizen of your
disTricT-is going To sTand back of you if you sTand againsT The
reducTion of Taxes, againsT increaied expendiTures, and againsT
appropriaTions for anoTher W.P.A.

Cannon Then pleaded ThaT The Congressmen change Their philosophy
of spending To one of a balanced budgeT. He did noT repeaT The conclu-
sion of The hypoTheTicaI syllogism, buT he did review The spending

policies of The pasT.

AfTer The debacle on Wall STreeT in which so many men wenT To
ruin in I929, a philanThropic organizaTion invesTigaTed The suicides
and found ThaT The greaT majoriTy of Those suicides which followed
The crash were noT due To The loss of properTy, buT due To The facT
Their families could noT undersTand Their changed financial sTaTus
and conTinued, or aTTempTed To conTinue To spend aT The old raTe
aT which They had spenT in The days before The crash.

We have a crash in This counTry. We have burned up men and
rmDney in The crucible of war To an exTenT beyond all compuTaTion.
Like Those Wall STreeT families we musT readjusT ourselves To a
(finanged financial sTaTus; we cannoT spend afTer The crash aT The
ITTTe aT which we spenT before The crash, and we musT make The

N

'Zlbid., p. IIO45.

\-

93

people aT home undersTand ThaT, and when They do undersTand They

will supporT our policies of reTrenchmenT and amorTizaTion here

on The floor. 3

IT appears Then, ThaT his soluTion was To look for The Time when
The budgeT could be balanced, which, according To his analysis, would
puT The U.S. back inTo a safe-spending philosophy. And Cannon urged
ThaT The legislaTors begin looking ThaT direcTion.

BuT The firsT line of defense in any naTion is a balanced
budgeT. For The nexT several years ThaT musT be our firsT consi-
deraTion.'4
In checking The hypoTheTicaI premises, iT was found ThaT Cannon

did noT demonsTraTe ThaT The U.S. specifically could noT live wiTh an
unbalanced budgeT. He didn'T even really show The meriTs of a balanced
budgeT for This counTry. He used This premise as a given assumpTion in
The speech, and addiTionally he made an efforT To correlaTe The presenT
U.S. economic condiTion wiTh The sevenTeenTh and eighTeenTh cenTury
counTries who had been unsuccessful in mainTaining Their governmenTs.

He inferred ThaT because These counTries were desTroyed due To economic
inbalance ThaT The U.S. would be desTroyed in a like manner, buT This

was never specifically sTaTed. The foreign counTries' financial problems
were noT described, nor were The causes delineaTed. Under close examina-
Tion The hypoThesis, aT The very leasT, should be challenged for clari-
ficaTion and/or documenTaTion. However, if The assumpTion ThaT These
counTries were represenTaTive of The U.S. financial siTuaTion and

secondly, ThaT The unbalanced budgeT was unwise or dangerous, Then

The overall sTrucTure of Cannon's speech appears To be valid. Thus,

l3lbid., p. |lO46.

I4lbid., p. IIO47.

95
The conclusion ThaT The U. S. should reduce The appropriaTions figures
To maTch The naTional income is a logical conclusion.

All of The evidence in This speech evolved in one way or anoTher
from Cannon's personal experience and from The knowledge gained from
his AppropriaTions work. The maTerials on appropriaTions came from his
commiTTee; The leTTers and visiTs from his consTiTuenTs were personal;
and The hisToricaI examples in The beginning and end of The speech were
undocumenTed accounTs of hisTorical responsibiliTy in spending. IT
could noT be dispuTed ThaT The governmenTs changed significanle, buT
he does noT offer evidence ThaT The cause of change was due To fiscal
irresponsibiliTy, he merely asserTs iT.

Why These pieces of evidence remained unchallenged is impossible
To say. Perhaps The giflgg of The AppropriaTions Chairmanship carried
The maTerial Through, and This possibiliTy will examined in The eThical
analysis. Perhaps The lines beTween budgeT balances and non-balances
were clearly drawn and Cannon was merely showing The direcTion in which
he inTended To guide The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions. Even if The
Congressman did noT wanT To challenge The evidence, why didn'T They
charge Cannon wiTh inconsisTency? The lasT speech examined clearly
advocaTed mainTaining relief funds aT The expense of a more unbalanced
budgeT.

While There is no clear explanaTion for The reversal, The change
is a solid commiTmenT. Clarence Cannon spends The resT of his legislaTive
career aTTempTing To keep The naTional income and expendiTures as close
as possible. These premises, which go unchallenged, become The basis

OT Cannon's appropriaTion philosophy.

96

EmoTional Analysis

 

The sTrongesT emoTional appeal in This speech was To self-preser-
vaTion. Cannon used This Technique in boTh his inTroducTion and in his
conclusion of November 27, I945 speech. His appeal was delivered as an
ulTimaTum: unless The U.S. mends her economic ways, she will be self-
desTrucTive. He furTher ThreaTened The lisTeners by showing precedenTs
from The sevenTeenTh and eighTeenTh cenTuries.

The conclusion was an indirecT appeal To preservaTion Through
paTrioTism and duTy. His argumenT was ThaT The presenT represenTaTives
had The advanTage of numbers, age, sophisTicaTion, diverse religions
and parTies, and diverse naTionaliTies over The firsT naTional represenTa-
Tives, buT The presenT problems were equally imporTanT in Their scope
and consequences. "They esTablished The governmenT. IT is up To us
To mainTain iT."IS

The previous sTaTemenT inTimaTes, as does The original Thesis,
ThaT The U.S. had a serious problem if if failed To balance The budgeT,
buT The sTaTemenT goes farTher in ThaT iT recalls The duTy of The Congress-
man and accenTs The imporTance of The quesTion being discussed.

The ThreaT of disasTer was also shown in The paragraph, which
compared, inferenTially, The U.S. of I945 wiTh ThaT of I929. Cannon
offered a way ouT of The problem, and he also illusTraTed The effecTs
of his soluTion. He also demonsTraTed how The Congressmen could geT
supporT from Their consTiTuenTs. This whole plea was designed as a

prevenTive measure for whaT he described as The ineviTable siTuaTion.

'5Ibid., p.ll047.

97

We face Today a siTuaTion comparable only To ThaT which
faced American sTaTesmen in The foundaTion of The Republic, and
for ThaT reason I would like To go back To Those consTiTuenT
assemblies which esTablished The GovernmenT . . . . The firsT
inTeresT of The American people is The safeTy of our GovernmenT.
WiTh ThaT in view we are Thinking of miliTary conscripTion; of
sTrengThening The Army and mainTaining The Navy; of consolidaTing
The various branches of The service. The dominanT concern Today
is safeTy. BuT The firsT line of defense in any naTion is a
balanced budgeT. For The nexT several years ThaT musT be our
firsT consideraTion.'6
AnoTher aTTempT aT emoTional appeal can be illusTraTed Through
The language of The speech. For insTance The unilaTeral sTaTemenTs
gave The speech a definiTe sense of purpose. ”There is g9 more viTal
concern in naTional economy Than The NaTional BudgeT. No naTion can be
indefiniTely mainTained Today on a deficiT budgeT.”'7 Phrases combining
words such as asTronomic proporTions, exTraordinary and unprecedenTed,
mushroomed, pyramided, skyrockeTed, The alarming feaTures, vasle (Three
Times) unTrammeled spending, halcyon days, colossal debT, debaTe on Wall
STreeT gave a feeling of sTrengTh and imporfiance To The problem.

These sTaTemenTs were reinforced wiTh maxims regarding spending.
”We can no longer spend for any indispensable objecTive, however desirable
and however advanTageous The purpose of The expendiTure." ”There is
absoluTer no oTher source from which The Federal GovernmenT can obTain
money To pay for all These local expendiTures we are asked To voTe on

This floor." The reason for The allness sTaTemenTs and The descripTive

language mighT be To Try To inform The Congress and The people ThaT The
fuTure U.S. spending policies were going To be direcTed Toward a more

balanced budgeT, If Clarence Cannon had his way. IT is a sTaTemenT of

'6Ibid., p. IlO46-IIO47.

'7Ibid., p. IIO4I.

98

policy allegedly given in The besT inTeresT of The American people.

The final observaTion should be made in Terms of The use of
pronouns. Mr. Cannon addressed The enTire speech To The House members.
His emphasis was on showing The Congressmen whaT Their fiscal guideline
should be in The upcoming appropriaTions. IT also esTablished a philo-
sophy for voTing againsT appropriaTion requesTs in The nexT session of
Congress. This aTTempT To build a resisTanT philosophy could acT as a
deTerrenT To Congressional and privaTe group requesTs, and iT also gave
Cannon a sTaTemenT To fall back on when he didn'T wanT To approve an
appropriaTion requesT. By referring To This speech, he may have been
able To head off some argumenTs on his spending philosophy. His aTTempT
To illusTraTe The poTenTial downfall of our governmenT would seem To be
imporTanT enough To use language which would impress upon his audience
The consequences of overspending. Cannon's use of language connoTes
acTiviTy and denoTes Through iT an absoluTeness. As a resulT, The reader

is involved in a decisive acTion.

EThical Analysis

 

Mr. Ludlow. I asked The genTleman To yield To me in order
ThaT I mighT make an observaTion. The genTleman from Missouri
is making an economic speech which I believe The enTire naTion
will applaud. He has here Today charTed The legislaTive course
of The direcTion we in Congress musT Take if we are To save our
counTry from financial disasTer. He has said many Things, in my
opinion, which oughT To be said for The good of The counTry; and
I know of nobody who could have said The Things more effecTively
or more impressively Than The chairman of The CommiTTee on Appro-

priaTions. He has performed a greaT public service This afTernoon.'8

 

'8Ibid., p. IIO45.

_—-~

99

This shorT inTerrupTion by RepresenTaTive Ludlow helps clarify
The purpose of Cannon's November 27, I945, address. IT was an economic
speech, and iT did charT a relaTive course againsT The Trend of American
expendiTres. The speech is obviously a policy sTaTemenT of The Cannon
CommiTTee; and as a policy sTaTemenT, iT reveals a broad philosophy of
expendiTures wiTh few specifics. The evidence of The enTire address is
dependenT on The_e:ggs of The commiTTee and iTs chairman.

The effecTiveness of eThical appeal is demonsTraTed in Two ways
in This speech; The lack of maTeriaI documenTaTion, and The praise of
his colleagues.

While Cannon confirmed using hisTory as a meThod of proof in This
speech, The examples of hisTory were less specific and poorly coordinaTed
Than in his oTher speeches. There was no documenTaTion for his sTaTe-
menTs, and The use of sTaTisTics and TesTimony were general and under-
developed. In oTher words, almosT all of The proof comes from The
personal sTorehouse of informaTion of Chairman Cannon. The maTerials
which he used in The speech, ouTside of The hisToricaI examples, were
maTerials from The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions. The Tracing of The
hisTory of expendiTures, The descripTion of The division of funds, The
lack of balanced budgeT, The Types of expendiTures, and The fuTure of
expendiTures unless checked, were all claims made by Cannon based on his
personal observaTions. Because There was no source given in The speech,
The IisTener musT eiTher believe or rejecT The plea on The basis of his
own knowledge, or his belief in Cannon.

There were a number of inTerrupTions during This speech. His
colleagues asked a series of quesTions which he answered poliTely and

direchy, and wiThouT referring To any documenTs. He Then reTurned To

IOO

his subjecT. There were several complimenTs paid To Cannon during The
speech. In addiTion To Ludlow, RepresenTaTives Woodruff and Dondero
complimenTed Cannon on The quaIiTy and direcTion of his sTaTemenT.

In addiTion, Dondero supporTed The speech by revealing The reacTions

of his consTiTuenTs.

Mr. Dondero. l wanT To commend The chairman of The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee for The courageous sTaTemenT he has made before The House
Today. I am no differenT Than any oTher Member of This body. I am

receiving Telegrams, leTTers, and peTiTions urging me To voTe very

large sums for nearly every conceivable kind of acTiviTy, including

Federal aid To schools. We have a duTy To perform on This floor

and ThaT is To preserve a sound economic sTrucTure in This counTry.

If we do noT do ThaT, whaT is There IefT for The hope of The world

so far as mainTaining world peace is concerned.

The lack of documenTaTion in This speech can be aTTribuTed To Two
Things. FirsT, Cannon had ascended To a much higher poliTical power.
While he may noT have gained The compleTe respecT of his colleagues
because he had noT conTrolled The posiTion long enough, he had gained
enough presTige and self-confidence To allow The speech To be based on
his auThoriTy and opinion. Secondly, The speech was on a broad policy
on which argumenTs had been esTablished in The House for a long Time.

A similar debaTe abouT a balanced budgeT is sTill Taking place, especially
in lighT of The recenT Republican resurgence.

Regardless of The reason for Cannon's lack of documenTaTion, if is
evidenT ThaT he did noT feel compelled To supply a source for his infor-
maTion. His use of The pronoun ”I" and The use of his presTige as

chairman of The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee demonsTraTes a greaTer confidence

in himself Than he has shown in oTher speeches. The praise from his

L

'9lbid., p. l|O45.

IOI

colleagues shows a significanT sTaTus improvemenT in The House. Cannon's
reliance on repuTaTion and posiTion causeslspeculaTionIabouT his awareness

of increased eThos and will be covered in The conclusion of This sTudy.

Conclusion

 

This speech was a policy sTaTemenT which seT forTh The inTended
direcTion of U.S. expendiTures for almosT Two decades. In facT, This
Type of fiscal argumenT won Cannon a greaT amounT of aTTenTion, if noT
fame. As RepresenTaTive Glenard P. Lipscomb of California said in his
eulogy:

Clarence Cannon will always be remembered for The enviable
record he compiled as a guardian of The public funds, a repuTaTion
he richly deserved.

He was unTiring in his efforTs To hold The spending of The
Taxpayers' money To The mosT essenTial purposes. His vigilance
in guarding againsT excessive budgeT requesTs is legendary.

The speech was noT based on documenTed evidence, buT depended on
Cannon's personal experience. As a resulT, The speech was primarily
dependenT on Cannon's eThos and his abiliTy To provide The answers To
The quesTions asked of him. There was a moderaTe use of emoTional
maTerials, as compared To oTher speeches. His use of descripTive language
and his use of The personal pronoun were indicaTive of The emoTionaI
maTerial, as well as a baromeTer of his self-confidence and increased
sTaTus. While This speech may noT be judged a successful debaTe speech,
an emoTional oraTion, or an ”immediaTe acTion appeal,” iT cerTainly ouT-

lined The policy of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee for The nexT TwenTy

years. This was one of The firsT of his yearly IecTures on spending.

—__

20Memorial Services, p. |8l.

 

I02

According To RepresenTaTive Randall:

Usually in May or June, when appropriaTion bills were being
considered, he would deliver his annual anTispending IecTures.
These sermons on spending never failed To impress his colleagues
because They knew he was Telling The TruTh.

RepresenTaTive James A. Haley, of Florida describes The funcTion

of Cannon's eThos on The subjecT of spending.

Because of his inTimaTe knowledge of The workings of our
Federal GovernmenT and our legislaTive procedure, he probably
saved The Taxpayers of The naTion billions of dollars during his
lifeTime. His presTige was so greaT when if came To fiscal
maTTers ThaT few people quesTioned his judgmenT on such issues.22

CHAPTER SEVEN
CANNON AND EISENHOWER

PresidenT Eisenhower called The personal sTory of his firsT
adminisTraTion, MandaTe for Change. The hisTorian is enTiTled To
ask, ”WhaT change, excepT in men?” There was IiTTle change in
domesTic affairs, aparT from sniping T.V.A. and oTher New Deal
insTiTuTions; all basic New Deal measures were conTinued and even
enlarged upon. The economic deveIOpmenTs ThaT we have jusT described
began before I952, and were largely independenT of governmenT. In
foreign affairs There was The same cold war challenge, which Presi-
denT Eisenhower and SecreTary Dulles aTTempTed To meeT. No posiTive
iniTiaTive in foreign affairs can be crediTed To The Eisenhower-
Dulles Team; Russia, China, and EgypT called The Tunes To which They
responded as besT as They could. NeverTheless, They led Their coun-
Try Through The mosT criTical period of The cold war and The inTen-
sified aTomic race wiThouT an inTernaTional disasTer, which mighT
easily have been Touched off in a momenT of impaTience or careless-
ness.

Perhaps The observaTions of Morison could be conTesTed; mosT cer-
Tainly Through a differenT criTeria for success and perhaps by individuals
caughT up in The evenTs of The adminisTraTion. AlThough he was noT a
parT of The adminisTraTion, mosT of RepresenTaTive Cannon's work was
involved wiTh The day-To-day work of appropriaTions; and his connecTion
To The adminisTraTion was viTal. The imporTanT moneTary issues of The
day led him To speak on many Topics which affecTed his commiTTee and The
operaTion of The governmenT. For example, his speech regarding The

DeparTmenT of Defense AppropriaTion Bill for I957, given May IO, I956,

 

'Samuel ElioT Morison, The Oxford HisTorngi The American Peopje,
(New York: Oxford UniversiTy Press, I965), p. ll06.

IO3

l04
was an analysis of The UniTed STaTes' posiTion of defense againsT The
SovieT Union. There was a greaT concern for The safeTy of The UniTed
STaTes as an aggressive Russia conTinued To develop weapons, conquer
counTries, and ThreaTen The UniTed STaTes. The concern permeaTed every
faceT of The U.S. producTion complex. ThaT parTicular speech was noT
unique because The same argumenTs, ThreaTs, and fears are heard Today.
Cannon was noT The firsT To use Them, and Defense SecreTary Laird will
probably noT be The lasT To argue in This manner.

In I957, following The PresidenT's budgeT message, Cannon launched
an aTTack on spending which covered every alleged violaTion of Republican
or DemocraTic pledges. His concern wiTh record budgeTing and his
indichenT of This Republican adminisTraTion was full of documenTaTion
and noTedaanumber of alleged inconsisTencies in The PresidenT's message,
buT ThaT could be expecTed every year ThaT There was a Republican
adminisTraTion.

In I958, Mr. Cannon again concerned himself wiTh The defense
budgeT, and his speech was a scaThing aTTack on The UniTed STaTes defense
producTions. His use of leTTers from PresidenT Truman and PresidenT
Eisenhower were designed To show non-parTisanship and concern for The
insufficienT proTecTion provided by our sysTem of producTion of defense
maTerials and To show The need for a more concenTraTed efforT for effi-
ciency and foresighT. One of The major goals of This debaTe was To
change The sTrucTure of The adminisTraTion of The armed forces. This
Armed Forces Bill broughT all of The armed forces under one adminisTra-
Tive sysTem. This was an imporTanT change, and Cannon's evidence showed
supporT from mosT of The Congressional and AdminisTraTion leaders ouTside

of The miliTary complex.

I05

While any of These speeches could be jusTified as good represenTa—
Tions of Mr. Cannon's speaking during The adminisTraTion of PresidenT
Eisenhower, and while all of Them could demonsTraTe his Techniques and
his effecTiveness, one oTher speech, because of iTs uniqueness, sTands
ouT as worThy of analysis. The defense of The acTions of The Appropria-
Tions CommiTTee was a demonsTraTion of his argumenTaTive Techniques,
and iT also reveals how carefully he could prepare a speech.

This parTicular speech demands liTTle hisTorical acumen. IT is
based on a procedural maTTer which has reference only To The CommiTTee on
AppropriaTions and iTs chairman. Regardless of Eisenhower's accomplish-
menTs or his lack of Them (however one inTerpreTs Morison's quoTaTion),
This speech could have been given under any PresidenT and sTill reTain

iTs inTegriTy.

Logical Analysis

 

In The inTroducTion of The speech Cannon admiTs ThaT The role of
The speech is To be a maTTer of personal defense.
So whaT I have To say This morning is purely defensive.
I never sTrike excepT in self-defense. And This is cerTainly no
excepTion To The rule.
From This Opening, The logical analysis of Cannon's speech concern-
ing The " . . . various sTricTures . . . pronounced on The CommiTTee on

AppropriaTions, on iTs personnel, on iTs procedure, iTs eThics and iTs

rnoral TurpiTude” is orienTed Toward overwhelming his OpposiTion wiTh

_

2u.s. Congressional Record, July 20, I955, p. IIO57. See Appendix
E for compleTe TexT.

IO6
maTerials. In facT, The TiTle of This secTion could easily have been
"more and beTTer evidence by Clarence Cannon." The speech is consTrucTed
as a narraTive which denies The accusaTions of The genTleman from
Virginia, Mr. SmiTh. Mr. Cannon's purpose seems To be To explain The
pasT and presenT procedures of his commiTTee. The speech is a defense of
The operaTion and The responsible acTions of his commiTTee and does noT
call for any acTion by The audience. IT is a speech To seT The record
sTraighT.

The Types and exTenT of evidence of This speech far ouTweigh any
previous speaking efforTs in The House by Cannon. Audience challenge,
IiTeraTure, House Rules, personal experience, hisTory, and auThoriTy are
scaTTered ThroughouT The speech. The following analysis will be primarily
concerned wiTh how Cannon used These Types of evidence in This speech.

The use of audience challenge (for lack of a beTTer Term) was used
Twice by Mr. Cannon. He asserTed a broad sTaTemenT and Then challenged
The audience To dispuTe any parT of iT. The challenge was even more
poinTed because iT would almosT Take a personal insulT To challenge The
speaker.

And so far, as I am concerned I have never aT any Time,
eiTher on The floor or off The floor, expressed any senTimenT
excepT The warmesT fellowship for The commiTTee, and admiraTion
for The manner in which They perform duTies devolving upon Them.

I pause here To afford anyone presenT an opporTuniTy To
suggesT any possible correcTion of ThaT sweeping sTaTemenT.

The second use of The challenge meThod added anoTher burden To any

individual who mighT wanT To debaTe Cannon personally. He worded The

 

3Ibid.

IO7

challenge so ThaT an opponenT musT aTTack boTh The chairman and The

commiTTee if he disagreed wiTh Cannon's conclusion.

never has anyone, eiTher official or privaTe, whaTever Their
sTaTion in life, wheTher IobbyisT on a salary several Times ThaT
paid The members of The commiTTee or wheTher paTrioTs from remoTe
secTions of The counTry paying Their own expenses To WashingTon
and back home, been denied an opporTuniTy To appeal before The
commiTTee and presenT Their cause for or againsT any measure or fund
under consideraTion by The commiTTee. Again I pause To permiT any-
one To offer evidence in refuTaTion of This raTher broad buT accu-
raTe sTaTemenTfl'

Obviously, The shifT of burden and The implicaTions of ThaT burden
would deTer mosT opponenTs from replying, and Cannon seems aware of This.
He waiTed for an answer To The challenge; and when no answer was given,
he used The silence as evidence of The accuracy of his sTaTemenTs.

The use of IiTeraTure appeared in The inTroducTion as Cannon
aTTemst To Turn SmiTh's evidence againsT him. IT was quiTe a sTaTemenT
of self-minimiraTion in lighT of gmiTh's TacTics.

IT is To be noTed ThaT boTh The ConsTiTuTion and The Bible

are ciTed in The inTeresTing disserTaTion delivered in This

connecTion. IT was quiTe a sermon, wiTh TexT and exhorTaTion.

I wear no jeweled phylacTeries. I am noT privileged To express

graTiTude ThaT I am noT as oTher men. BuT if I mighT be permiTTed

To add Shakespeare To The oTher Two reference volumes, I would call

To mind The admoniTion of AnTonio To Bassanio. And if permiTTed

also To ciTe Holy WriT, would recall ThaT ”The wicked flee when

no man pursueTh.”

AfTer The inTroducTion, Cannon reviewed The charges ThaT RepresenTa-
Tive SmiTh had leveled so ThaT he mighT disprove The accusaTions. The
four violaTions alleged by SmiTh were denied, and The denial was supporTed

wiTh examples in every case. The charges concerned The commiTTee and

Cannon's operaTions as chairman of The appropriaTions.

 

4Ibid. II058.

____ 7 P

5Ibid., p. ll057.

IO8

. firsT, ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is violaTing,

and has been violaTing for many years, The rules of The House.
Second, ThaT in conTravenTion of The law of The House, The CommiT-
Tee on AppropriaTions has been holding closed hearings. Third,
ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has refused To hear Members
and ciTizens who desired To appear before The commiTTee in behalf
of, or in opposiTion To, pending bills and appropriaTions. FourTh,
ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is conTinually reaching ouT
for power and deliberaTely encroaches on The jurisdicTion of The
legislaTive commiTTees of The House.

To Take care of The firsT charge, Cannon ciTed The bill which gave
The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions The righT To perform in Their presenT
manner. To be specific, he referred To The ReorganizaTion AcT of I946,
paragraph g, secTion TwenTy-five, of rule XI in House procedure. This
use of House precedenT sTrengThened his posiTion and gave him jusTifica-
Tion for chasTizing RepresenTaTive SmiTh.

To refuTe The second charge, Mr. Cannon used his personal experience
during World War II. He illusTraTed ThaT The commiTTee knew informaTion
which could be dangerous in The hands of The uniniTiaTed. This explana-
Tion showed The wisdom of The ReorganizaTion AcT and served as evidence
for his pasT acTions. He Tacked a rheTorical quesTion on The end of The
paragraph in order To gain supporT from his audience.

During World War II, by some remarkable accidenT, we broke

The Japanese naval code and for Two weeks The UniTed STaTes Navy

knew in advance every move The Japanese Navy proposed To Take

. . I regreT To say, Mr. Speaker, ThaT There are Those who will

Talk. A reporTer found we had broken The code and Telegraphed his

paper. And ThirTy minuTes afTer The nexT ediTion hiT The sTreeTs

in Chicago, The Japanese changed Their code. My friends, do you

noT Think we should have been allowed To hold closed hearings on
ThaT quesTion?7

AfTer geTTing an affirmaTive reply on a quesTion of This naTure,

Cannon did noT IeT The evidence sTand alone. He inTroduced an even more

 

I09
imporTanT personal experience which should have clinched The righT of
The commiTTee To hold closed hearings.

There are Three members of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions
presenT here on The floor This afTernoon who knew Two years in
advance we were working on The aTomic bomb, including The genTle-
man from New York (Mr. Taber), The genTleman from Texas (Mr. Mahon).
We wenT secreTIy in The nighT To Oak Ridge. We sweaTed Two years
on ThaT nerve-wracking proposiTion. Do you Think we oughT To have
had open hearings on iT.

His unsTaTed conclusion was ThaT obviously iT was more advanTageous
To allow The CommiTTee To have closed hearings when necessary.

To deal wiTh The Third argumenT, Cannon used The audience challenge
meThod, as was already noTed. He supporTed The argumenT wiTh more Than
ThaT, however, as he wenT To The use of hisTory and auThoriTy To supporT
his posiTion. The hisTorical maTerial denied ThaT The CommiTTee had
violaTed The inTenT of The rule. He quoTed John Quincy Adams, and he
asserTed ThaT his commiTTee proTecTed The ciTizens' righTs so ThaT he
could demonsTraTe ThaT The inTenT of The law had never been violaTed.

John Quincy Adams seTTled ThaT quesTion for all Time To come
when he mainTained againsT widespread and sTrenuous opposiTion The
righT of peTiTion, The righT of any ciTizen of The UniTed STaTes
To presenT his views or To appear before a commiTTee. The CommiTTee
on AppropriaTions has aT all Times and from The beginning sedulously
proTecTed and mainTained ThaT righT.9
The final argumenT which Cannon referred To was also a maTTer of

legal prerogaTive. He illusTraTed ThaT The funcTion of The CommiTTee was
To presenT The maTerial To The Congress and noT To pass iT. As a maTTer

of course, The AppropriaTions CommiTTee did noT plead for legislaTive

power, according To Mr. Cannon.

 

8Ibid.

*

glbid., p. IIO58.

lIO

All ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions does in bringing

in These budgeT esTimaTes in a bill, is To give you an opporTuniTy

To consider, debaTe, modify, and voTe. We do noT ask you To

approve Them. We merely ask you To consider Them and Then voTe

Them down. We give The House an opporTuniTy To funcTion -- To

carry ouT iTs duTies under The ConsTiTuTion. ThaT is whaT you are

here for, ThaT is whaT your consTiTuenTs senT you here To do.

The conclusion of The speech was loaded wiTh parliamenTary auThori-
Ties whom Mr. Cannon used To supporT The legal posiTion of The Appropria-
Tions CommiTTee on This maTTer. He used Two insTances of House precedenTs;
for auThoriTies he ciTed The ”greaT ParliamenTarian, Asher C. Hinds, who
knew more abouT The procedure of The House Than any man who ever lived,"
SenaTor Norris, of Nebraska, and Mr. Sherley, of KenTucky. He used quoTed
maTerials from These sources in order To supporT The funcTion of The
AppropriaTions and The Rules CommiTTees.

Cannon offered several Types of evidence in This rebuTTal againsT
SmiTh. He denied every charge broughT againsT him, and he used aT leasT
one Type of evidence and generally Two in his defense. He allowed The
audience The opporTuniTy To challenge his poinTs, and he used The rheTori-
cal quesTion in order To eliminaTe any furTher aTTacks by The members of
his audience. He gave Them an opporTuniTy To disagree wiTh his sTaTe-
menTs, buT he was careful To shifT The burden of rebuTTal To his anTago-
nisTs, if They chose To reply. This Technique shows how really confidenT

Cannon was abouT his posiTion. The conclusion of The chapTer will reveal

wheTher Cannon was effecTive in This insTance.

 

'Olbid., p. II059.

EmoTional Analysis

 

All This Talk, all This circumlocuTion, all This TempesT
in a TeapoT here, all The parliamenTary peccadillos, are beside
The poinT. The people aT home wanT acTion. They wanT us To voTe
on The quesTions before The counTry Today."

This final appeal To The Congress produced The only significanT
appeal To The emoTions in This speech. This shorT peroraTion was an
efforT aT showing The insignificance of The whole debaTe. The purpose
of The speech was orienTed Toward proving a poinT by amassing evidence,
and noT by emoTionally arousing his audience. Since The speech was
orienTed Towards refuTaTion iT avoided emoTional maTeriaI. He did,
however, open The speech wiTh some delighTful sarcasm which mighT be
emoTional because of The sTir iT would probably cause in The House.

”Mr. Speaker, The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is again adverTised by iTs
loving friends -- and we are deeply appreciaTive." He Then proceeded To
allude To jusTice and fair play wiTh a lingering biT of sarcasm as he
IecTured The House on The improprieTy of Mr. SmiTh's acTion.

IT is always cusTomary To give a Member of The House noTice
in advance when he or his commiTTee is To be made The subjecT of
criTicism. BuT in This insTance There was no noTice of any kind,
and I was denied The opporTuniTy of being presenT, and knew noThing
of iT unTil appraised by oThers and unTil I saw iT in The Record
This morning. Consequenle, This is The firsT opporTuniTy I have
had To acquiesce wiTh my disTinguished friend from Virginia in his
high praise and richly-meriTed ecomium of The CommiTTee on rules.I
The remainder of The speech, as shown in The logical analysis,

was refuTaTion wiTh The exTended and varied use of evidence. If Mr.

Cannon creaTed an emoTionaI or charged mood wiThin his audience, iT did

 

||lbid., p. II059.

|2I6id., p. IIO57.

ll2

noT seem To come from colorful language, direcT moTivaTional appeals, or
picTuresque images in This speech. IT musT be aTTribuTed To The weighT

of his evidence and The arrangemenT of his argumenTs.

EThical Analysis

 

Cannon's efforT To esTablish himself as an auThoriTy on The funcTion
and use of his commiTTee is very evidenT in This speech. The use of his
posiTion, his knowledge, and his auThoriTy on parliamenTary or House
precedenT is also easily observable. The self-righTeousness of his posi-
Tion in This debaTe was made quiTe clear when he described The aTTacks on
his commiTTees while, ”The genTleman from New York (Mr. Taber) and I were
aT The Time conferring wiTh The Bureau of The BudgeT . . . ." AT The
leasT he was showing his devoTion To his job raTher Than spending his
Time Talking abouT relaTively Trifling maTTers.

Cannon conTinued The advanTageous use of his posiTion when he
described The warmTh he felT Toward The Rules CommiTTee and when he
argued ThaT no one had been prevenTed from TesTifying before The Appro-
priaTions CommiTTee. These sTaTemenTs were followed wiTh The opporTuniTy
for The audience To conTradicT any parT of his sTaTemenT. Because There
were no quesTions or conTradicTions This use of The audience appears,
aT leasT, To supporT Cannon in his personal image building.

AnoTher insTance of using his posiTion and knowledge was his refer-
ence To his vasT experience.

I musT say posiTively, Mr. Speaker, ThaT in all my experience

-— and I have served aT some Time on every subcommiTTee and consi-

deraTion of every deparTmenTal appropriaTion bill under The juris-
dicTion of The commiTTee --

 

|3Ibid., p. lI088.

 

Il3

The weighT of personal and naTional responsibiliTy upon his com-
miTTee was broughT To bear when Mr. Cannon Talked abouT The commiTTee's
knowledge on aTomic weapons during The Second World War. His descripTion
of The knowledge of The burdens and concerns of The commiTTee can be
consTrued as an aTTempT To increase respecT for The commiTTee and The
head of ThaT commiTTee.

When Cannon described The procedures ThaT his commiTTee wenT
Through To insure The fair and legal disposiTion of The bills, he was
illusTraTing The inTegriTy of The commiTTee. By describing The meTiculous
care Taken by The AppropriaTion CommiTTee, he furTher jusTified The pasT
approach Taken on The money bills senT To The House for acTion.

In order To meeT This siTuaTion, four years ago I had The
sTaff go over all The bills we had passed aT The previous session
and TabulaTe The iTems subjecT To poinTs of order. When we had
classified Them according To jurisdicTions, we senT a lisT To each
legislaTive commiTTee. Many of Them, of course, were unimporTanT;
They had been carried in The bill for many years, buT They were
ouTside our jurisdicTion. Of all The commiTTees of The House who
received Them, only Three gave Them any aTTenTion.I4
There are Two oTher imporTanT iTems in building his eThical appeal

in This speech. One was The evidence used ThroughouT The speech. If
appears ThaT Cannon was aTTempTing To overwhelm his audience wiTh his
many Types of evidence. His use of presenT and pasT members of The House
(Dirksen of Illinois, and Sherley of KenTucky), his use of parliamenTary
auThoriTy (on which no one could doubT Cannon's credenTials), and his use
of commiTTee experiences lefT very IiTTIe To be challenged. His repuTa-

Tion as parliamenTarian, his scholarly hisTory of House precedenTs, and

his posiTion as AppropriaTion CommiTTee Chairman, coupled wiTh This vasT

 

'4Ibid., p. |l058.

ll4

amounT of maTerial and audience challenges, creaTed an enormous obsTacle
To his opponenTs.

The second significanT facTor which aided his eThical appeal
occurred afTer his speech. Mr. SmiTh of Virginia gave a shorT reply To
Mr. Cannon.

Mr. Speaker, I feel sufficienle chasTized. There is a
cerTain number of innings To a ball game. The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions had iTs inning on Thursday and baTTed around quiTe a few
balls. I had a feeble inning yesTerday. Now The chairman of The
CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has had his inning and normally, under
The rules of The game, I would be enTiTled To anoTher inning. BUT
I forfeiT my righT To The final inning.

The only reason I Took The floor was To say ThaT we have

all had our innings. A good Time has been had by all. I am noT
mad wiTh anybody and I hope nobody is mad wiTh me. I jusT wanT

To close The war. LeT us forgeT abouT This IiTTIe incidenT.
Everybody has had his say. I sTill love Clarence Cannon, as I
always have. I have The highesT regard and respecT and affecTion
for every member of The greaT CommiTTee on ApprOpriaTions. They
are doing a sTupendous job and a man-killing job. I love Them all.

LeT us geT down To business and forgeT abouT This incidenT.I5

However you classify This reply, iT cannoT be doubTed ThaT Cannon
"won The ball game." Mr. SmiTh's reply was noT a rebuTTal buT an efforT
To eliminaTe The conTroversy, and Cannon could noT have helped feeling
ThaT The acTions of his commiTTee were vindicaTed. SmiTh's apology
supporTed Cannon's maTerials and his veraciTy. The supporT led To a
building of eThical appeal by depicTing consisTenT and conscienTious
acTion. The dismissing of The subjecT may have been The easiesT, or

perhaps The only, Thing ThaT his accuser could have done aT This poinT.

Conclusion

 

From a debaTe criTerion This speech has To be considered an unquali-

fied success. Cannon organized his evidence and argumenTs so solidly

 

'5Ibid., p. II059.

II5

ThaT he was noT challenged by any member of The House. He used audience
challenge, IiTeraTure, House precedenTs, personal experience, hisTory,
and auThoriTy ThroughouT The speech. His refuTaTion of The specific
poinTs as charged was The main poinT of his Talk, and he pursued iT wiTh
a direcT and forceful sTer.

The use of emoTionaI maTeriaI was exTremely IimiTed in This speech,
because iT was unnecessary. The logical maTerials and eThicaI maTerials
served as refuTaTion much beTTer Than The emoTional maTerials could.

His use of personal experience esTablished proof and supporT for his
argumenTs, and The apology by SmiTh gave exTernaI supporT for The speech.

IT was noT a showy or flashy speech, buT iTs meThodology and pur-
pose were clear and concise. IT is obvious ThaT Cannon was pursuing The
argumenTs wiTh one Thing in mind; sufficienT proof. Cannon won The ball

game.

CHAPTER EIGHT

CANNON STALLS KENNEDY

The hisTory of I962 is The hisTory of conflicTs beTween men.
The maTerials which surround The Kennedy adminisTraTion seem To be
predominanle concenTraTed on The personaliTies of governmenT raTher Than
on The insTiTuTion iTseIf. Perhaps This is always True, buT The Kennedys
especially aTTracTed headlines. PresidenT Kennedy, a dynamic and force-
ful speaker, has been porTrayed by many of his conTemporaries as being
conscious of The aTTracTion ThaT he possessed. Theodore Sorenson noTed
in his biography of Kennedy ThaT The PresidenT felT The pressure from
Congress concerning his sTrengTh as an adminisTraTor. He explained The
reacTion by quoTing The PresidenT from a personal conversaTion.

Some of Them aren'T as imporTanT as They were under

Eisenhower, especially in The SenaTe. A loT of The spoTIighT has

shifTed down here now and They geT damn liTTle crediT for Their

parT. Every Time I ask Them for more power -- over aid for Trade

of Taxes -- They Think I'm invading Their prerogaTives.

The Tragic assassinaTion of PresidenT Kennedy forced a greaT deal of
speculaTion as To whaT he could have accomplished in his adminisTraTion.
He definiTely believed in pushing his own legislaTive programs, which

caused an even greaTer conflicT wiTh The Congress. ”No major legislaTive

measure was ever presenTed To The Congress by his CabineT or passed by

 

|Theodore C. Sorenson, Kennedy, (New York: Harper 6 Row, I965),
p. 346.

Il6

lI7

The Congress for his signaTure wiThouT his prior approval.”2

OTher personaliTies appeared in The headlines wiTh a flurry ThaT
broughT hero welcomes To John H. Glenn Jr., who became The firsT American
To compleTe an orbiT of The earTh (February 20); M. ScoTT CarpenTer, The
second American asTronauT in space compleTed a Three-orbiT flighT (May
24); and WalTer N. Schirra Jr., who compleTed six orbiTs around The earTh
(0cTober 3).3

The success of The space program, The youTh movemenT in governmenT,
and The conTinued high rise of expendiTures did cause several of The
Congressmen To reacT as Mr. Kennedy indicaTed They would. One parTicular
Congressman gained headlines by resTricTing governmenT expendiTures and
simply noT appropriaTing money. For some Time, The SenaTe AppropriaTions

Chairman Carl Hayden and Clarence Cannon had been involved wiTh The

problems of moneTary maTTers. Cannon assiduously proTecTed The RepresenTa-

Tives' righT To iniTiaTe The AppropriaTions process. He felT sTrongly
abouT The SenaTor's encroaching upon The righTs of The House in anyThing
concerning monies. In his speech in The House on OcTober l3, I962, he
explained The reason for These righTs of The House.

We had a liTTle conTroversy wiTh The SenaTe some Time ago in
changing The obsoleTe, anTiquaTed machinery in order To discourage
The habiT of The SenaTe of adding unwarranTed sums To House
appropriaTions bills.

The oTher body soughT To Take away a prerogaTive lodged in
The House by The Founding FaThers who wisely provided ThaT The
sTrongesT hold on The purse-sTrings of The NaTion should be in The
hands of The House of RepresenTaTives because iT is closesT To The
people, and has To come before The people every Two years.4

 

2Ibid.

 

3Kull, pp. 500, 502, 505.

4U.S. Congressional Record, 0cTober, I962, p. 23485. See Appendix F
for compleTe TexT.

 

ll8

The ATIanTic MonThiy characTerized The power and The effecT which

 

Cannon could bring To bear when challenged by The leadership of The
counTry

WiThouT appropriaTions, no governmenT can funcTion. And The
man who can wiThold appropriaTions or reduces The amounT available
or hold Them up unTil The lasT momenT can harass an adminisTraTion
every day of The year. Cannon's TacTics were as formidable as
SmiTh's. When Kennedy was assassinaTed in November, I963, The
bulk of The appropriaTions bills for The fiscal year ThaT had
begun The previous July I, were sTill unenacTed.5

In I962, before Cannon gave his speech, The feud was jusT gaining
heaT. As ArThur Schlesinger, Jr. sTaTed.

For an edifying four monThs in I962 a feud beTween RepresenTaTive

Clarence Cannon (eighTy-Three years old) and SenaTor Carl Hayden

(eighTy-four years old) each of whom angrily declined To go To The

office of The oTher, held up House-SenaTe agreemenT on appropriaTion

bills and lefT a number of governmenT agencies wiThouT money To

meeT Their payrollsfii

The enormiTy of The problem was noT based solely on personaliTies
or spending, or on any one facTor. A combinaTion of facTors caused
erupTion which was depicTed by Cannon's OcTober I3, I962 speech. The

IaTer explanaTions abouT ThaT speech illusTraTe a varieTy of viewpoinTs.

Daniel M. Berman shows how The WashingTon PosT viewed The inTeracTion.

 

Baronial Tendencies were cerTainly manifesTed by House Appropria-
Tions CommiTTee Chairman Clarence Cannon (D. Mo) in I962 when he
refused To speak on The Telephone wiTh The PresidenT of The UniTed
STaTes. Mr. Kennedy had called abouT an impasse ThaT had developed
beTween Cannon's commiTTee and The SenaTe AppropriaTions CommiTTee.

 

5The ATIanTic MonThly, ”ReporT on WashingTon,” Volume 2l6, No. 3,
p. 8.

 

6ArThur M. Schlesinger, Jr.,_A Thousand Days, (BosTon: HoughTon
Mifflin Company, I965), P. 709.

 

7Daniel M. Berman, In Congress Assembled (New York: Macmillan Co.,
I964, p. |2l. Berman Took The noTe from WashingTon PosT, OcTober l4,
I962, p. 24.

 

Il9

RepresenTaTive Bolling (Mo.), alThough seldom favorable in his commenTs
To Cannon gives a sligthy differenT inTerpreTaTion of The incidenT and of
Cannon's speech.
On 0cTober l3, I962, The lasT day of The EighTy-SevenTh
Congress, Cannon rose on The floor and excoriaTed McCormack and
AlberT and The DemocraTic whip, RepresenTaTive Hale Boggs of
Louisiana. In fairness, Cannon was evenhanded in his aTTiTude
Toward The leaders of his parTy. DemocraT Cannon even refused
To meeT wiTh DemocraT Kennedy, The PresidenT, To discuss The
foreign-assisTance bill.8
OTher wriTers picked up Cannon's commenTs eiTher To illusTraTe The
conflicT or To show Americans abouT spending problems wiThin Congress.
For example, The U.S. News and World Regng carried excerst of The
speech in order To show whaT was happening in The firsT "IOO-billion
Congress.”9
The enormiTy of The Task of spending IOO billion dollars would seem
miniscule in comparison To The problems of apprOpriaTing The funds for
The expendiTure. Every Congressman and SenaTor pushing his own projecT
would cause undue sTress on The commiTTee decisions. Cannon's conservaTive
approach To spending was seriously damaged by These enormous expendiTures.
In order To dramaTize The mammoTh problems involved in expendiTures and

in The process of decision making, he Took The opporTuniTy To speak on

These problems aT The closing of Congress.

Logical Analysis
Mr. Cannon delivered This speech aT The close of an exTremely long

session of Congress. As he said in his remarks on one of The SenaTe

 

8Bolling, House OuT of Order, p. 75.

—————_—

9U.S. News_§ World ReporT, OcTober 29, I962, p. 47.

l20

amendmenTs aTTached To The AppropriaTions CommiTTee bill:

Mr. Speaker, The summer has waxed and waned; The birds have nesTed

and flown; The leaves are falling in The auTumn breeze, buT

Congress sTill sTays on.

This Congress was exTremer difficulT To work wiTh, and Cannon
aT eighTy-Three years of age was disgusTed by The acTiviTies of The
leadership of The House. The leaders failed To supporT The work of
The House on several occasions. In facT, Cannon demonsTraTed Two ways
ThaT The leadership harmed or delayed The House procedures.

Daily we were imporTuned by The Speaker To yield To The

SenaTe, To surrender The prerogaTives of The House, To agree on

any Terms.

The CommiTTee on ApprOpriaTions, under heavy criTicism,
mainTained iTs posiTion buT iT was in spiTe of The leadership

of The House when iT should have been supporTing usJ'

In quesTioning The aTTiTude and TacTics of The leadership, Cannon
aTTacked The moral inTegriTy of several of The leaders. To demonsTraTe
Their meThod of operaTion he ciTed an example of The leadership in
acTion. These accusaTions and personal experiences were The primary

means of supporT in This speech by Cannon.

The majoriTy leader of The House came To me lasT nighT,

afTer The roll call and said, “If you will agree To IeT This
half billion dollar bill go Through” -- The one he said we did noT
need -- ”We will Turn and supporT you and give you This moTion.” 2

The meThodology was differenT in This speech from ThaT of The
previous efforTs analyzed. For example, he spoke in generaliTies
raTher Than specifics; he did noT boTher To use sources; and he did noT

seem To care for accuracy in This speech.

 

'Olbid., p. 25485.

 

l2l

The only quoTaTion used was from Thomas Jefferson in which he
illusTraTed ThaT The bill had no jusTificaTion or reason for adopTion.
This philosophical sTaTemenT by Jefferson (noT documenTed) was The
philosophy ThaT Cannon relied upon in his speech; ”A jusT consideraTion
for The opinion of mankind requires ThaT we give reason for our acTion."
Mr. Cannon gave reasons for his acTions, and he was exTremely criTical
of The acTion Taken by his colleagues. The enTire speech was designed To
show ThaT The unnecessary expendiTures were leading The Congress To adopT
The firsT IOO billion dollar budgeT. Obviously upseT and biTTer abouT
The rejecTion of The commiTTee recommendaTions for a lower budgeT,

Cannon wasTed IiTTle Time Trying To persuade Congress To change iTs
behavior Through a demonsTraTed raTional argumenT. He depended on
Their loyalTy To The sysTem and The hisToricaI precedenTs.

The maTerials which he used To persuade were based on The pasT and
presenT. His comparison and conTrasT Technique of The expendiTures
since Mr. Tabor (N.Y.) enTered Congress were general, buT They creaTed
an effecTive example on differences beTween The Times. These changes
(Three billion To II5 billion dollars; 536,000 employees To 2,5I4,000
people in governmenT; 22 billion To 302 billion in public debT), were
noT documenTed, nor did They parTicularly need To be. The sTaTemenT
ThaT There was a large difference was known by The members of The House
and The accuracy of The figures was relaTively unimporTanT in creaTing
The aTmosphere and making The poinT.

Mr. Tabor and Mr. Cannon had been members of The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee for a long Time. AlThough There were occasional rupTures in
The friendship (a fisT fighT or Two), There was an inTimaTe undersTanding

of The workings of Their commiTTee.

I22

The close working relaTionship of Clarence Cannon and John Tabor,
whose service on The CommiTTee (aT The close of The 87Th Congress)
ToTaled sevenTy years, and who exchanged The posiTion of CommiTTee
Chairman and ranking minoriTy member for TwenTy years, highlighTed
and sTrengThened The reciprociTy of roles exisTing in The group.
DespiTe Their radically differenT personaliTies and voTing records,
The Two men concurred ThaT ”We have a loT in common. We sTand
shoulder To shoulder. We usually agree and we are boTh on The
conservaTive side: when iT comes To The business of The commiTTee.”
"Many Times," said Cannon, ”The Two of us could siT righT here aT
This Table and go over The whole schedule -- auThorizaTions and
all. If we saw someThing ThaT oughT To come ouT, we'd Take iT
ouT; if we saw someThing ThaT oughT To go in, we'd puT iT in."
Mr. Cannon confides in Mr. Tabor and Mr. Tabor confides in nobody
else.I3

Mr. Cannon and Mr. Tabor had waTched The budgeT grow bigger as They grew
older. Their experience and Their work were being seriously challenged
and rechanneled by Those groups ouTside The commiTTee sTrucTure.

Cannon did noT IeT The moneTary comparison sTand on sTaTisTical
differences alone. He poinTed ouT ThaT The American public was being
Taxed aT war Time raTes wiThouT a war. BuT whaT he found even more
appalling was The lack of reason for change in The program.

An insTance is The iTem we jusT passed. AlThough Congressional

expendiTures are already larger Than ever before we have jusT

added a program which will cosT a fabulous sum before iT is

compleTed for a projecT rejecTed by every auThoriTy we consulTed.'4

This sTaTemenT correlaTed closely wiTh his Jefferson quoTaTion
regarding The need for sufficienT reasons for acTion. He pursued The
poinT by repeTiTion and by amplifying The sTaTemenT of The chairman on

The bill under Congressional inspecTion.

The chairman of The commiTTee who reporTed iT says iT is noT
necessary. He says iT will in no way discommode The GovernmenT if
you fail To pass iT This year. So we are adhering To The refusal

 

'BFenno, p. 202.

'4U.S. Congressional Record, p. 23485.

 

I23

To permiT iT To go To conference. We adhering To The refusal

To permiT you To add furTher To The Taxes of your alread over-

burdened Taxpayers. As you did in The voTe jusT Taken}

The remainder of The speech was direcTed Toward The Florida
lobbyisTs and individual Congressmen who were aTTempTing To push The
bill Through. The primary Technique used by Cannon was relaTing his
personal observaTions on The devaluaTion of The dollar. These personal
experiences appeared To be primarily used as a basis for The emoTional
pleas in The speech. To show The unworThiness of The bill and The
leadership, he recalled The lack of purpose in The bill and in The
Congressional delay.

AT The end of These long monThs, The longesT peaceTime session

Congress has had -- and wiTh no visible reason -- l honor The
high office They hold buT I cannoT endorse The qualiTy of
leadership.

I have saT under Ten S eakers -- buT l have never seen such

biased and inepT leadership. 0

The evidence, as posiTive proof for changing opinion, was noT
impressive in This speech. Mr. Cannon's maTerials were a maTTer of his
experience and knowledge (which were noT insignificanT), and of The
audience's general knowledge of governmenTaI expendiTures. Many of The
iTems of personal experience were from earlier speeches. For insTance,
The Theme for This speech was Taken from his plea for a more sensible
criTerion for spending which was noTed in his November 27, I945 speech.
The policy Toward holding The spending down did noT change in This speech,
buT his efforTs and meThodology were differenT. The explanaTion for The

effecTiveness of This speech has To be found in an area oTher Than

logical analysis.

 

'5lbid.

'6Ibid., p. 25486.

I24

EmoTionaI Analysis

 

Cannon used emoTional maTerials in This speech To aTTempT To
carry The argumenTs presenTed. No oTher speech sTudied has had The
direcT appeal To The emoTions ThaT This speech reveals. One could derive
The conclusion ThaT Cannon was angry and was merely sTriking ouT, buT a
careful analysis revealed a paTTern in his emoTional maTerial. There
were Three primary Techniques which Cannon used To illusTraTe his feelings:
sarcasm, direcT comparison of maTerials, and personal appeal To The
people.

The sarcasm was scaTTered ThroughouT The speech. There were seven
differenT insTances where Cannon ”blisTered” The Congressmen for Their
spending aTTiTudes. His meThod is besT illusTraTed when he appealed To
a false pride ThaT Congressmen should have in Their spending abiliTy.

GenTlemen, when you go home you can aTTracT special aTTenTion
by saying, ”I have jusT come from a $|00 billion Congress.” You
are The firsT man ever To go back To your congressional disTricT
from a $l00 billion Congress in all iTs hisTory.I7

He carried The illusTraTion almosT To The poinT of absurdiTy by
offering a meThod of adverTising Their sTand on The expendiTures for The
coming year. His causTic commenT isoIaTed each Congressman according To
his pasT acTions.

I know you high-cosT-of-living genTlemen will be disappoinTed

ThaT you will noT have an opporTuniTy To add iT To The bill you

have jusT voTed Through. The name of every Congressman who voTed

iT is righT here in The yea-and-nay voTe. Why noT send iT back
home To be posTed in every voTing poll in your disTricT.l8

 

'7lbid., p. 25484.

'8lbid.

——-_-—

l25
AnoTher use of sarcasm was direcTed To The RepresenTaTive from
Florida. Cannon illusTraTed how he feIT abouT The acTions of These men
who in his opinion, were manipulaTing moneTary maTTers To Their advan-
Tage.

Mr. Speaker, who is leading This raid upon The public
Treasury Today? The genTlemen from Florida -- fine fellows,
of course -- I love every one of Them. The greaT Sunshine STaTe
of Florida is Taking populaTion from every STaTe of The Union.
New York here losT a Congressman. They puT him down in Florida.
And They have Tax laws down There ThaT pull New York money down
There Too. They are aTTracTing populaTion from all over. The
reason They readjusTed your disTricTs This year is ThaT Florida is
such an enTicing STaTe. YeT They are so poverTy sTricken ThaT They
musT come up To WashingTon and run over The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions which has no inTeresT whaTever excepT To discharge The
duTies and serve The purpose for which appoinTed.'g

This sarcasm and anger can be explained as a maTTer of frusTraTion.
He was disTurbed by The amounT of The expendiTures being recommended,
as well as by The meThodology by which The changes were broughT abouT.
He added direcT aTTack To his emoTional TacTics when he accused The
Floridians of piracy.
They are as redoubTable a gang of piraTes as ever sailed The
Spanish Main, and my STaTe and your STaTe are paying The bill in
onerous Taxes. Millions of dollars were plundered by CapTain Kidd
and Blue Beard, buT The amounT of money Kidd and Blue Beard Took
pales inTo insignificance compared To The money These highwaymen
have Taken from The U.S. Treasury This morning.
Cannon did noT resorT solely To groupaflTacks in his speech. He
aTTacked Congressman Hale Boggs (Louisiana) and Carl AlberT (Oklahoma)

for Their poor leadership. The descripTion of Boggs would be humorous

under any oTher siTuaTion.

 

'9Ipid.

ZOlbid., p. 23484-85.

l26

LasT nighT my good friend Hale Boggs, afTer vigorously campaigning
for Florida, brushed The ParliamenTarian aside. He sTood There
like an avenging angel. I have never seem anyThing like iT before.
When The A's in The alphabeT were called Mr. AlberT voTed
againsT The commiTTee, The unanimous reporT of The commiTTee,
and Then aT The lasT minuTe afTer he had given The signal To The
House, and everybody had voTed, he changed his voTe so ThaT iT
would look a IiTTle beTTer.

Cannon conTinued The aTTack againsT The House leadership when he
reviewed his experience and gave his personal Opinion of This Congress.
This was a raTher damning commenTary on his own parTy during The Kennedy

adminisTraTion.

AT The end Of These long monThs, The longesT peaceTime
session Congress has had -- and wiTh no visible reason —- I honor
The high office They hold buT I cannoT endorse The qualiTy Of
leadership.

I have saT under Ten S eakers -- buT I have never seen such
biased and inepT leadership.
This was noT kind criTicism and revealed The inTensiTy and serious-
ness wiTh which Mr. Cannon viewed The siTuaTion. The major magazines and
newspapers picked up The quoTaTion, and_U;§;_New§ é World ReporT commenTed

on Cannon's remarks abouT The leadership and on The expendiTures ThaT The

governmenT was making for ThaT budgeT.

IT all adds up TO more Than IOO billion in appropriaTions aT
a Time when, in Mr. Cannon's words, ”The GovernmenT is already
spending The largesT amounT ever spenT in one peaceTime year in
The hisTory of any naTion on earTh."

Cannon did noT allow These aTTack To disconcerT him so much ThaT
he could noT make a plea for The common man. His concern wiTh The people
was illusTraTed when he complained abouT The TaxaTion ThaT The people

were suffering. BuT he was even more poinTed when he Talked of The

2'Ibid., p. 25486.

22IpId.

23"The FirsT IOO-Billion Congress!” U.S. News Q WQCLQ ReporT,
0cTober 29, I962, p. 47.

I27

personal experience he had wiTh people who were caughT in The economic

pinch.

A woman wroTe me yesTerday ThaT she Took a dozen eggs To
markeT and gOT TwenTy-four cenTs for Them, and iT was noT enough
To pay for posTage sTamps TO wriTe TO each Of her children. YeT
you raised The posTage The OTher day. ”Oh, The people are noT
paying enough. Sure, voTe To make Them pay more posTage and more

Taxes."

The efforTs To dramaTi:e The dollar-value change were noT missed by
Cannon in his example Of family problems. This appeal To self-preserva-
Tion was an aTTempT To make Congress aware of how hard Cannon ThoughT iT
was To live wiTh The new measures. IT was also a way To show The audience
ouTside of Congress ThaT Cannon was sTill sympaTheTic and in Tune wiTh
The "peOple” Of The UniTed STaTes. His pracTical use of The worTh of The

dollar was especially appealing To This wider audience.

In I926 when a housewife Took a dollar downTown To The grocery
sTore, she gOT $l.07 worTh of groceries for ThaT dollar. NaTional
all over The world were scrambling for ThaT dollar. They wanTed
hard cash. BuT now They are noT so keen abouT iT. Today if is

worTh only 44 cenTs.

To reveal The effecTs of The measure ThaT Congress was abouT TO pass
can be an exTremer effecTive appeal. To add exTra hardships for The
American, when he was Trying To geT a basic educaTion and a decenT meal,
would seem To arouse The IisTeners. Cannon compounded The already emo—
Tional conTenT when he added children TO These OTher Two variables.

Many a man who musT earn his living by The sweaT of his brow
is having a hard Time buying school shoes for his children. He is
having a hard Time filling The plaTes on The breakfasT Table. BuT
when we send The Tax collecTor around, he has To anTe up. Here Today
you are Telling ThaT man To IeT his children wear Their shoes a
IiTTIe longer afTer They are already worn ouT. You are Telling The
parenTs Of some of Those children To send Them To school wiThouT an

24Congressional Record, gp. ciT., p. 23484.

25ipid

—-———-n

I28

an egg for breakfasT or wiThouT a slice of bacon so ThaT They

will have enough To pay The Taxes you voTed on Them This morning

for The golden Sunshine STaTe of prosperous Florida.

There were oTher appeals To The people in This speech. Cannon was
deeply concerned ThaT The Congressman no longer felT responsible for The
people in his disTricT and in his counTy. He was appealing for beTTer
leadership and beTTer conTacT wiTh The people when he argued ThaT Congress
ehould have been recessed a long Time ago so ThaT The Congressman could
be in closer Touch wiTh his consTiTuenTs.

Congress oughT To go home. Congressmen oughT To sTay in

Touch wiTh The peOple and find ouT whaT They need, whaT They are

Talking abouT, whaT Their senTimenTs are. If Members had kepT in

Touch wiTh The voTers we would noT have had The voTe we had here

jusT now.

This direcT appeal was a combinaTion of voTer awareness and IecTur-
ing Of Congressional responsibiliTy. IT illusTraTed The frusTraTion ThaT
Mr. Cannon musT have felT aT This Time.

The long Congress, The age facTor, The feeling ThaT unfair TacTics
had been used, and The poor leadership may have been The cause for This
emoT‘ional ouTbursT. This Type of ouTbursT was noT evidenT in any of
his chher speeches. The maTerial seems To be well placed and if gave
venT 'TO Cannon's feelings. And iT furTher illusTraTes his posiTion as a
reprensenTaTive Of The peOple. The speech revealed his displeasure wiTh
The merfhodology used TO aTTempT To override his commiTTee. His speech

was deesigned To exoneraTe The House CommiTTee on AppropriaTions for The

increaased spending; and iT was an efforT TO show his consTiTuency, and

 

I29

perhaps The whole naTion, ThaT Clarence Cannon is sTill fighTing To
preserve The inTegriTy of his Office and To proTecT The people from
piracy and poor leadership. These appeals are manifesTed Through his
use Of sarcasm, comparison and conTrasT Of maTerials, and appeal TO The
people. The basis for These appeals was evidenT when he said, "The Com-
miTTee on ApprOpriaTions, under heavy criTicism, mainTained iTs posiTion
buT iT was in spiTe Of The leadership of The House when iT should have

been supporTing us.”28

EThical Anafysis

 

This speech was orienTed Toward Two audiences (Congress and
consTiTuenTs), because Of The Tremendous expendiTures over and above
The AppropriaTions CommiTTee recommendaTions. While orienTed Toward boTh
audiences, his direcT aTTack on Congress, on Florida, and on The House
leadership would do IiTTIe To enhance his image wiTh The Congress.
However, iT would esTablish in The voTers a respecT for The efforTs ThaT
Cannon was making in Their behalf. His appeal TO The voTers illusTraTed
The conTrol ThaT he felT The voTer could and probably should have over
his Congressman.

I am convinced, we would noT have had voTes like we had here This

morning if we had been back home, rubbing shoulders wiTh our con-

sTiTuenTs, if we had had an opporTuniTy To see The hard condiTions

under which They live.29

The image of a proTecTor was also shown when he Talked abouT The

difference beTween The funcTion of commiTTees and The responsibiliTies of

individuals. The people were overlooked, according To Cannon.

 

I30

The appeals TO The peOple in This insTance cerTainly do noT appear
To be designed To Tie The Congressional leaders To Cannon. The excoria-
Tion of specific individuals was noT paTTerned TO win Their favor, and
Cannon did noT appear To be eager TO do Their bidding. The use of
emoTional appeals direcTIy relaTed To The people seems To indicaTe ThaT
Cannon was willing and eager To divorce himself from The acTions Of
Congress. His biTTerness and his appeal To The people were illusTraTive
of his independence and of his relaTionship To his consTiTuency. The
image ThaT he porTrayed was one of a concerned Congressman Trying TO
perform The Task which his job required. If Congress passed The amendmenT,
Then They would Obviously be duped by The shysTer Floridians who were
aTTempTing To overTurn The efforTs of an honesT and hard-working commiT-
Tee. The IengTh of service of Cannon and Tabor would lend credence To
The belief ThaT They were dedicaTed public servanTs aTTempTing TO perform
according To The sTandards of Their commiTTee. UndoubTedly, Cannon and
Tabor were upseT by The TacTics employed by The opposiTion, and The reply
by Cannon gave supporT for his Theory Of governmenT. His Theory of a
relaTively conservaTive moneTary policy, and his belief ThaT he owed a
cerTain obligaTion To his disTricT voTers was clearly supporTed in This
speech. His independence was cerTainly characTerized by his aTTack on The

esTablished leaders of The Congress.

Conclusion

 

Clarence Cannon was unhappy abouT The acTions of The Congress
concerning expendiTures over and above Those recommended by The CommiTTee
on AppropriaTions. If ThaT seems To be an undersTaTemenT, Then The proof

would have To come from The emoTional and The eThical analysis. The

l3l

logical viewpoinT played a very slighT role in This parTicular speech.
The proofs were primarily emoTional and They were used as a meThod Of
aTTacking specific leaders and sTaTe organiraTions raTher Than as a
meThod Of consTrucTing a policy. His efforTs aT removing himself from
The acTions Of Congress show The compleTe disassociaTion ThaT he desired
from These acTions Taken by Congress. His reference To The leadership
of Congress (excluding himself), his desire To have Congress go home so
ThaT iT can learn how To voTe, his faiTh in The voTer, and his efforT
TO mainTain a respecTable sTandard are all evidence of his inTense dis-
saTisfacTion in The new expendiTures. His use of women, children, hunger,
voTer responsibiliTy, and fiscal responsibiliTy, are Techniques used To
dramaTize a disTasTeful occurrence. The efforT aT demonsTraTing his
disassociaTion from Congress illusTraTes how adamanle he is againsT
The measures which will increase The expendiTures.

This speech is definiTely differenT Than oTher speeches analyzed in
ThaT iT is primarily a speech ThaT depends on emoTional appeals. IT is
also differenT because iT is an aTTempT, noT To advocaTe a policy or To
aTTack policy as much as To accepT a sorT of ineviTabiliTy and divorce
himself from if. In The classical sense iT mighT be classified as as
epideicTic speech; iTs ends are blame and iTs occasion is The deaTh of a

policy.

CHAPTER NINE

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT CLARENCE CANNON

The final chapTer of This sTudy will be devoTed To drawing Three
Types of conclusions. FirsT, The quesTions asked in The firsT chapTer,
regarding Cannon's funcTion as an appropriaTor of The naTional budgeT,
will be answered. Second, The caTegories used for analysis (logical,
emoTional, and eThical) will be summarized and evaluaTed. Third, some
conclusions regarding The effecTiveness of his speaking will be drawn.
AfTer These conclusions, The sTudy will analyze The objecTives Of This
research, as described in ChapTer One. IT will use The earlier seT of

conclusions To evaluaTe The enTire sTudy.

Cannon a an AppropriaTor

 

TO serve a ToTal of forTy-Two years in Congress could be one measure
Of effecTiveness, or To rule The AppropriaTions CommiTTee for almosT
TwenTy years could be anoTher. BuT lengTh of service doesn'T necessarily
indicaTe conTribuTion or speech effecTiveness. To be effecTive as Head
of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee can be described in many ways, buT To
conTrol The expendiTures, and To wiThOld monies over all OpposiTion re-
veals a cerTain independence of power. Cannon had This power, and he used

iT according To his beliefs. As early as I950, a SaTurday Evening PosT

 

arTicle noTed Cannon's effecTiveness and iTs causes. (The) . . . "exTra-

ordinary effecTiveness is due TO Two facTors: he heads The mosT powerful

I32

I33
commiTTe in Congress, and he is The mosT experT pracTiTioner of legis-
laTive sTraTegy in The House.”

The early Training under Champ Clark and The service as House
parliamenTarian gave him a Tremendous advanTage over less prepared
opponenTs. According TO RepresenTaTive OTTO E. Passman, of Louisiana,
Cannon may have had an advanTage over all of his OpponenTs, because his
skill was unsurpassed?Z

His wriTings on parliamenTary procedure, and his use of Those
precedenTs in Congress were noTed by his successor, RepresenTaTive George
H. Mahon, Of Texas, The presenT ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee Chairman.

Whereas no seT Of resoluTions, however fragmenTary of design
should be concluded wiThouT noTing ThaT Mr. Cannon, a man of eminenT
and varied public services and accomplishmenTs, was an inTernaTion-
ally known parliamenTarian and universally regarded as The greaTesT
auThoriTy on The parliamenTary rules precedenTs and pracTices of
The House of RepresenTaTives . . . .

ParT Of The reason behind his success was his asTuTe parliamenTary
knowledge and his abiliTy To use iT in commiTTee and on The floor Of The
House.

OTher valuable asseTs were his abiliTy To predicT defeaT (and Thus
dissolve The commiTTee To avoid The defeaT), and his abiliTy To avoid
poliTical pressure by refusing To respond To The PresidenT. These inci-
denTs were described in ChapTer Two. These examples demonsTraTe Cannon's

abiliTy To maneuver wiThin The prerOgaTives of his Office.

Even more imporTanT Than his abiliTy TO use The rules To his advan-

 

'P. F. Healy, “Nobody Loves Clarence," SaTurdgy Evening PosT,
V. CCXXII, (March 25, I950), p. 38.

2Memorial Services, p. 60.

3lbid., p. 250-25I.

I34
Tage was anoTher facTor which allowed him To mainTain This power. This
facTor was The respecT which his colleagues had for The chairman. His
associaTes had respecT for his knowledge, his devoTion, and his inTegriTy.
In facT almosT every RepresenTaTive or SenaTor who delivered a memorial
address on Cannon commenTed on These Three characTerisTics.

RepresenTaTive Leonor KreTzer Sullivan, Of Missouri, spoke Of
Cannon's knowledge: ”As chairman of The CommiTTee Of ApprOpriaTions, he
knew everyThing -- almosT everyThing -- abouT every program of GovernmenT
in which Taxpayers' funds were spenT.'4 RepresenTaTive W.R. Hull, also of
Missouri, commenTed ThaT Cannon had no weekends or vacaTions. He furTher
illusTraTed The devoTion of Cannon. "Clarence Cannon was The personifica-
Tion of The serious, sTudious, and dedicaTed public servanT."5 SenaTor
Gordon AlloT, of Colorado, described The ToTal characTerisTics of Cannon's
service in The House.

IT would be impossible for anyone TO siT aT a conference

Table wiTh a man like Clarence Cannon and noT be impressed over and

Over again, noT only wiTh The seriousness and acuiTy of his mind

buT also wiTh The greaT inTegriTy and sense of fairness and reason-

ableness which characTerized his every acTion.

Cannon, Then, was a hard worker wiTh a knowledge of parliamenTary
procedure and a knowledge Of The ApprOpriaTion maTerials and processes.
The biography chapTer indicaTed ThaT his parTy affiliaTion was independenT
of his naTional feeling. The reason for This independence was besT ex-

pressed by RepresenTaTive Melvin R. Laird, Of Wisconsin.

Also, as The years have passed, I have found myself almosT
forgeTTing ThaT Clarence Cannon was Of a differenT poliTical parTy,

 

I35

because iT became more and more evidenT ThaT he was firsT, lasT, and

always an American -- a man who always puT The good of his counTry

above all else, including himself.7

This Opinion was shared by many of Laird's colleagues, and The evi-
dence showed ThaT regardless Of parTy pressure Cannon mainTained The
philosophy ThaT his job was To save The counTry as much expense as possible.
His IaTer speeches especially demonsTraTed his preoccupaTion wiTh a sound
fiscal policy. His annual non-spending IecTures, his complainT abouT The

billion dollar budgeT, and his inTense conTroversies wiTh The SenaTe over

Their free-spending policies give credence TO The following sTaTemenT by

 

RepresenTaTive Edward P. Boland, of MassachuseTTs.

His unTiring efforTs undoubTedly conTribuTed much Toward keeping

our naTional finances on a sound basis. While more Than one Tril-

lion dollars has been apprOpriaTed by Congress for GovernmenT Opera-

Tions during his Term as chairman of This commiTTee, Clarence Cannon

may be given much crediT for cuTs running inTo billions of dollars

which have been made in execuTive budgeT requesTs. Thus his power-
ful and forceful influence has acTed as a deTerrenT TO wasTeful

GovernmenT spending which only adds To our budgeTary deficiTs and

To our large public debT.

IT is accuraTe TO say ThaT Cannon was respecTed for his knowledge,
his abiliTy, his accomplishmenTs, and his inTegriTy as chairman of The
ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee. His colleagues, while noT always agreeing, were
impressed wiTh his devoTion To his job and his abiliTy To geT The bills
passed wiTh as much savings as he did.

Finally, RepresenTaTive Edward R. Finnegan of Illinois, described
The Time when Cannon arrived aT his budgeT philosophy. According To

Finnegan, Cannon did noT develop his philosophy solidly unTil The I944-45

sessions of Congress. This helps explain why The speech of January I2,

 

 

I36
I939 (ChapTer Five), and The speech of November 27, I945 differ signifi-

canle in Their approach To spending.

IT was in The lasT monThs Of World War II ThaT Mr. Cannon's
aTTiTude and philosophy abouT his role in life emerged and mani-
fesTed iTseIf. IT was To become The overriding moTivaTing princi-

ple of his approach TO The responsibiliTies of The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee .9

Thus, his philosophy of TighT-fisTedness, his honesTy, his inTegriTy,
and his devoTion To his job won him The respecT of his colleagues. Many

of These TraiTs or characTerisTics are manifesTed in his speaking.

 

Cannon's Use_gi.ine.Mgge§‘gflfigggf

This sTudy has focused on The logical, emoTionaI, and eThical modes
of proof employed by Clarence Cannon over his enTire speaking career in
The House. The sTudy has demonsTraTed ThaT The logical elemenTs of
Cannon's speaking were generally sound. He used evidence in varying
degrees, according To The need ThaT he saw for if, or The relaTive sophis-
TicaTion of his audience. The speeches examined have revealed ThaT in his
early speaking he used specific and documenTed maTerials, and ThaT as he
became more of an auThoriTy, he used less documenTaTion and less quoTed
maTerial. There was one speech, given on March 30, I932 (ChapTer Four),
which may have been a miscalculaTion by Cannon. He used a main source

(Speaker Garner) To supporT mosT of his speech, and Garner removed ThaT
supporT during The debaTe. Cannon aTTempTed To recover The loss of pres-
Tige by liTeralIy Throwing examples and sTaTisTics info The lasT few
minuTes of his debaTe. However, he was unable TO carry The measure and

quickly bowed ouT of The debaTe. OTher Than This one speech, Cannon's

 

I37

maTerials were generally accepTable, and he gained The repuTaTion of
being a knowledgeable speaker, especially on AppropriaTions maTerial.

As Cannon gained Tenure and presTige in The House, he relied
less and less on The documenTed maTerials and more and more on his own
recognizance and on his personal experiences. Cannon as a fledgling
Congressman and Cannon as an experienced AppropriaTions experT illusTra-
Ted a wide diversiTy of meThodology in boTh IOgical and eThical maTerials.
There is a level of correlaTion beTween Cannon's Tenure as a Congressman
and his use of logical and eThical maTerials. The correlaTion works
inversely wiTh The logical maTerial and direchy wiTh The eThicaI maTer-
ials. In OTher words, as Cannon grew older, his use of evidence, his use
of reasoning, and The documenTaTion of his premises declined, while his
use Of personal experience and repuTaTion increased (excepTing The Garner
example in ChapTer Four).

The use of emoTional maTerials seems TO be based on Cannon's analy-
sis of each audience siTuaTion. There does noT appear To be a discernible
paTTern in The speeches sTudied. He used emoTional maTerial frequenle
in all The speeches, and The maTerial was direcTed Toward boTh The imme-
diaTe and The secondary audience. He used home Town examples, illusTra-
Tions of suffering, and maTerials designed To arouse specific emoTions
for The audiences in Missouri when he was Talking TO The secondary
audience. These appeals TO The voTers won him many devoTed supporTers in
his disTricT and his use of sarcasm, wiTTicisms, and anger were generally
reserved for his fellow Congressman. From This sTudy, iT can be concluded
ThaT Cannon had a grasp of his audience siTuaTions. This conclusion will
be furTher subsTanTiaTed in The following secTion on his effecTiveness

as a speaker.

I38

Cannon's EffecTiveness

 

Was Clarence Cannon an effecTive speaker? One measuremenT could
be his conTinuous Tenure as a RepresenTaTive from Missouri and his
service as Chairman Of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee. BuT These measure-
menTs do noT necessarily show ThaT The effecT was caused by his speaking.
However, There is evidence ThaT The man was an effecTive speaker as well
as an effecTive adminisTraTor.

The Congressional Record reveals one aspecT of Cannon's effecTive-

 

ness in The House. His reparTee To Congressman McLaughlin, Of Nebraska,
was greale appreciaTed by his audience. This example Of quickness and
wiT was demonsTraTed early in his Congressional career on April l5, I926.

Mr. Cannon. No. The mosT imporTanT piece Of IegislaTion
which Those mosT inTeresTed had a righT To expecT This Congress

To consider -- IegislaTion involving some adequaTe soluTion Of
The mosT viTal and mosT pressing problem before The American
people Today -- is eiTher To be sTifled in The commiTTee or

reporTed ouT for enachenT.

Mr. McLaughlin of Nebraska. LeT me say To The genTleman
ThaT The CommiTTee on AgriculTure is in session This morning,
and we hope To reporT ouT a bill some Time nexT week.

Mr. Cannon. The genTleman from Nebraska recognizes The
IegislaTion To which I refer, alThough I have said noThing abouT
agriculTure. (LaughTer) He concedes iT To be The mosT imporTanT
problem before The counTry To-day. (Applause)

In an arTicle enTiTled, ”Insane Bickering,".lim§ discussed anoTher
Type of response which illusTraTed supporT for his effecTiveness. This
I example Took place aT The IaTTer parT of his career.
The Eisenhower plan goT sTill anoTher big boosT, This one

from Missouri's bulb-nosed DemocraTic Congressman Clarence Cannon,

IOU.S. Congressional Record, April I5, I926, p. 753I. See Appendix
A for compleTe TexT.

I39

sevenTy-nine, chairman Of The poTenT House ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee,
and a man who considers himself every biT as much a miliTary experT
as Carl Vinson. Rising on The House floor, Cannon delivered an
old-fashioned sTem-winder. ”Who is beTTer qualified," demanded
DemocraT Cannon, ”in Training, experience, and capaciTy Than
General Eisenhower when iT comes To miliTary affairs involving The
safeTy of The people and The survival of our form Of governmenT,

he is a general, and I Take off my haT To him wiTh hearT-felT
alacriTy. IT is high Time we puT an end To This insane bickering
beTween The services, and eliminaTe billions of wasTage and begjp
TO develop sufficienT miliTary sTrengTh To keep us ouT Of war."

In addiTion To These specific examples, his colleagues commenTed
on The reasons for his effecTiveness. The mosT consisTenT remarks
perTained To his debaTing Technique. For insTance, RepresenTaTive
Harold C. OsTerTag, of New York, commenTed, ” . . . we will miss The
chairman's hard-hiTTing, effecTive, and colorful role in The debaTes on

This floor. He spiced his argumenTs wiTh sharp commenTs, amusing anec-

”I2

doTes and ear-caTching expressions. RepresenTaTive W.J. Bryan Dorn,

of SouTh Carolina said ThaT "His speeches on The floor were masTer-

pieces."l3

NOT all criTics were impressed wiTh Cannon's speaking. For insTance
RepresenTaTive Roland V. LibonaTi, of Illinois, had praise for Cannon's
wriTTen abiliTy, buT he wasn'T as pleased wiTh his oral presenTaTion.

Clarence Cannon was an arTisT of The wriTTen word -- his
speeches on The floor are gems of rheTorical language, symbolized
by The wriTings of WalTer PaTer.

In his presenTmenT of a speech his gruffness Of voice and
hurried sTyle would confound The IisTener, buT upon reading The
conTexT in The Record, The equuence of his IOgic and The Thorough
applicaTion of research in iTs preparaTion and fullness of
discussion edified his colleagues.

 

I'll—'19:: May I9, I958, p, I4.
'2Memorial Services, p. 87.

l3lbid., p. I54.

I40

There was no sTronger debaTer in The House, nor one more
engulfed in work. Mr. Cannon was a vigorous and worThy opponenT,
and meTiculous in money maTTers affecTing The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee's expenses Of operaTion.'4

Finally, Carl AlberT, Of Oklahoma, wiTh whom Cannon had a fighT over
The lack Of House leadership in I962 (ChapTer EighT), described Cannon's
presenTaTion as superb, even when given insTanTaneously.

The House has long appreciaTed Mr. Cannon's oraTory. He had

a sTyle and manner of speech second To none ever displayed in The

well of This House. He had a faulTless ear for The righT word, and

eleganT wiT, devasTaTing and unarguable logic. Even in imprompTu

speech his rheToric and grammar were as flawless as his sTer was

unique.'5

OTher people reacTed To Cannon's speaking favorably and wroTe To
him regarding Their reacTions TO his various addresses. For example, a
speech called ”More and Higher Taxes," delivered on OcTOber I3, I962,
received over forTy leTTers from all over The counTry. The following leT-
Ters, reacTing To The speech, were in a miscellaneous file aT The Univer-
siTy of Missouri WesTern Manuscrist CollecTion. Mr. Clyde W. Vickey,
AssisTanT Manager of MeTropoliTan Life Insurance Company in San Diego,

expressed his ThoughTs concerning The speech.

The 0cTober 29, I962 issue of The U.S. News Q World ReporT
reporTed in deTail The speech you made in The House The day

Congress adjourned. If we had more men wiTh your courage and
convicTions, perhaps The U.S. would noT have The Tremendous
naTional debT which we have. I wish I could personally Thank you

for making The speech. You expressed my ThoughTs and senTimenTs
beTTer Than I possibly could have, had I The OpporTuniTy To do so
before The House. I learned wiTh pleasure ThaT you were again
reelecTed, alThough I am a conservaTive Republican, I cerTainly
would have voTed for you, if I had The OpporTuniTy To do so.
Thanks again and keep up The good work.

 

l4l

Mrs. ArThur Beddoe of 747 Nassau STreeT, PrinceTon, New Jersey,
wroTe To Cannon on January 4, I963, and asked him TO Travel "from one
end of The counTry To The oTher dispelling his message."

From The former illusTraTions and TesTimonies, iT is evidenT ThaT
Cannon was respecTed for his abiliTy To form and communicaTe a parTicular
message. His abiliTy To adapT To The debaTe siTuaTion has been especially
noTed, and There has been some supporT To show ThaT The people believed
in Cannon and in whaT he sTood for.

A more specific analysis Of Cannon's effecTiveness in The audience
was secured from The inTerviews wiTh Mr. H. Greene Simpson, Mr. W.O.
Mackie, and Mr. Harvey Young. These genTlemen praised Cannon's abiliTy
TO creaTe a mood Of sympaThy and undersTanding. All Three men also
agreed ThaT one of Cannon's hidden asseTs was his charming wife, who
acTed as his memory, his secreTary, and his chauffeur. This exTra
assisTance was appreciaTed by Mr. Cannon and his consTiTuenTs.

Mr. Simpson, who was Chairman of The DemocraTic ParTy in DisTricT
I and IX, and also an Honorary Colonel on The sTaff of governors Blair
and Hearnes, ascribed Cannon's effecTiveness To his relaTionship wiTh
his audience. He said, ”Clarence Cannon was aTTracTive To his audience;
and he had a greaT abiliTy To esTimaTe The mood and needs Of The audi-
ence."I6

Mr. Mackie, a former STaTe SenaTor from Kirksville, sTaTed ThaT
while Cannon's voice (weak and raspy) prevenTed him from being a greaT

oraTor, his excellenT use Of organizaTion, hisTory, and his abiliTy

 

'6Personal InTerview on December 30, I968, in Kirksville, Missouri.

I42

To relaTe maTerials TO his audience made him an effecTive speaker and
Congressman.'7

Mr. Young, a DemocraTic Chairman for Adair CounTy, a member of The
School Board, and PresidenT of The FirsT NaTional Bank of Kirksville,
characTerized Cannon's speaking as effecTive because he was courTeous,
well-liked, and well organized in his presenTaTions. His delivery was
described as animaTed by swinging an arm and a clenched fisT. Mr. Young
also said ThaT his word was iron law; ”he Told you wheTher he could do
someThing or wheTher he could noT do iT.”'8

AfTer reviewing his meThod of speaking, and Turning To secondary
and primary sources for proof Of his effecTiveness, iT is appropriaTe
To remember whaT Cannon said abouT The value of public speaking. He
counseled his fellow Congressmen To be aware of well-organized speeches
and campaigns by Their OpponenTs. He made The sTaTemenT ThaT preparaTion
and shorT, To-The-poinT speeches were The key To effecTiveness wiTh
audiences. And more imporTanle, he followed his own advice. His
speeches were well organized, documenTed according To The needs Of The
audience, and generally well received. Cannon was an effecTive speaker
according To The effecTs produced, according To his fellow Congressmen,

according TO his consTiTuenTs, and according To his own sTandards.

EvaluaTion

 

Now ThaT conclusions abouT Cannon have been drawn, The objecTives
of This research will be evaluaTed according TO The criTeria lisTed by

AlberT J. CrofT.

 

 

l7Personal InTerview on December 3|, I968, in Kirksville, Missouri.

'8Personal InTerview on December 30, I968, in Kirksville, Missouri.

I43

One goal was ”To reporT and inTerpreT The manner in which a
speaker's social values have been relaTed To The social values Of his
audience in The course of his rheToricaI adapTaTion . . . .” This sTudy
has indicaTed ThaT Cannon adjusTed To his audience in several ways.

He used evidence and logic according To The demands placed on him by his
audience. When speaking To Congress he was debaTe-orienTed, wiTh sharp
and wiTTy commenTs. When he was speaking To his consTiTuenTs he was
audience-orienTed and he used homeTown examples, personal experiences,
and emoTionaI maTerials. The populariTy, The praise, and The supporT

of The chairman indicaTe ThaT he was in Touch wiTh The social and
inTellecTual values Of his Times. And even more imporTanle, he was able
To keep in Touch wiTh his audiences ThroughouT his long Congressional
career. The commenTs on his abiliTy as a speaker occur early and IaTe

in his career as has been illusTraTed in This sTudy.

The second objecTive was ”To evaluaTe parTicular speeches and
speakers by esTimaTing The appropriaTeness and evaluaTing The uniqueness
of The idea-adapTaTion in Them . . . .” The appropriaTeness Of The ideas
was cenTered on The philosOphy behind UniTed STaTes spending. There has
been TesTimony in This sTudy To indicaTe ThaT Cannon was respecTed for The
performance as Chairman of The AppropriaTions CommiTTee. However,
Congressmen, and even cerTain consTiTuenTs, wanTed parTicular projecTs
consummaTed which Cannon blocked for one reason or anoTher. AfTer
esTablishing himself as The leader of appropriaTions, Cannon Took a
conservaTive look aT The budgeTary process. He complained abouT Those
Congressmen who voTed againsT higher Taxes, buT for increased appropria-
Tions. While efforTs To keep The income and spending equal were fFUSTra-

Ted, There is no doubT ThaT he saved our counTry large amounTs of money.

I44

The uniqueness Of his ideas resTs in his posiTion as chairman of The

ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee. He was The spokesman and defender of The

policies of ThaT commiTTee. He used logical, emoTional, and eThical

appeals TO aTTempT To secure The appropraTions recommended, and many

Of his colleagues appreciaTed his efforTs. He adapTed The ideas To

saTisfy his commiTTee, Congress, and his voTing populaTion. I

The Third objecTive was To ”re-examine, re-evaluaTe, and if

4'“- h 9'

possible, TO modify conTemporary rheTorical Theory Through The examina-

Tion of The adapTive processes in speeches . . . .”

 

While This sTudy does nOT modify rheTorical Theory, iT may supporT
and clarify exisTing Theory. Since ArisToTle indicaTed The possibiliTy
ThaT_eihg§ may be The mosT imporTanT facTor in persuasion, There has
been a greaT deal Of efforT expended by rheToricians in aTTempTing To
esTablish Those elemenTs which make up ejhgg. Anderson and Clevenger

reviewed The research in I963, and since I966, in Speech MonOgraphs

 

alone, eleven sTudies working on The Theory of_eihg§ have been published.
The sTudy on Cannon illusTraTes a speaker using_eings, aT leasT one
elemenT of iT. WheTher Cannon wiThheld evidence because he knew ThaT

his repuTaTion would carry The speech cannoT be documenTed, buT There are
some inTeresTing uses of evidence and_eing§ which indicaTe some supporT
for The belief ThaT he was conscious of his use Of These Two eleansT of
rheToric.

The above poinTs illusTraTe The growTh and change Of Cannon's
speaking. His early speaking was characTerized by specific documenTaTion
and parliamenTary acumen. These characTerisTics provided him wiTh a
repuTaTion for honesTy, dedicaTion, and knowledge Of his subjecT.

TesTimony by his Congressional colleagues clearly supporTed his righT

I45
TO ThaT repuTaTion. As Cannon gained experience in Congress he relied
heavily on The maTerials of appropriaTion maTTers, and when he assumed
The leadership Of The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee he relied more frequenTIy
on his personal experiences and his posiTion.

Because of The favorable personal repuTaTion ThaT his colleagues
awarded him, because Of his long Tenure in Congress, because of his
posiTion on The powerful ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee, because of his
careful documenTaTion in his early speaking, and because he could supporT
his speeches wiTh documnhsand experience, if necessary, Clarence Cannon's
speaking supporTs The Theory ThaT_e:ng§ may be The mosT imporTanT facTor
in persuasive speaking.

This Thesis has demonsTraTed ThaT Cannon used logical maTerials in
his early speaking, paTheTic maTerials in Those speeches which were di-
recTed TO audiences wiTh which This Type of maTerial would be beneficial,
and gings when he developed a sufficienT repuTaTion To make iT a valuable
mode of proof. FurThermore, The Thesis provided evidence ThaT Cannon

carefully prepared his campaign speeches by collecTing maTerials, wriTing

ouTlines and manuscrist, and rewriTing Those manuscrist. Finally, The
Thesis provided TesTimony ThaT Cannon felT ThaT speaking was imporTanT
and his colleagues provided TesTimony ThaT he did an effecTive job Of
speaking.

While This Thesis cannoT prove ThaT Cannon was an effecTive Congress-
man because of his speaking, if can asserT ThaT speaking was an inTegral
parT of his success and ThaT his use of The modes of proof are disTinchy
(observable in his developmenT as a Congressman. He esTablished a favor-
aable repuTaTion Through his inTeIligence, his abiliTy TO analyze, and

ITis speaking; and he mainTained his repuTaTion Through The same aTTribuTes.

I46

Therefore, This research esTablishes ThaT Clarence Andrew Cannon,
a Congressman from Missouri from I923 TO I964, was an effecTive speaker
due To his abiliTy To undersTand, moTivaTe, and secure The supporT Of

his audience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS
Allen, Frederick Lewis. Only YesTerdgy. New York: Harper & Row, I964.

Since YesTerday. New York: BanTam Books, l96l.

 

Bailey, STephen K. The New Congress. New York: ST. MarTin's Press,
I966.

Berman, Daniel M. In Congress Assembled. New York: Macmillan Company,
I964.

Bolling, Richard. House OuT of Order. New York: E. P. DuTTon & Co.,
I965.

Clark, Joseph S. Congress: The Sagless Branch. New York: Harper &
Row, I964.

Divine, RoberT A. The RelucTanT BelligerenT. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, I965.

Fenno, Richard F., Jr. The Power of The Purse. BosTon: LiTTIe, Brown
and Company, I966.

Galloway, George B. The LegjsIaTive Process in Congress. New York:
Crowell Co., I953.

HofsTadTer, Richard, ed. GreaT Issues in American HisTony. Vol. 2.
New York: VinTage Books, I960.

Kull, Irving 8., Nell M. Kull, and STanley H. Friedelbaum. An Encyclo-
pedia Of American HisTory. New York: Eagle Books, I965.

Jackson, William Rufus. Missouri Democracy, A HisTory of The ParTy and
ITs RepresenTaTive Members-PasT and PresenT. 3 vols. Chicago:
S. J. Clarke Pub. Co., Inc., I935.

Memorial Services: Clarence Andrew Cannon. WashingTon: U.S. GovernmenT
PrinTing Office, I964.

Mcw‘ison, Samuel ElioT. The Oxford HisTory of The American People. New
York: Oxford UniversiTy Press, I965.

Peaflxady, RoberT L. and Nelson W. Polsby, eds. New PerspecTives on The
House Of RepresenTaTives. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., I963.

I47

I48

Pressman, Jeffery L. House vs. SenaTe: ConflicT in The AggropriaTions
fflgggggy New Haven: Yale UniversiTy Press, I966.

Robinson, James A. The House Rules CommiTTee. New York: Bobbs-Merrill
Co., I963.

Schlesinger, ArThur M., Jr. The Coming of The New Deal. SenTry EdiTion.
BosTon: HoughTon Mifflin Co., I965.

Truman, Harry S. Memoirs. 2 vols. New York: SigneT Books, I965.

U.S. PresidenT. Public Papers Of The PresidenTs of The UniTes STaTes.
WashingTon, D.C.: Office of The Federal RegisTer. NaTional
Archives and Records Service, l953- . DwighT D. Eisenhower,
I956.

Public Papers of The PresidenTs of The UniTed STaTes. Washing-
Ton, D.C.: Office of The Federal RegisTer. NaTional Archives and
Records Service, I963-l964. Lyndon B. Johnson, I965.

ARTICLES IN JOURNALS 0R MAGAZINES

——_——.—————_——-—————-—

”Above lnhibiTion.” Time, May l7, I963, pp. 28-9.

Cannon, Clarence. ”Address, January 2|, I952; excerst." Congressional
D'gesT, XXXI (April, I952), II9+.

. ”Address March 26, I957.” Congressional DigesT, XXXVI (May,
I957), I50+.

. "Cannon on CommiTTee's Power and JusTificaTion." Congressional
Record, XCV (OcTober 3, I949), I3970.

”Congressional ResponsibiliTies." American POIiTical Science
Review, Il(April, I948), 307-l6.

. "ReporT by Chairman Clarence Cannon." Congressional Record,
XCVI (July 24, I950), llO54.

”ProTesT on The Floor of The House AgainsT ReducTion in The
ApprOpriaTion for Relief." Congressional DigesT, XVIII (February,
I939), 62-4.

”Speech in The House, May ll, I938, Replying TO Some of The
ArgumenTs AgainsT The Lending and Spending Bills.” Congressional

D'gesT, XVII (June, I938), l74-5.

. ”Speech on PUblic DebT LimiT QuesTion; excerst." Congressional
DigesT, XXXII (OcTober, I953), 245.

Carnuan, Ida Maud. ”How Can We ViTalize The RelaTionship of Our Public
and PrivaTe Social Work?" NaTional Conference Social Work (I929),

506-l3.

I49

Cannon, Ida Maud. ”RelaTion Of HospiTal Social Service To Child HeaITh
Work." NaTional Conference Social Work (l92l), I79-82.

"Cannon TO Mahon, CaTO." NaTionaI Review, June 2, I964, p. 439.
Congressional Record, I923-I964.
"ExiT Clarence Cannon.” Newsweek, May 25, I964, pp. 3I-2.

"FirsT IOO Billion Congress.” U.S. News a World ReporT, 0cTober 29, I962,
pp. 47-8.

”Fizzled Feud.” Newsweek, SepTember 22, l94l, p. l8.

”Gloom Of NighT." ReporTer, April l8, I957, p. 5.

”Guardian.” ‘Iime, May 22, I964, p. 22.

”Has Congress Broken Down?” ForTune, February, I952, pp. 8I-4, 220.

Healy, P. F. ”Nobody Loves Clarence.” SaTurday Evening PosT, March 25,
I950, pp. 38-9+.

”I Love This House.” Time, February 2, I959, pp. II—4.
HazliTT, H. ”Irresponsible Spending.” Newsweek, July l8, I955, p. 75.

MacMahon, ArThur W. "Congressional OversighT of The AdminisTraTion: The
Power Of The Purse." POIiTical Science QuarTerly, (SepTember,
l943),40I-7.

Marx, FriTz MorsTein. ”The Bureau of The BudgeT: ITs EvoluTion and
PresenT Role.” American PoIiTicaI Science Review, lll(OcTober,

I945), 877—8.
”Missourian Who HaTes To Spend.” Newsweek, May l3, I957, p. 34.

'Wflore Missile Submarines Asked To CombaT SovieT ICBM ThreaT." AviaTion
Weekly, February 24, I958, p. 28.

'WRevenge.” Time, July 25, I955, p. IO.

'"These FourTeen Men Will Shape Your FuTure.” NaTions Business, March,
I955, p. 85.

 

I50

ARTICLES I NEWSPAPERS

 

New York Times. "Announces House ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee Will ExpediTe
Funds Bills.” December 27, I944.

. ”ArThur Krock on DemocraTic ConvenTion Rules He Prepared.”
July 24, I940.

”Asks for Proposals on Recovery of War ApprOpriaTions, House.”
SepTember 6, I945.

”Books on House PrecedenTs Published.” May l4, I936.

”Called To Confer wiTh PresidenT Truman on Proposed Aid To
Greece." March 8 & IO, I947.

. ”Charges MeaT Packers wiTh Organizing DeTrOiT STrike.” AugusT
l8, I935.

”CommenT on Compromise TransiTion Tax Bill." 0cTober 30, I945.
”Assails Bill, House.” OcTOber 3|, I945.

. ”Conference wiTh RoosevelT on Lend-Lease Fund Bill.” SepTember
23, I94I.

“Defends RoosevelT's Relief AppropriaTion RequesT, House DebaTe.”

January |3-l4, I939.
"Denies Rumor of lnToxicaTion.” March 20, I933.

”Doust Large CuT Possible in Federal Spending." 0cTober 9,

I943.
”Backs Treasury Tax Program, House CommiTTee Hearing." 0cTober
I7, I943.
”EdiTor on Praise of RepresenTaTive BlanTon." May I, I934.
. "ElecTed ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee Chairman." SepTember l8,
I94I.

"Foresees Food ShorTage, House." March I7, I943-
"HurT in AccidenT." April l0, I934.

”lnsisTs Republicans DicTaTed Final Relief AppropriaTions
Terms, House DebaTe.” February 3, I939.

"0n Chicago Tribune DispaTch on AEF Plans, House." December 5,
I94I.

 

”On EffecT of Tariff on Farmers.” July 28, l93l.

I5I

New York Times. ”On Fulmer Farm Parify Loan Bill.” May I4, I94l.

 

"CommenTs on Signing of Fulmer Bill.” May 27, I94I.

"On House Commiffee Plans To Recapfure Federal Funds Aufhori-
zed for War Spending No Longer Needed.” Augusf I7, I945.

"One Need To Wafch Federal Spending.” March I3, I944.

"On Presidenf Truman's BudgeT Message.” January 22, I946.

 

 

P

“On Procedure Necessary for Changing Democrafic Convenfion I
Two-fhird's Rule." June 24, I932.

”On Roosevelf Navy Appropriafion Requesf." April 8, I943. I

”Predicfs Reinfroducfion of AppropriaTions Bill wifh Rider on -

Uses Despife Truman Vefo. " December 24, I945. '

F

”Radio Speech Defending Farm Bill.” April 9, I939.

. "Reporfed Fisf Fighf wifh Represenfafive Romjue.” March I7,
I933.

”Represenfafives Cannon and Taber in Fisf Fighf Over Congres-
sional Expense Accounf." May 5, I945.

. ”RepresenTaTive Cannon Says BudgeT Should Be Cuf fo Poinf Where
No New Taxes Are Needed.” January I7, I949.

. "RepresenTaTive Knufson Cifes Alleged Defense of Large Federal
AppropriaTions.” Augusf I2, I946.

. ”Roosevelf in Annual Message To Congress Abandons Hope for
Balanced '39 BudgeT.” January 4, I938.

”Says Presidenf Hoover Undersfafes Unemploymenf Crisis; Affacks
SecreTary Doak's Figures.” Augusf IO, I93I.

. "Scores RFC Fund Use for Food Subsidies." May 9, I943.

. ”Sees German Army Collapse by SepTember & Surrender by Chrisf-
mas, House." June l8, I944.

"Urges Speed on Lend-Lease Fund Bill, House." chober 9, I94I.

"U.S. Funds Tied Up by House Leader.” February I9, I963.

 

"Warns I94| Congressional AppropriaTions Will Exceed Nafional
Debf LimiT, House. " May 9, I940.

I52
MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS
The Truman Library, Independence, Missouri.

UniversiTy of Missouri, Wesfern Manuscripfs Collecfions.

UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS

 

Mackie, W. 0., former Missouri Sfafe Senafor, privafe inferview held
in Kirksville, Missouri, December 3|, I968.

Simpson, H. Greene, former Parfy Chairman Disfricfs I & IX, privafe
inTerview held in Kirksville, Missouri, December 30, I968.

Young, Harvey, Democrafic Chairman for Adair Counfy, privaTe inTerview
held in Kirksville, Missouri, December 30, I968.

 

 

 

APPENDICES

 

APPENDIX A

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, iT becomes apparenT ThaT The firsT esT
on This bill may come on a moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause. IT
is rumored ThaT The moTion will be offered in The commiTTee immediaTely
afTer The conclusion of general debaTe. Of course an affirmaTive voTe on
The moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause kills The bill on The spoT.
IT would shuT ouT all opporTuniTy for subsTiTuTion; iT would shuT ouT all
opporTuniTy for amendmenT, and if approved by The House iT would summarily
and arbiTrarily dispose of The whole quesTion for This session. As a
maTTer of facT, iT would preclude any possibiliTy of farm IegislaTion
during The SixTy-eighTh Congress, as The shorT session ends on March 4
and barely affords Time for The disposiTion of The supply bills.

Mr. GREEN of Iowa. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. WiTh pleasure.

Mr. GREEN of Iowa. I have forgoTTen wheTher a moTion To sTrike ouT
The enacTing clause can be made aT any sTage.

Mr. CANNON. IT may be offered aT any Time afTer The reading of The
firsT secTion and before The reading of The lasT secTion.

Mr. GREEN of Iowa. I did noT recall.

Mr. CANNON. LeT us consider The significance of a voTe in favor of
The moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause. IT noT only indicaTes
opposiTion To This bill as wriTTen, noT only opposiTion To any bill which
mighT be subsTiTuTed for The McNary-Haugen bill, and To any form of legis-
laTion which mighT be evolved Through amendmenT of The pending bill, buT
iT signifies objecTion To giving The subjecT any consideraTion whaTever.

Mr. ASWELL. Well, now, The genTleman has no righT To make an asser-
Tion of ThaT kind.

Mr. CANNON. I am simply explaining The effecT of an affirmaTive
voTe on The moTion, a maTTer of common parliamenTary procedure.

If The House agrees To a moTion To sTrike ouT The enacTing clause

 

Y: n-nnfl-"- o

afTer The reading of The firsT secTion, There will be no opporTuniTy To
read The bill under The five-minuTe rule and, of course, no opporTuniTy
To offer amendmenTs. ThaT is a final disposiTion of The bill wiThouT

opporTuniTy for perfecTing amendmenTs of any kind.

One of The principal grievances charged againsT King John of England,
during his regency for Richard, was ThaT he refused To hear The common
people. The wealThy and noble could always secure an audience, buT The
peasanT, The farmer, and The laborer, The bone and sinew of medieval
England, were denied and refused redress. If This moTion To sTrike ouT
The enacTing clause is agreed To, The SixTy-eighTh Congress subjecTs
iTseIf To The same criTicism. The rich and The powerful have never

 

lU.S., Congressional Record, 68Th Congress, lsT Session, I924,
LXV, ParT 9, 9343.

 

I53

I54

failed To receive a respechul hearing by This Congress. They have
broughT inTo This House every characTer of IegislaTion in Their own
behalf, from The Mellon plan To The immigraTion bill, and have been
accorded every consideraTion. Their bills have been debaTed aT lengTh,
and every opporTuniTy has been afforded for full consideraTion, buT when
The farmec bankrupTed by unfair discriminaTion and peTiTioning for relief
from condiTions The exisTence of which are universally conceded, comes in
aT The elevenTh hour wiTh a plea for resTiTuTion iT is proposed ThaT we
Throw The bill in his face and close The doors and go home.

ElemenTal jusTice demands ThaT agriculTure receive The same Oppor-
TuniTy which has been accorded every oTher inTeresT in The counTry since
The session began, and if a moTion is offered To sTrike ouT The enacTing
clause and deny furTher consideraTion iT should be decisively defeaTed
and The farmer given aT leasT an opporTuniTy To presenT his case. Ekpbme.

Mr. Chairman, The UniTed STaTes as a whole has enjoyed a decade of
unexampled prosperiTy. ProducTion, movemenT of freighT, corporaTe earn-
ings, employmenT of labor, wages, bank clearings, and all visible criTe-
rions of naTionaI wealTh and prosperiTy have in The lasT IO years increased
To ToTals and esTablished records unequaled by any naTion in any period
of The world's hisTory.

The year I923 was incomparably The greaTesT year in indusTriaI and
financial growTh and developmenT since The discovery of America. Figures
compiled by The New York Federal Reserve Bank indicaTe ThaT during The
year 200 represenTaTive corporaTions, manufacTuring pracTicalIy every
commodiTy consumed by modern civilizaTion, made profiTs of $834,000,000,
as compared wiTh profiTs of $634,000,000 made in l9l9, previously The
record year for volume of business and percenTage of profiTs. The divi-
dend of 300 per senT, aggregaTing $3l8,423,295.38, declared by The STan-
dard Oil group; The surplus of more Than $6,353,350 reporTed by The
InTernaTional Shoe Co.; The annual revenue of half a billion dollars
flowing inTo The coffers of The UniTed STaTes STeel CorporaTion and iTs
surplus of $54,259,993.64 are Typical of The unprecedenTed earnings of
pracTically every greaT business in The counTry.

Railroad profiTs were larger for I923 Than for any previous year.
The freighT Traffic for The year was The heaviesT ever recorded. For 23
successive weeks railroad-car loadings exceeded |,000,000 cars weekly,
and railroad earnings and dividends were in proporTion. AfTer paying
Taxes, inTeresT, and "all oTher ascerTainable charges” and expending
vasT sums in equipmenT and improvemenTs, railroads reporTed incomes
ranging from $ll.45 To $26.80 a share on heavily waTered capiTalizaTions.

The Pennsylvania Railroad drew a revenue for I923 in excess of
$775,000,000, a new high-waTer mark, and The general passenger agenT of
The BalTimore & Ohio Railroad, in a circular leTTer To The Members of
This House, announced ThaT The year I923 was The mosT prosperous in The
hisTory of The BalTimore & Ohio Railroad.

The remarkable prosperiTy of The counTry as a whole was also
accuraTer reflecTed in The records of Federal income and profiT Taxes
for I923, which showed an increase of 2| per cenT over Those reTurned
for I922. During The year bank deposiTs and bank clearings, governed,
of course, by business condiTions in The greaT indusTrial and financial
cenTers, surpassed all former records. Savings bank deposiTs increased
$l,l40,000,000. Savings averaged in excess of $30,000,000 a day for
The enTire year of I923. And The increase conTinues. A naTionwide

 

I55

survey by The Federal Reserve Board shows ThaT savings deposiTs on April
I, I924, ToTaled more Than $7,000,000,000, an increase of over $53,000,-
000 above The figures for The preceding monTh and $560,000,000 over The
amounT on deposiT a year ago.

Our naTional wealTh when lasT esTimaTed by The DeparTmenT of Labor
amounTed To $320,803,862,000, an increase of 72.2 per cenT over ThaT of
The previous census-so marked an increase ThaT The wealTh of The UniTed
STaTes To-day is pracTicaIIy equal To The ToTaI wealTh of all Europe.

The combined wealTh of The UniTed Kingdom, Germany, France, ITaIy, and
Russia in I9I4, when These naTions were in The high Tide of Their greaTesT
prosperiTy, ToTaled buT $289,000,000,000, as compared wiTh The presenT
wealTh of The UniTed STaTes of more Than $320,000,000,000.

As an appropriaTe summary of business condiTions for The year I923,
The financial experTs, in summing up in The meTropoliTan newspapers The
siTuaTion on January I, I924, announced ThaT Wall STreeT had enjoyed a
greaT year and was ”saTisfied.” Those conversanT wiTh Wall STreeT's
voracious appeTiTe and wiTh whaT is required To gorge iT can well under-
sTand whaT is meanT when iT is announced ThaT Wall STreeT is "saTisfied."

BuT in The midsT of The unparalleled prosperiTy prevailing To-day
in The ciTies and The greaT indusTrial cenTers, while business is declar-
ing enormous dividends, while railroads are carrying The largesT and mosT
profiTabIe Traffic since The locomoTive was invenTed, and labor is receiv-
ing The highesT wage for The shorTesT hours since man was ordained To
earn his bread by The sweaT of his brow, in The face of This remarkable
affluence The farmers of The counTry, comprising iTs mosT imporTanT
single indusTry boTh in numbers engaged and in service rendered, are
receiving such meager reTurns from Their invesTmenTs and such inadequaTe
wages for Their labor as To bring agriculTure and The agriculTural dis-
TricTs To The brink of a business precipice.

While corporaTe dividends and wage schedules have been mounTing
sTeadily The farmer has been deflaTed $32,000,000 in Three years-$|8,-
000,000 in land values and $l4,000,000 in crOp values-and This is a
conservaTive esTimaTe. STaTisTics reporTed by The SecreTary of Agricul-
Ture show ThaT crOps and livesTock aT The close of I923 were worTh abouT
$7,000,000,000 less Than in l9l9. AlThough There was an increase of
more Than a million head of caTTle, hogs, horses, and sheep beTween
January I, I9I4, and January I, I923, and all oTher classes of properTy
in The UniTed STaTes increased in value from l9|2 To I923, The value of
livesTock decreased from $6,238,389,00 To $5,807,l04,000.

While indusTry is enjoying an era of prosperiTy never dreamed of
and labor is receiving The highesT wage since The dawn of civilizaTion,
The farmers of America are in diresT disTress. Farm producTs are selling
aT less Than The cosT of producTion; Taxes remain unpaid; crediT is
exhausTed; farms are being abandoned; counTry banks are failing; fore-
closures are common; and sTandards of living have declined To a minimum.
While The roar of Traffic and The hum of prosperiTy fill The ciTies, ouT
in The counTry only a few miles away are ruin and privaTion. In I5 wheaT-
growing STaTes I08,000 farmers have losT Their farms by legal process or
bankrupTcy since I920. More Than l22,000 have surrendered Their prOperTy
wiThouT legal proceedings, and nearly 375,000 reTain possession of Their
farms only Though The leniency of crediTors. SecreTary Wallace officially
reporTs ThaT pracTically one ouT of every five farmers is bankrupT if his
loans were called, and pracTicaIly all are in desperaTe financial sTraiTs.

 

I56

The naTural consequence is a decline in The value of farms, averag-
ing someThing like 50 per cenT, and carrying wiTh iT a drop in bank crediTs
secured by depreciaTed lands and crops ThaT has Thrown counTry banks inTo
The hands of receivers and all buT choked The avenues of rural crediT.
From l9l8 To I923, l,448 banks suspended paymenTs wiTh ToTal liabiliTies
of more Than half a billion dollars, The greaT majoriTy of Them IocaTed
in rural disTricTs and pracTically all dependenT on agriculTural paTron~
age. The previous record for bank failures was made in l893 when 326
banks closed; buT in l92l The record was again broken and 358 banks
failed; in I922 The number rose To 397; in I923, To 274; and all previous
records for bank disasTers were broken during The period beTween July I,
I923, and May 7, I924, The lasT sTaTisTics available, when 5|l banks
wenT down carrying wiTh Them The liTTle remaining crediT asseTs of as
many rural communiTies.

In The STaTe of Missouri, comprising some of The richesT farming
lands in The world, culTivaTed by some of The mosT indusTrious and inTeI-
ligenT farmers To be found in The Union, a survey made by The Missouri
Bankers' AssociaTion and reporTed aT iTs convenTion held aT ST. Louis,
May I, I924, disclosed a larger number of failures in The farming secTions
of The STaTe in The preceding Three years Than in The whole period of
more Than I00 years since Missouri was admiTTed inTo The Union in l82l.

And Missouri is no excepTion. The enTire farming indusTry is af—
fecTed by a devasTaTing financial blighT. According To a survey by The
DeparTmenT of AgriculTure The average gross annual income per farm in
The UniTed STaTes is $7l2. This is noT for each person buT for each
farm. Nor is This profiT. IT is gross receist. 0uT of iT musT be
paid The Taxes, cosT of operaTions, up-keep, inTeresT on loans, and wages
of farm labor. WhaT is lefT of The $7l2 when These charges are Taken
ouT is The pay received by The farmer. IT is The piTiful reward of Those
who work The longesT hours, under The mosT adverse weaTher condiTions,
and aT The mosT laborious profession known To man. IT is The renumera-
Tion received noT only for his own labor buT for ThaT of his wife and
children, and iT is The reTurn noT only on his labor buT on his invesT-
menTs in land, sTock, and equipmenT.

BuT The farmer's disadvanTage does noT end There. ThaT is only
The beginning. When he Takes his few hard-won dollars To The markeT
place he discovers They will buy only 50 cenTs' worTh of The manufac-
Tured commodiTies required by his family. While The price of his
producTs has been deflaTed To pre-war levels, The price of indusTry's
producTs have noT only refused To Take a corresponding drop buT have
advanced even beyond war-Time prices. As a resulT his dollar which
before The war was worTh l00 cenTs in The ciTy markeTs has To-day only
a fracTion of iTs former purchasing power.

The following comparisons of The purchasing power of a bushel of
wheaT in l9l3 and I923 illusTraTe The graviTy and exTenT of This dis-
criminaTion againsT The farmer:

 

I57

 

WheaT needed-

 

 

 

 

CosT, CosT,
I9l3 I923
|9l3 I923
, IF)».
Ems/(eh 5 £15de
Plow . . $9.50 $27.00 ll.7 29.2
Double wagon . 6l.2l l32.20 66.8 l43.3
Single harness . . . . . ll.00 26.00 l3.7 28.3
IOO pounds barbed wire . 2.25 5.00 3 5.6
SuiT of cloThes. |6.75 28.50 2| 3| ;
Two boTTom plows . 64.00 I25.00 80 I40 3.
Double harness . 32.00 73.50 40 80 E?
Pair of shoes ..... 4.75 ll.00 6 l2
Thresher operaTors . 6.25 l4.75 8 l6
HarvesT labor. 2.00 6.00 3 6.5
Farm price of wheaT per bushel:
l9l3. .$0.799

I923.

. . .923

The same discriminaTion is shown in The purchasing power of hogs,
a sTaple farm producT, The reTurns from which

corn and oTher farm feeds:

largely fix The price of

 

Pork needed-

 

 

 

CosT, CosT, Increase
|9|3 I923
l9l3 I923
Walking plow, l4-inch, general Ip°“"C“ 'p°“"db Percenf
purpose . . . . . . .$ll.75 $2I.25 I57 332 Ill
Gang plow, l4-inch . . . . . . 53.25 99.00 744 l,549 IO8
Disk harrow, 7-fooT, l6-inch . 23.00 47.50 32l 743 |3|
Corn-planTer, 2-row. . . . . . 3|.75 64.50 443 l,009 l28
Grain drill, 22-7. . . . . . .I06.00 I90.00 l,48i 2,973 l0I
Double wagon . . . . . . . . . 6l.21. l32.20 855 2,069
Ton of hard coal . . . . . . . 8.59 l9.|7 I20 300
Farm prTce, hogs, per IOO pounds: l9l3, $7.T6; I923, $6.39.

I58

A corn culTivaTor which could have been boughT for 500 pounds of
live caTTle in l9|3 To-day requires l,400 pounds of caTTle in The same
markeT. In oTher words, when The ciTy man comes ouT in The counTry his
dollar buys $l.30 worTh of farm producTs, buT when The farmer Takes The
same dollar back To The ciTy if is worTh only 50 cenTs in manufacTured
commodiTies. When we come To invesTigaTe This remarkable discrepancy
beTween The buying power of The farm dollar and ThaT of The indusTrial
dollar we find iT is direchy due To meThods and condiTions of markeTing.
ManufacTured producTs are fed info The markeT only as There is a demand
for Them and proTecTed by a heavy Tariff. Any surplus is kepT off The
domesTic markeT and sold abroad. On The oTher hand, agriculTural producTs
are Thrown on The open markeT as soon as produced, regardless of The
demand, and, of course, greale in excess of markeT requiremenTs. The
markeT is gluTTed, dealers are oversTocked, and The oversupply ineviTably
beaTs down The price To a level far below The cosT of producTion.

This is noTably True of The wheaT crop. We produce abouT 750,000,-
000 bushels of wheaT every years, 600,000,000 bushels of which are con-
sumed in The UniTed STaTes, leaving approximaTely I50,000,000 bushels To
be exporTed To foreign counTries. When exporTed iT is passed Through
The Liverpool markeT, where iT is sold in compeTiTion wiTh The surplus
of every oTher wheaT-producing counTry in The world, and musT Therefore
be sold aT The world price. The world price Thereupon becomes The Ameri-
can price, because exporTers will pay shipping cosTs abroad only when
They can no longer sell for a higher price aT home, and in This way The
price received for our surpluses fixes The price of our enTire crop.

The same condiTions apply To hogs, and The 2,000,000,000 pounds of
pork and pork producTs which we musT annually exporT To Europe lowers
The price of pork aT home To The world price prevailing in foreign mar-
keTs.

NoT so wiTh The producTs of America's indusTrial planTs. ProTecTed
from ouTside compeTiTion by high Tariff walls, They are fed inTo The home
markeT in carefully measured quanTiTies sufficienT To supply The demand
only, and aT prices To which The Tariff has been added To make a hand-
some profiT. The surplus is dumped abroad in compeTiTion wiTh foreign
goods and, of course, aT world prices, buT cannoT affecT The domesTic
price, as iT does noT reach The domesTic markeT and is shipped abroad as
soon as produced. As a resulT of These Two widely differing meThods of
markeTing, manufacTured goods are sold in a proTecTed domesTic markeT aT
The American price and agriculTural producTs are sold boTh aT home and
abroad in an open markeT aT The world price.

IndusTry sells in The American markeT and buys in The world markeT.
IT sells iTs producTs aT a high price and buys iTs necessiTies aT a low
price. AgriculTure sells in The world markeT and buys in The American
markeT. IT sells iTs producTs cheap and buys iTs necessiTies dear.

Under This double sysTem of shorT changing, The farmer is rapidly
being redUced To a condiTion of peonage. The siTuaTion is becoming
inToIerable. The farmer, The mosT willing and indispensable producer in
America, is enTiTled To a share of The wealTh he produces. He is enTiT-
led To parTicipaTe in The abounding prosperiTy which every oTher class in
The counTry is enjoying. EiTher farm producTs musT be raised To The
level of nonagriculTural goods or The price of The IaTTer be broughT
down To ThaT of farm producTs. This is The greaT problem in The UniTed
STaTes To-day. The IaTTer course is noT To be considered. IT is neiTher

 

I59

pracTicable nor desirable. The only course open Then is To bring agri-
culTural prices To a par wiTh The prices of oTher commodiTieSP-To make
The farm dollar worTh as much as The indusTrial dollar, To apply To
agriculTure The same principles already applied To oTher indusTries, and
ThaT is whaT The McNary-Haugen bill proposes To do.

IT prOposes To provide for The use of The farmer The same markeTing
advanTages now uTilized by The producers of manufacTured goods. IT pro-
poses To relieve The domesTic markeT of The surplus which depresses The
price and sell iT abroad under The jurisdicTion of a cenTraIized exporT
agency similar To ThaT employed by sTeel, TexTiIe, and oTher indusTries.
IT creaTes for This purpose a GovernmenT agency To be known as The UniTed
STaTes AgriculTural ExporT CorporaTion. This corporaTion would have The
power To go inTo The markeTs and buy agriculTural producTs which were
selling for less Than Their pre-war value and pay a price for Them which
would place Them on a pariTy wiTh The general average of all oTher com-
modiTies. Such a price is Termed The "raTio price.”

In deTermining This ”raTio price” The wholesale prices of 404
sTaples, including every varieTy of commodiTy from machinery and cloThing
To fuels and building maTerials, for The l0 years beginning wiTh I905 and
ending wiTh l9l4, inclusive, as compiled by The DeparTmenT of Labor, is
Taken as a basis.

This decade has been selecTed as a period which represenTs fairly
normal condiTions ThroughouT The UniTed STaTes. If prices prevailing
during ThaT period can be said To be unfair To eiTher farm or facTory,
They probably favor The IaTTer, for no one can claim ThaT The farmer was
unduly prosperous during Those years. Few farmers made more Than a liv-
ing, and Those who did made iT Through The ineviTable increase in The
price of land raTher Than Through farming operaTions. CondiTions may be
considered as nearesT To normal during Those years, and The whole purpose
of The bill is To resTore To agriculTural producTs The purchasing power
They possessed during ThaT period.

IT would be The funcTion of The corporaTion To mainTain The price
of any parTicular farm producT aT The same relaTion To The average price
of ThaT producT during I905-l9l4 ThaT The average price of The 404 com-
modiTies aT The Time bears To The average price of The 404 commodiTies
during The period from I905 To l9l4.

If, for example, The average price of hOgs during The l905-l9l4
period was approximaTely $7 per hundred pounds and The presenT price of
hogs was $7, and The average price of The 404 commodiTies was abouT 60
per cenT higher Than The average price of The 404 commodiTies during The
l905-l9l4 period, The raTio price of hogs would be 60 per cenT higher
Than $7, or approximaTely $ll.20.

Under The provisions of The bill The farmer would receive $ll.20
insTead of $7 per hundred pounds for his hogs. If The price of The 404
arTicles advanced The price of hogs would advance; if The price of The
404 commodiTies declined The price of hogs would decline.

So The farmer would always be cerTain ThaT The dollars which he
received for his hogs would buy as much as They boughT before The war.
He could no longer be robbed, as under The presenT sysTem, by having
The manufacTurer raise The price of The 404 necessiTies while The packer
aT The same Time lowered The price of hogs.

During The year I923 The STaTe of Missouri produced 37,947,000
bushels of wheaT, l96,000,000 bushels of corn, and approximaTely

 

I60

l,ll|,600,000 pounds of pork.
The Table below shows The addiTional revenue which would have been
derived from These producTs had The raTion price been in effecT:

Missouri, I923

APPROXIMATE INCREASE IN WHEAT, CORN, AND HOG VALUES IF RATION PRICES
HAD BEEN IN EFFECT

WheaT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$l9,352,970
Corn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3|,497,600
Hogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,687,200

 

ToTaI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,537,770

In oTher words, under The McNary-Haugen bill The STaTe of Missouri
would have received in one year from These Three commodiTies alone approxi-
maTely $I,000,000,000 more Than The prices acTually paid The farmers who
produced Them.

IT is a sTock objecTion ThaT The bill is a price-fixing proposiTion,
buT iT is apparenT aT once ThaT while The influence of world facTors
would be removed The effecT of domesTic influences would sTill obTain,

and under The pressure of local supply and demand would flucTuaTe wiTh
The price of The 404 commodiTies. When These declined farm producTs
would auTomaTically decline wiTh Them and when They advanced in price
farm producTs would auTomaTicalIy advance wiTh Them. The price of farm
producTs would no more be fixed Than ThaT of The 404 commodiTies, and
cerTainly no sysTem could be more equiTable.

The surplus boughT To relieve The domesTic markeT would, of course,
be sold abroad, and The corporaTion would lose on all such TransacTions
The difference beTween The American price aT which iT had been boughT
and The world price aT which iT musT be sold.

To provide for This deficiT The corporaTion would esTimaTe in ad-
vance iTs probable losses on These sales and The season's operaTing ex-
penses, and would collecT from The producer aT The Time of markeTing a
small per cenT of The raTio price To be used in meeTing such charges and
To be known aseuiequalizaTion fee. A receipT would be given The producer
aT The Time iT was collecTed and afTer The season's operaTions were
compleTed any parT of The fund remaining on hand would be disTribuTed
back To The producer in The same proporTions in which iT was collecTed.

For illusTraTion, IeT us assume ThaT wheaT is selling aT $l.07 a
bushel, as was The case in November, I923. BuT The corporaTion finds
ThaT The raTio price is $l.58 a bushel, and esTablishes an equalizaTion
fee of I2 cenTs per bushel. The farmer receives $l.46 in cash and a
receipT for l2 cenTs, a ToTal of $l.58, The raTion price. Losses on
surplus sold abroad and OperaTing expenses would amounT To abouT 9 cenTs
per bushel, and aT The end of The season The farmer presenTs his receipT
and receives 3 cenTs per bushel, which,added To The $l.46 already received,
gives him $l.49 a bushel for his wheaT, or a margin of 42 cenTs over The
price he would have received had The law noT been in operaTion.

Had This bill been in force in I923 The price would have, in facT,

 

l6l
aavearaagead $ l.58 a bushel insTead of $l.07. Twelve cenTs per bushel would
Iqan/e' SLuap lied an ample equalizaTion fee, and The farmer would have recei-
vead $l .415 in cash and a receipT for The Twelve-cenT equalizaTion fee.

()ur* c:rc>p announTed To approximaTely 750,000,000 bushels, and 600,000,000
bushels were required for home consumpTion,

To be boughT by The corporaTion for exporT.
per bushel,

leaving l50,000,000 bushels
enTire crop.

AT The world price of $l.07
The American farmer would have received $802,500,000 for his

BuT under The provisions of The McNary-Haugen bill he

wanch rmavea received for The 600,000,000 bushels sold aT home $876,000,000
irI ceasrl aruj equalizaTion receist aT The raTe of

aNKMJnT'ing; To $72,000,000.

I2 cenTs per bushel,

FOr The l50,000,000 bushels exporTed by The
ccn’pcnraT hon and sold aT $l.07, The world price, he would have received
$l60,500,000.

The l50,000,000 bushels boughT aT The domesTic price of
$l.5fl3 a LMJShel and sold aT The world price of $l.07 per bushel would en-
‘Tai l a

Ic>ss of $76,500,000, and The operaTing expenses bring The ToTaI
ecnkalizarfion charge up To $8I,500,000.

SubsTracTing This from The
ecnmalizaTiCWIfund of $90,000,000 collecTed on The enTire crop of 750,000,-
(XX) bushelssleaves $8,500,000 To be reTurned aT The end of The year when
The ecnmalizafion receist are presenTed for paymenT, and This added To
The $876,000,000 received

in The home markeT and The $l60,500,000 received
in The world markeT makes a ToTal of $l,045,000,000 received for The yeaHs
crOp under The McNary-Haugen bill,

insTead of The $802,500,000 acTually
received under The presenT sysTem, which The genTlemen opposed To This
bill desire To perpeTuaTe.

The same procedure would apply To oTher agriculTural commodiTies
provided for in The bill.

The raTio price of hogs, for example, would
be mainTained in The same manner.

Recenle hogs on The ST. Louis markeT
sold for $6.70 per hundred pounds, The lowesT price recorded for hogs aT
The NaTional STock Yards since March 8, l9l2. Upon a pre-war purchasing
power basis The price would have been $l0.85 per hundred pounds, The
raTio price, which on a car weighing I6,000 pounds would have made a
cflfference of $664 To The farmer who produced Them.

IT is To be noTed ThaT in These TransacTions no parT of The expense
of amnhHsTering The law and enforcing The raTio price is To be charged
againsTThe UniTed STaTes Treasury. The adjusTmenT is wiThouT cosT To
The'finmayer. The farmer, who receives The profiT, pays The bill in full.

HifacT, The farmer in urging This IegislaTion is asking no favors
amjseddng no special consideraTion. The bill is noT a measure pro-
poshg cums IegislaTion by depriving oThers of Their righTs as is so
offim amjso unjusle charged, buT proposes merely To resTore To The

famerrfighTs of which he has long been deprived by
on The sTaTuTe books.

IegislaTion already
Through The enachenT of IegislaTion granTing
spmfialfavors To oTher groups a sysTem of proTecTion has been builT up
Imdm'whkh pracTically every oTher indusTry and every oTher class of
Iabm'hasbeen proTecTed againsT The compeTiTion of European producTs
mm dmapforeign labor, while The farmer has been lefT on The ouTside

m aposHion similar To ThaT of one of The early seTTlers againsT whom
Thedom'of The forT had been closed during an Indian aTTack.

Ihme are Three greaT facTors in The business world:

CapiTaI,
chhowm The money, The facTories, The mines, The TransporTaTion sys-
Tmm,andwhich runs Wall STreeT and handles The markeTs;

labor, which
omwamsall This vasT mechanism owned by capiTal; and, Third, agricul-
Tme,whkh provides The food supply To susTain boTh capiTal and labor,

I62

and is The mosT imporTanT of The Three, for wiThouT if The world would
sTarve in 90 days.

The firsT of These greaT agencies has already asked and obTained
The righT To combine for exporT Trade, Tariff proTecTion, and oTher Iegis-
laTive favors and has for many years enjoyed many Times The advanTage

which This bill now proposes To give To agriculTure. The Webb-Pomerene

bill and The Edge bill permiTTing combinaTion for exporT Trade, The Esch-

Cummins acT, and especially The Fordney-McCumber bill are as paTenTIy

paTernalisTic and fix prices more cerTainly and more drasTically Than The

mosT hosTile inTerpreTaTion of The McNary-Haugen bill could possibly A“
effecT Them. The McNary-Haugen bill does noT creaTe precedenT. IT merely r
follows precedenT. IndusTry is To-day charging prices and drawing reve- .

nues which would be impossible if These laws were wiped off The sTaTuTe
books.

We are Told ThaT The farmer's problem can noT be solved by The
enachenT of laws; ThaT we can noT IegislaTe prosperiTy. Apparenle iT
is all righT To IegislaTe for The millionaire banker, The Wall STreeT if
capiTalisT, The indusTrial baron, and The railroad manipulaTor, buT when E!
The farmer presumes To ask for a living wage The proposiTion is branded
as economically unsound and socialisTic and he is given faTherly advice
and Told he musT help himself.

Labor, The second of The Three greaT agencies, has likewise received
special consideraTion aT The hands of Congress. Under The immigraTion
laws, The eighT-hour laws, The Adamson bill, and The Howell-Barkley bill,
if passed, labor enjoys The same proTecTion from The pauper labor of
Europe, The coolie labor of The EasT, and The peon labor of The SouTh
asked by The farmer in This bill. Under This proTecTion labor is To-day
mainTaining double The wage-scale which would be eiTher pracTicable or
possible wiThouT favoring IegislaTion.

The farmer believes in The righT To organize, in The Theory of col-
lecTive bargaining and The docTrine of The living wage, and has cooperaTed
wiTh labor in The passage of laws which make Them possible. And iT is
significanT ThaT organized labor favors The McNary-Haugen bill and is
advocaTing iTs enachenT. The workingman realizes ThaT The decay of
agriculTure noT only resTricTs his food supply and desTroys a vasT mar-
keT for The producTs of his labor buT drives info The ciTy and info shop
and facTory armies of farm workers To compeTe for work and depress wages,
and he is willing To concede To oThers whaT he asks for himself and To
pay The men who produce The food he eaTs a living wage for iT.

As a maTTer of facT, The cosT of living would noT be appreciably
affecTed by The passage of The bill, as The difference in price would be
Taken up by The reducTion in The cosT of disTribuTion. Bread sold in
May, |9l7, when wheaT was bringing $3.45 a bushel, aT The same price
charged for if in SepTember, I923, when wheaT was 92 cenTs, and There
was liTTle difference in The price of packer's bacon wheTher hogs sold
for $ll per hundred pounds or for $7 per hundred or any price beTween
The Two.

CapiTal should be as generous as labor. BoTh are receiving an
Ankarican price for Their producTs while agriculTure is receiving a world
[Drice. BoTh are enjoying proTecTion while agriculTure is compeTing wiTh
'The sTarvaTion sTandards of The peasanT and peon of war-sTricken, poverTy-

CLH”Sed Europe and Asia. If American indusTry is unwilling To meeT The
canpeTiTion of foreign indusTry, and American labor is unwilling To

 

 

I63

cc>nuaerTea vvi‘fh foreign labor, how can They ask The American farmer To do
wruaT"Truey Themselves refuse To do?

E\/eT1 in The McNary-Haugen bill agriculTure is noT asking The perma-
rTerrT leeg is;laTive sTaTus so long enjoyed by indusTry and labor. The
IWcfldarmy-I4aLJgen bill is an emergency measure only. IT expires in five years;
{arwd 'wae' reepresenTaTives of The farm organizaTions now in WashingTon give
deefini'Tea 63nd emphaTic assurance ThaT when The daTe of iTs expiraTion arrives
nc> CIDnT'inLJance will be asked or expecTed.

TWwe bill is merely designed To give The farmers an opporTuniTy To
cnrganwizea armldevelop Their own markeTing machinery, a Task accomplished

by eevenry (oTher indusTry many years ago, buT hiTherTo denied The farmer
try ccnwdiT'ions of environmenT and economic handicaps.

'Thea developmenT of farm organizaTion is necessarily a slow and dif-
fi<:ulT' prxacess. There are six and a half million farmers, widely isolaTed
ancl<of \Masle varying inTeresTs; and The welding of a represenTaTive

Inajcn'iTy c>f This vasT consTiTuency inTo a compacT, effecTive disTribuTing
agencwl is an underTaking of The firsT magniTude.
BuT

iT is neiTher impossible nor impracTicable. Already coordina-
is proceeding aT a phenomenal raTe in every branch of The indusTry.
CooperaTive associaTions are already To be found in The smallesT villages,
and naTional cooperaTive movemenTs are now represenTed in every STaTe of
The Union.

Tion

 

From 4,000 To 5,000 organizaTions of producers are shipping live-
sTock in a cooperaTive way, and The number is rapidly increasing.
sands of cooperaTive elevaTors

Thou-
are owned by farmer organizaTions in The
agriculTural STaTes, and cenTral depoTs and planTs are being esTablished
in every imporTanT ciTy. The

largesT enTerprise in my own Town, boTh in
volume of business and in capiTal invesTed, is The Farmer's CooperaTive
ElevaTor Co., owned and operaTed by The farmers of The communiTy.

Surveys by The DeparTmenT of AgriculTure show 2,690 grain-markeTing
associaTions in The UniTed STaTes, and 753 associaTions for The handling

of fruiT and vegeTables, and innumerable cooperaTive creameries and simi-
lar farm agencies.

Some of Them manage vasT enTerprises and TransacT an annual busi-
ness aggregaTing nfll lhmws of dollars.

The MonTana WheaT Growers' Associa-
Tionlmmdled 6,000,000 bushels of grain in I923, in addiTion To oTher
busnwss, and iTs sales for I924 already approximaTe 5,000,000 bushels.

The Two greaTesT

livesTock commission companies in The CenTral WesT,
ifer HIAmerica, are The Farmers' Commission Co., organized by The Mis-

somfi Famers' AssociaTion, and The Producers' Commission Co., organized
byTheIMssouri Farm Bureau FederaTion.

 

They handled l4,000 cars of live-
mbckin WZ3 and TransacTed a Third of all The business passing Through

Hm geafcaTTle-markeTing cenTers of The STaTe.
Hm Missouri Farmers' AssociaTion, organized in l9l4,

is To-day
Ihelarqfif dealer in poulTry and eggs in The UniTed STaTes and handles
almgervolume of business in Those Two commodiTies Than eiTher Armour
or SwifT.

Three hundred Thousand dollars were paid back To iTs members
inpanomme dividends lasT year from Two of iTs four livesTock commis-
Qoncmwanies. IT has organized 377 livesTock shipping associaTions

mm “named nearly 400 grain elevaTors and produce exchanges, and 9
cafirm morage planTs in Missouri

in The lasT decade. IT has saved
Iwnmedsof Thousands of dollars for iTs members

in commissions and
wbHTsand is conTrolled exclusively by dirT farmers who own and

 

I64

c>pe3rarTee Tflfieeir own farms and who in The lasT seven years have conTribuTed
UKDree T'haan $55,000,000 in basic capiTal To finance

iTs operaTions.
"The; Funerican Farm Bureau FederaTion, engaged in similar enTerprises,

is [DEN’TEBCTFIng Township and counTy organizaTions in all The STaTes and has
nuaTwer‘iaal ly

improved producTion and markeTing ThroughouT The counTry.
MliTJfi [DracTicaI, successful, growing, cooperaTive organizaTions like
These developing in all secTions of The counTry, of Their own iniTiaTive
auwd <3rI TIweiIr own capiTal, iT is evidenT ThaT under The impeTus of This
t>ill a InaT'ional cooperaTive organizaTion would be formed which would be

rweachy 1Y3 Twake over The work of The AgriculTural ExporT CorporaTion The
irwsTYanT‘ iT‘ was relinquished.

In facT,
ThaT

leading represenTaTives of The farm organizaTions announce
wi II

irI exmenT of The passage of The bill a conference of farm leaders
be cxanvened aT once and a sTaTemenT issued noTifying The farmers of
Anmn‘icaa'fhaT They musT immediaTely begin To perfecT Their own markeTing
Inacflwinerw/ preparaTory To Taking over The business of The exporT corpora-

Ticnw aruj conTinuing The benefiTs conferred by The McNary-Haugen bill aT
'The ewqairaTion of The five-year period for which

iT is To be creaTed.
Abraham Lhkxfln said:

The legiTimaTe objecT of governmenT is To do for a communiTy
of people whaTever They need To have done, buT can noT do aT all,

or can noT so well do, for Themselves in Their separaTe and indi-
vidual capaciTies.

He could noT beTTer or more accuraTely have expressed The Theory of
This bill had he been Thinking of if aT The Time.

The farmers of America wiTh all Their handicaps can noT do for Them-
selves in Their separaTe and individual capaciTies whaT every oTher class

and indusTry in The land have long ago accomplished To Their own profiT
and To The farmer's disadvanTage.

This bill places agriculTure on The same fooTing. IT will make iT
possibkafor The farmers To help Themselves,

for Them To enjoy The same
OpporhMHTies and advanTages already accorded labor and indusTry, and

underTTe inTerpreTaTion of Abraham Lincoln iT is Therefore a legiTimaTe
objecTcfi governmenT.

lTis a measure which will conTribuTe noT only To The needs and

Immessfijes of The farmer buT To The prosperiTy and welfare of The NaTion.
Theijesdemand a race of freemen

in rural America and our form of
gwemmenfresTs primarily on a powerful farming class-men prosperous
andinTeHigenT, fearless and independenT.

The safeTy of The NaTion and
ThepemmhnTy of democracy demand ThaT The farmer receive his jusT share
ofTheechmflc profiTs and The opporTuniTies and comforTs of

life, and
fiwrecanbe no subsTanTial and IasTing prosperiTy if he

is denied Them.
Thee is an ancienT documenT, now seldom quoTed and Too ofTen for-
gdfien,whmh Opens wiTh This preamble:

We, The people of The UniTed STaTes, in order To form a more
peHecT union, esTablish jusTice, insure domesTic TranquiliTy, pro-
Wdefor The common defense, promoTe The general welfare, and secure
We Messings of liberTy To ourselves and our posTeriTy, do ordain
amdesTablish This ConsTiTuTion of The UniTed STaTes of America.

 

I65

Mr. Chairman, There is noT a single purpose among The many enumera-
Ted in This greaTesT of all consTiTuTionaI enachenTs which would noT be
conserved and effecTuaTed by The provisions of This measure To remanci-
paTe and revivify American agriculTure.

The farmer deserves well aT The hands of The NaTion.. He has pro-
duced unsTinTedly The mosT essenTial elemenT of naTional wealTh. He
has fed To surfeiT our armies in war and our ciTizens in peace. Suffer-
ing rankling inequaliTies, he has neverTheless generously and paTrioTi-
cally conTribuTed his all wiTh meager reward. We musT noT fail him in
his hour of need. LeT us pass This bill and resTore To him and To
rural America Their righTful share of The NaTion's prosperiTy. [Applause;)

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX B
TJne <:lerk read as follows:

(a) Privilege To file consolidaTed reTurns:

An affiliaTed I
ngNJp of corporaTions shall, subjecT To The provisions of This

sechion, have The privilege of making a consolidaTed reTurn for
~The “Taxable year in lieu of separaTe reTurns} The making of a
ccnwsolidaTed reTurn shall be upon The condiTion ThaT all The

ccurporaTions which have been members of The affiliaTed group aT

any Tfine during The Taxable year for which The reTurn is made
consenT To all The regulaTions under subsecTion (b) prescribed

 

prior To The making of such reTurn; and The making of a con- é'
solidaTed reTurn shall

be considered as such consenT. In The
case of a corporaTion which is a member of The affiliaTed group
for a fracTional parT of The year The consolidaTed reTurn shall
include The

income of such corporaTion for such parT of The year
as iT is a member of The affiliaTed group.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman,

I desire To offer an amendmenT, unless
The commiTTee desires To modify

iTs amendmenT.
Mr. CRISP. I have an amendmenT aT The desk dealing wiTh This sec-
Tion (c). I will ask unanimous consenT ThaT we may go To ThaT secTion,
where The amendmenT can now be offered.
Mr. CANNON.

Will The genTleman ask unanimous consenT ThaT his
amendmenT may be read for

informaTion?
Mr. CRISP. Yes. I ask unanimous consenT, Mr. Chairman, ThaT The
amendmenT be read TCN‘ informaTion.

The clerk read as follows:

Page I09, line 22, sTrike ouT The period and The word ”only,"
andinserT in lieu Thereof a semicolon and The following: "excepT
ThafThere shall be added To The raTe of Tax prescribed by secTion

I3(a) a raTe of I; per cenT and only."

Mr.CRISP. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consenT To consider para-
gramIIC)ouT of order.

TheCHAIRMAN. Is There objecTion To The requesT of The genTleman
from Georgia?

Mr.CANNON.

Reserving The righT To objecT, iT does noT prohibiT
cmBoHdmed reTurns buT simply changes The raTe.
Mr.CRISP. If The genTleman will give me a chance,

I will explain
ToTheHmme The amendmenT, and The House can adopT iT or rejecT iT.

U.&, Congressional Record, 72d Congress, lsT Session, I932,
LXXV, ParT .7, 7 I24 .

I66

*2

 

 

I67

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. Is This amendmenT being read jusT now
for informaTion or for The purpose of debaTe?

Mr. CANNON. For informaTion.

Mr. CRISP. To please The genTleman from Missouri EMr. CANNON], I
ask ThaT iT be read before we reach ThaT secTion for The informaTion of
The House.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, I desire To offer an amendmenT. I move
To sTrike ouT The paragraph jusT read.

The CHAIRMAN. The genTleman from Missouri offers and amendmenT,
which The clerk will reporT. r‘

The clerk rad as follows: ' “

AmendmenT offered by Mr. CANNON: Beginning on line 20, page
IO8, sTrike ouT subsecTion (a), ending in line 9, on page l09.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, I TrusT The commiTTee will aproach This
proposiTion wiTh an open mind. IT is a proposal of peculiar meriT in
ThaT iT noT only brings inTo The Treasury an amounT which has been esTi-
maTed by reliable auThoriTies To be as high as $50,000 buT iTs approval
will be aTTended wiTh oTher highly desirable advanTages. May I say by
way of preface ThaT iT is an amendmenT which has been indorsed by The
Speaker of The House; iT is an amendmenT which has been indorsed by The
majoriTy leader of The House; and iT is an amendmenT which has been in-
dorsed by The presenT acTing chairman of The CommiTTee on Ways and Means.
All Three of These disTinguished Members of The House, wiTh Their long
experience in maTTers of Tax IegislaTion and wiTh an inTimaTe knowledge
of The principle of TaxaTion, hearTily indorsed The proposal presenTed
in This amendmenT when iT was under consideraTion in I929. And while I
am noT advised as To The aTTiTude of The genTleman from New York (Mr.
SNELE], The leader on The oTher side of The aisle, l earnesle inviTe
his sympaTheTic consideraTion of This amendmenT.

IT involves The increase of millions of dollars in Taxes paid by
The mosT highly organized and mosT profiTable corporaTions in The world
Today.

This amendmenT noT only offers a means of assisTing in balancing
The BudgeT by greale decreasing The exempTions of our largesT corpora-
Tions buT iT also prevenTs The GovernmenT from becoming a parTy To unfair
compeTiTion Through which The corporaTion wiTh many branches desTroys
compeTiTion and eliminaTes The smaller and independenT corporaTions en-
gaged in The same business. This secTion of The law gives The chain
corporaTion an unfair advanTage over The individual corporaTion; and iT
is only American fair play To repeal iT and puT The smaller corporaTion
and The independenT corporaTion on a plane of equal advanTage so far as
The law is concerned.

The law which This amendmenT proposes To sTrike ouT penalizes
David and assisTs GoliaTh. IT is one of The mosT effecTive weapons in
The hands of The chain sTore and oTher federaTed corporaTions and is
doing more To drive The independenT merchanT and The individual corpora-
Tion ouT of business Than any oTher law on The sTaTuTe books To-day.

There are Two classes of These corporaTions. The firsT class in-
cludes corporaTions wiTh all Their branches engaged in The same business,
as The chain grocery, The chain drug sTore, The chain dry-goods or cloTh-
ing sTore, The chain newspaper, and similar chain businesses.

The oTher, and perhaps The more imporTanT of The Two, are The

 

I
’1'
F'

 

 

I68

holding companies and moTher corporaTions whose subsidiaries are engaged
in a varieTy of businesses and acTiviTies, as The STandard Oil Co., The
UniTed STaTes STeel Co., The Munson STeamship Co., The PiTsturgh Coal
Co., pracTically all The public uTiliTies doing inTersTaTe business,
and many oThers wiTh which you are all familiar.

Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. I yield To The genTleman.

Mr. RANKIN. And Those large enTerprises invariably use one of Their
subsidiaries To crush compeTiTion, and Then make up iTs losses by These In
consolidaTed reTurns? r5

Mr. CANNON. ThaT is one of The many advanTages available To These
gianT corporaTions under This law.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. I yield To my friend from WashingTon.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. I am saTisfied ThaT The enTire member- 9

 

ship will wanT To follow The genTleman if he has an amendmenT here ThaT
will prevenT The chain sTores and similar organizaTions from escaping
TaxaTion. Will The genTleman indicaTe wheTher This amendmenT is offered
To subsecTion (a), or (c), or To The pending amendmenT of The chairman,
The genTleman from Georgia, Mr. CRISP? We do noT propose ThaT any branch
of any chain sTore shall escape Taxes.

Mr. CANNON. l appreciaTe The sTaTemenT of The genTleman from Wash-
ingTon. The amendmenT proposes To sTrike ouT subsecTion (a) wiTh noTice,
of course, ThaT if agreed To, I shall Then move To sTrike ouT The remain-
ing paragraphs of The secTion.

Mr. BRIGGS. Is iT noT a facT ThaT you are sTriking aT The proviso
of making consolidaTed reTurns and in doing so you are sTriking aT The
hearT of This greaT loss which runs inTo millions To The Treasury of The
UniTed STaTes every year?

Mr. CANNON. Precisely. By closing up This loophole in The law
and compelling The chain corporaTion To pay The same Taxes paid by indi-
vidual corporaTions we are noT only repealing a law used as a weapon by
The TrusTs againsT Their smaller compeTiTors, buT we are bringing inTo

The UniTed STaTes Treasury every year millions of dollars of addiTional
revenue.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. I am inclined To Think ThaT by paying
careful aTTenTion To This we will obviaTe The necessiTy for The repay-

menT of Taxes which always makes a charge againsT The Treasury.

Mr. CANNON. l was jusT coming To ThaT. Many of The claims by The
greaT corporaTions for The repaymenT of Taxes are filed under This sec-
'Tion of The law.

The CHAIRMAN. The Time of The genTleman from Missouri has expired.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consenT To proceed for
five minuTes.

The CHAIRMAN. Is There objecTion?

There was no objecTion.

Mr. CLARKE of New York. Will The genTleman please explain To us
sTep by sTep how They geT ouT of paying Taxes. As I undersTand iT, in
al I of These subsidiaries, The enTire sTock is owned by a parenT corpora-
‘Tion. The parenT corporaTion can noT reTurn dividends To iTs sTock-
lualders unTil The subsidiary companies in Turn have declared Their divi-
dernjs To The sTockholding parenT corporaTion. Where are They escaping?

Mr. CANNON. I shall be glad To explain, as my friend from New York

 

 

I69

[Mr. CLARKE] suggesTs, sTep by sTep, jusT how This provision in The pre-
senT law is used To increase The exempTions of The chain corporaTions and
how iT is uTilized To sTamp ouT compeTiTion.

LeT us Take, for example, The Du PonT Co. IT has innumerable sub-
sidiaries rendering various services and producing a varieTy of commodi-
Ties. One Turns ouT explosives, anoTher leaTher, anoTher painT, anoTher
chemicals, anoTher cellophane, and so on; all of Them Tied inTo The parenT
corporaTion. Inasmuch as The same corporaTion is boTh The buyer and The
seller, boTh The producer and The consumer of These producTs, iT would be
merely a maTTer of bookkeeping To show losses in pracTicaIly any of The
subsidiaries for The year. Under The provisions of The law we are seek-
ing To repeal by This amendmenT, The cenTral office is allowed To charge
off such paper losses againsT The profiTs of oTher subsidiaries, and may
reduce The amounT of iTs Taxes by enormous sums. Such a corporaTion as
General MoTors by Taking advanTage of This loophole could show such losses
in iTs lumber subsidiaries or iTs accessories as To increase iTs exemp-
Tions in every reTurn iT makes. The greaT oil companies and The coal
companies, inTo whose exchequers you propose To IegislaTe vasT subsidies
in The form of Tariffs elsewhere in This bill, escape TaxaTion every year
Through TransporTaTion subsidiaries, pipe line and railroad, and many
oTher affiliaTed corporaTions To which Their bookkeeping deparTmenTs
charge heavy paper losses in order To increase The exempTions of The
parenT corporaTion° PracTically all The power uTiliTies of The counTry
share These exempTions.

And The chain sTores are parTicularly favored beneficiaries of This
pernicious law. Here is The way They Take advanTage of iT. The parenT
corporaTion, The moTher organizaTion, has branches in perhaps every STaTe
of The Union. These individual branches do noT make Tax reTurns. Under
This law The cenTral organizaTion makes a consolidaTed reTurn for all
The branches, and may work in a long lisT of exempTions. BuT The inde-
pendenT sTore, wiTh which The chain sTores are compeTing, is required To
make iTs own reTurn. IT has no way of bookkeeping phanTom losses from
which To draw exempTions. IT musT pay iTs Taxes in full.

The resulT is ThaT The chain sTores noT only escape TaxaTion buT
They use The law To drive ouT compeTiTion. Whenever a chain sTore is
esTablished in a new IocaTion, or when compeTiTion becomes Troublesome,
The chain deliberaTely lowers prices and runs aT a loss unTil The home
sTore across The sTreeT is driven To The wall and eiTher closes or sells
ouT. The loss in This branch of The chain is crediTed in The Tax reTurns
againsT profiTs made in oTher branches and The chain escapes TaxaTion
while iT crushes The home merchanT. Then when compeTiTion is eliminaTed
The chain resTores prices To a profiTable bases and recoups iTs losses
and is prepared To open up a new locaTion or sTrangle any independenT
merchanT who Tries To enTer The field.

The law is a favoriTe device of The uTiliTies. An elecTric com-
pany or Telephone branch or TransporTaTion company pays liTTIe aTTenTion
To The cosT of insTalling new services. A railroad company can run a
bus line aT a loss, a sTreeTcar company can operaTe a line of Taxicabs,
or a power company can preempT a new communiTy aT a loss. Through The
benevolenT provisions of This law They charge These losses againsT Their
profiTs elsewhere and reduce Their Taxes while desTroying compeTiTion
and monOpoIizing The markeT.

Mr. ALDRICH. Will The genTleman yield?

 

 

I70

Mr. CANNON. Yes.

Mr. ALDRICH. Will The genTleman say The same Thing could noT hap-
pen if iT was one big corporaTion?

Mr. CANNON. IT noT only could noT happen, iT does noT happen in
The manner permiTTed by This law.

[Here The gavel fell]

Mr. RANKIN. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consenT ThaT The genTle-
man may proceed for five addiTional minuTes.

The CHAIRMAN. Is There objecTion?

There was no objecTion.

Mr. CANNON. Here is anoTher beneficienT use The chains make of
This convenienT law. They use iT To freeze ouT The small sTockholders.
They find ThaT some parTicular branch or some ParTicular planT is especial-
ly profiTable. By increasing The cosT of maTerials, services, and oTher
iTems of producTion furnished by affiliaTed subsidiaries and decreasing
The price paid for iTs producT by consuming subsidiaries iT begins To
show losses insTead of profiTs. Dividends cease. The sTock drops. And
The small sTockholder is forced To sell. Then income is increased while
They freeze ouT The minoriTy sTockholders of some oTher branch. All The
while The manipulaTors on The inside are noT only shearing The lambs,
buT They are doing iT aT The expense of The Treasury by using These
paper losses To exempT Them from paying Taxes.

Mr. ALDRICH. Will The genTleman yield again?

Mr. CANNON. WiTh pleasure.

Mr. ALDRICH. They can do exachy ThaT same Thing under one big
corporaTion. They can Take Their losses from Those liTTle sTores on one
reTurn jusT as easily as They can do iT in The consolidaTed reTurn.

Mr. BRIGGS. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. CerTainly.

Mr. BRIGGS. ls iT noT True ThaT They find iT more convenienT To
operaTe Through These smaller subsidiaries, wiThouT The responsibiliTies
ThaT aTTach ThereTo, so ThaT They are geTTing all of The cream wiThouT
having any of The liabiliTies? Is noT ThaT True?

Mr. CANNON. The genTleman is eminenle correcT. The law permiTs
a pracTice by which The GovernmenT noT only loses The Taxes buT is puT
in The posiTion of deliberaTely conniving wiTh The TrusTs To drive ouT
compeTiTion. IT is deliberaTely arming The branch sTores againsT Their
compeTiTors.

Mr. ALDRICH. Will The genTleman yield again?

Mr. CANNON. Yes.

Mr. ALDRICH. Are noT all of Those pracTices illegal under The Clay-
Ton law, and does noT The Federal Trade Commission Take jurisdicTion over
Those pracTices? I Think The genTleman will find iT does.

Mr. BRIGGS. Has noT The Federal Trade CommisSion been engaged for
abouT Three years in Trying To find ouT The facTs in connecTion wiTh The
IDOwer TrusT, and as yeT has been unable To gaTher, from all The volumi-
nous evidence ThaT has been presenTed To iT, The facTs in connecTion
TherewiTh? And did noT The Federal Trade Commission issue a sTaTemenT
noT long ago wiTh reference To This very Thing and sTaTe They found The
GovernmenT had losT several million dollars Through The subsidiaries
being uTilized by The parenT organizaTion for The paymenT of Taxes, which
'Taxes never found Their way info The Treasury of The UniTed STaTes, buT
which operaTed only To The benefiT of The holding company, which

 

 

l7l

conTribuTed noThing?

Mr. CANNON. Only week before lasT The UniTed STaTes Federal Trade
Commission, afTer exhausTive hearings, reporTed ThaT The GovernmenT was
losing millions of dollars of revenue every year Through This very device.
They wenT furTher. They reporTed ThaT parenT corporaTions were frequenT~
Iy refusing To reTurn To subsidiaries The amounT of The exempTions which
The subsidiaries were enTiTled To receive.

The holding company or cenTral corporaTion would collecT The full
amounT of The Taxes from each of The subsidiaries. Then iT would make a
consolidaTed reTurn under This law and increase iTs exempTions unTil a
large parT of The Taxes were charged off. BuT insTead of reTurning To
The subsidiaries The excess Taxes collecTed, iT reTained The full amounT
and Thus mulcTed The sTockholders of The subsidiary of large amounTs aT
every Taxpaying period. The law lends iTseIf To every species of crooked
corporaTion finance, and The House should adopT This amendmenT, close The
back door To such pracTices, and aT The same Time collecT The full amounT
of Taxes due.

Mr. BRIGGS. ls iT noT True ThaT afTer The disTribuTion of dividends
among The sTockholders of The holding company They Then assess Those divi-
dends againsT The users of power ThroughouT The UniTed STaTes, which re-
sulTs in increasing The power raTes To everybody in The UniTed STaTes?

Mr. CANNON. Exachy. IT is one of The principal devices by which
The Power TrusT adds To already swollen revenues exacTed from The people.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. I yield To The genTleman from WashingTon.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. I Think The genTleman will find anoTher
insTance in The UniTed Cigar Co. Inside The UniTed Cigar Co. is a hold-
ing company for The 99-year leases on iTs sTores. Under This arrangenenT
a loss is Taken in one place and deducTed from profiTs in anoTher place,
always, of course, aT The expense of The Federal Treasury.

Mr. CANNON. The exempTions claimed by The UniTed Cigar Co. is an
insTance of The manner in which The provisions of The law may be invoked.

Like all oTher chain sTores and chain corporaTions, They are in a
posiTion To enlisT The services of The GovernmenT in crushing compeTiTion
and aT The same Time save Taxes.

Mr. ALDRICH. Will The genTleman yield once more?

Mr. CANNON. Yes.

Mr. ALDRICH. The deducTions for losses apply jusT as much To one
big corporaTion as They do To a subsidiary corporaTion.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consenT To proceed for
five minuTes more. I would like To answer The genTleman.

[Here The gavel felL]

Mr. CRISP. Mr. Chairman, I shall have To objecT. The genTleman
has had l5 minuTes.

The CHAIRMAN. ObjecTion is heard.

Mr. CRISP. Mr. Chairman, I hope This amendmenT will noT be adOpTed.
IT has been a mooT quesTion as To wheTher iT is advisable, in The inTeresT
of The Taxpayers, To permiT These affiliaTed and consolidaTed reTurns.

The argumenT of my friend from Missouri could be meT by saying ThaT
a big corporaTion could place subsidiaries or agencies around aT differenT
places and accomplish The same Thing in respecT of unfair compeTiTion.
| wanT To say ThaT The Speaker of The House is very much in favor of The
coanTTee recommendaTion and, genTlemen, This useful purpose will be

 

—_f

 

I72

served.

Mr. CANNON. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CRISP. I can noT yield righT now. I decline To yield. The
Speaker can correcT me if I am wrong, or if I missTaTe his posiTion.

This amendmenT will serve This useful purpose. Under The commiT-
Tee amendmenT corporaTions can make individual reTurns and pay |3$ per
cenT. If They desire To make consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns, They

have ThaT privilege, buT musT pay Ii per cenT exTra Tax for The privi-
lege.

Now, The recommendaTion will serve This purpose. The commiTTee
can geT reTurns from The Treasury DeparTmenT for The fuTure years afTer
This is passed, and They can sTudy Those reTurns and see how many avail
Themselves of The privilege and wheTher or noT furTher IegislaTion is
required.

The House is divided on This proposiTion, and This is a compromise.
If you do away enTirely wiTh affiliaTed and consolidaTed reTurns, you are
liable To junk a loT of shorT-line railroads. They can noT pass Their
Taxes on, because Their raTes are seT by The public-uTiliTies commissions,
and if They can noT deducT loss on Their shorT-lines They will junk Them;
and, on The oTher hand, if They avail Themselves of This privilege They
musT pay The GovernmenT Ii per cenT exTra Tax on Their neT income for The

purpose of doing so. Now, is noT This wise? I undersTand The genTleman
from New York (Mr. LAGUARDIA], who has been very much inTeresTed in This
maTTer, is favorable To This compromise. If I am in error, I would like

for The genTleman To correcT me.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CRISP. I yield.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. The genTleman has referred To The aTTi-
Tude of The Speaker aT presenT on The quesTion of consolidaTed reTurns.
Now, we seem To have one amendmenT here, and Then anoTher amendmenT To
The middle of The paragraph, offered by The genTleman from Georgia, in
line 22, page l09, and The debaTe, iT seems To me, has been running quiTe
a biT ahead of ThaT place in The bill.

Mr. CRISP. The genTleman from Missouri offered an amendmenT To
sTrike ThaT ouT, which he has a perfecT righT To do, and The amendmenT
was in order before The place in The bill where my amendmenT was in order,
and, Therefore, I had To Take The floor now To argue my amendmenT and To
Try To convince The commiTTee ThaT They should noT adopT The amendmenT
of The genTleman from Missouri, which does away wiTh affiliaTed and con-
solidaTed reTurns.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. The quesTion I wanTed To ask is This:
The genTleman speaks of The Speaker's aTTiTude aT presenT. Is The genTle-
rnan familiar wiTh The presenT Speaker's aTTiTude in earlier Congresses
when he was on The Ways and Means CommiTTee?

Mr. CRISP. I will say ThaT The Speaker, like all wise men, never
hesiTaTes To change his opinion when he Thinks he oughT To. [Applause]
Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. I agree wiTh ThaT,

Mr. CRISP. And The Speaker of The House, knowing The Temper of
'The House, knowing how iT is divided, Thinks This is a wise compromise
anwd will enable The GovernmenT, IaTer, To see wheTher or noT These affil-
iaTed and consolidaTed reTurns work an injury To The GovernmenT, and if
so, The provision can be amended IaTer.

Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. WhaT I Think The genTleman mighT well

 

 

I73

do is To pass This amendmenT over unTil The membership can read This
debaTe in The RECORD and ascerTain jusT whaT The Trouble is.
Mr. CRISP. ThaT is The genTleman's opinion. My opinion is ThaT

This bill musT be expediTed and The House will be asked To voTe upon The
maTTer.

Mr. GARNER. Mr. Chairman, in view of The facT ThaT This parTicular
provision of The bill is one I have had a good deal To do wiTh in The

pasT, and in view of The facT ThaT iT would appear, probably, ThaT I have
changed my posiTion in The maTTer, iT would perhaps noT be ouT of order
if I make a suggesTion concerning iT.

I made whaT I ThoughT was as good a fighT as I ever made in my
life when I underTook To abolish consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns,
and succeeded in doing This over The proTesTs of The Ways and Means Com-
miTTee. I feel now ThaT There is probably no defense for consolidaTed
and affiliaTed reTurns, buT The suggesTion has been made, and iT seems
To me a very wise one, ThaT we TesT ouT in The nexT year or so The ques-
Tion of wheTher I am correcT or Those who believe in consolidaTed and
affiliaTed reTurns are correcT, and The way To TesT This ouT is To
penalize corporaTions for making consolidaTed reTurns.

You are now proposing To penalize Them l% per cenT. If iT is ad-
vanTageous To Them To file such reTurns They will pay The penalTy. If
There is no advanTage in consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns, They will
submiT separaTe reTurns.

There is one oTher siTuaTion ThaT may, perhaps, be Taken inTo con-
sideraTion. The amendmenT ThaT The House puT on in a former Congress,
as I recall, by a majoriTy of 7| voTes, did noT become a parT of The law.
On a record voTe in The SenaTe, The SenaTe voTed more Than Two To one
againsT iT. The resulT was ThaT in conference The maTTer was losT. Now,

I imagine when This goes over To The SenaTe, if Those genTlemen are of
The same opinion now ThaT They were Then They will accepT The amendmenT,
or There will be some considerable scrimmage in conference.

I imagine no one can defend The proposiTion ThaT you musT give a
mulTipliciTy of corporaTions an advanTage over an individual corporaTion
and aT The same Time say ThaT ThaT advanTage should noT be equalized, or
a TesT made To see whaT benefiTs They geT ouT of iT.

Remember, genTlemen, This amendmenT will yield $l4,000,000.

Mr. VINSON of KenTucky. EighTeen million dollars.

Mr. GARNER. I Think The genTleman is misTaken, buT, of course,

The esTimaTe is before us. I undersTand l per cenT would yield $9,000,-
000 and l% per cenT would yield $l4,500,000; buT in any evenT, iT will
yield a large sum of money.

If you abolish consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns, no one knows
jusT how much money The GovernmenT would gain by iT. We have all guessed
aT iT. l sTaked my repuTaTion aT one Time on The floor of This House as
a predicTor as To whaT revenue would be derived from iT when I said if
would yield $50,000,000; buT ThaT was in I928, genTlemen, and The reTurns
from corporaTions now are abouT one-half whaT They were Then. So if my
predicTion were True Then, The IimiT aT This Time would probably be
$25,000,000 for The firsT year, and iT would gradually drifT off during
‘The years. The reason for This musT be apparenT To anyone when he Thinks
of iT. ConsolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns The firsT year could hardly
be adjusTed. AfTer ThaT wash sales and readjusTmenTs in Their bookkeep-
ing would naTurally reduce The advanTage from consolidaTed and affiliaTed

 

——

I74

reTurns.

I hope ThaT This amendmenT will be adopTed, because, as I have
said, iT will TesT ouT in The nexT year or Two wheTher or noT The oppo-
siTion To consolidaTed and affiliaTed reTurns is correcT.

Mr. CRISP. If The genTleman will yield, The genTleman refers To
"This" amendmenT. Does he mean The Cannon amendmenT or The commiTTee
amendmenT?

Mr. GARNER. I refer To The commiTTee amendmenT, of course, I
Think you will make a misTake if you adopT The Cannon amendmenT. I Think
This is a wise compromise and ThaT The commiTTee amendmenT should be
adopTed.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consenT ThaT I may pro-
ceed for five minuTes.

The CHAIRMAN. Is There any objecTion To The requesT of The genTle-
man from Missouri?

There was no objecTion.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Chairman, for 20 years I have cooperaTed aT every
OpporTuniTy wiTh The genTleman from Texas, The Speaker of The House, and
This occasion shall noT be an excepTion To The rule. I am glad To have
This unexpecTed opporTuniTy To express my high regard for him. I have
followed him always gladly and always wiTh profiT, noT only because I am
an organizaTional DemocraT buT because of my deep personal affecTion for
him. I shall wiThdraw my amendmenT. BuT may I aT The same Time suggesT
an increase in The amounT To be conTribuTed by These corporaTions over
ThaT proposed by The commiTTee? The amounT here involved is Too large
To be disregarded. Do you realize ThaT consolidaTed corporaTions Taking
advanTage of This law, consTiTuTing only 2 per cenT of all The corpora-
Tions making Tax reTurns To The Federal GovernmenT, receive 50 per cenT
of The enTire corporaTion income of The UniTed STaTes? Going sTill fur-
Ther, do you realize ThaT 5 per cenT of The corporaTions of The counTry
making Tax reTurns, and enTiTled To addiTonal exempTions under This law,
receive 90 per cenT of The ToTal gross income paid To all The corporaTions
of The UniTed STaTes? IT seems incredible, buT iT is shown by The records
of The Treasury DeparTmenT.

Now, if we were driven To The exTreme of Taxing The chewing gum of
The children, surely we oughT To permiT The greaTesT money-making corpora-
Tions in The counTry pay Their jusT and lawful share of The Taxes.

Mr. SCHAFER. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. Assuredly.

Mr. SCHAFER. If The genTleman's amendmenT is defeaTed, The pub-

lishers of The greaT chain newspapers will geT The advanTage?

Mr. CANNON. IT applies To chain newspapers as well as To oTher
chain businesses. The amendmenT will have a mosT saluTary effecT on
boTh Taxes and business.

Mr. SCHAFER. Will if noT apply To The HearsT newspapers and give
Them abouT $l,000,000 annually?

Mr. CANNON. IT makes no disTincTion as To any corporaTion making

consolidaTed reTurns.
Mr. JOHNSON of WashingTon. Will The genTleman yield?
Mr. CANNON. I yield.

 

 

APPENDIX C

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, on The eve of America's
enTry inTo The world war, insuring vicTory for The Allies, a panic
seized a large parT of The French people and Three enTire army corps
lefT The fronT-line Trenches and reTreaTed on Paris. Today in America's
war againsT The depression, wiTh vicTory already in sighT, There are
Those who would sound a reTreaT. Already wiThin reach of The goal our
comrades falTer. They are unwilling To go The lasT mile. They are un-
willing To keep men moving up info The fronT-line jobs. There is general
agreemenT ThaT The campaign for employmenT is succeeding. All auThori-
Ties reporT a general upTurn in business on every fronT. BuT jusT aT
This criTical period The commiTTee brings in a proposal To dismiss from
employmenT more Than a million workmen Today earning Their daily bread
in producTive employmenT.

In order To see The siTuaTion a IiTTle more clearly, IeT us clear
away some of The underbrush abouT This proposiTion. The resoluTion con-
Tains a number of minor provisions.

There is pracTicaIly no difference of opinion on eiTher side of The
aisle on any of These iTems. I Think There is general concurrence on The
parT of The commiTTee and The House on boTh sides of The aisle in The en-
Tire resoluTion wiTh The excepTion of The amounT of The appropriaTion.
The appropriaTion of $875,000,000 recommended by The BudgeT will keep
3,08l,300 men aT work. The appropriaTion of $725,000,000 recommended by
The commiTTee will employ only I,930,000. In oTher words, The commiTTee
proposes To Throw ouT of employmenT, in The dead of winTer, l,l5l,300
men.

So, Mr. Chairman, The whole quesTion before The House This afTer-
noon is The hiring or firing of These l,l5l,300 men. This is The sole
issue presenTed by This resoluTion. BuT iT is a more imporTanT quesTion
Than may appear aT firsT blush. These l,l5|,300 men are breadwinners.
They are heads of families. When you deprive Them of work you deprive
Their dependenT families of supporT.

The P.W.A. esTimaTes each family To average 3% persons. ThaT is a
conservaTive esTimaTe, as The TradiTional miliTary raTio is five To a
family. BuT even aT The minimum esTimaTe, The number of dependenTs af-
fecTed by This reducTion would aggregaTe 4,026,550 persons. AT The
Army raTio iT will affecT 5,726,500 people. BUT if goes furTher Than
ThaT. The business creaTed and supporTed by The needs of This vasT num-
ber of people, Their Trade wiTh merchanTs, arTisans, and professional
men, gives employmenT To numerous oTher workers who, wiThouT This busi-
ness, will also be Thrown ouT of employmenT. So, on a conservaTive esTi-
maTe, The proposiTion of The commiTTee here is To Take away The

 

'U.S., Congressional Record, 76Th Congress, lsT Session, I939,
LXXXIV, ParT I, 248.

I75

 

I76

susTenance of from six To eighT million people. IT is noT necessary To
draw on The imaginaTion To undersTand whaT ThaT would mean To The people
Themselves or To The business inTeresTs of The counTry.

The commiTTee gives no Tenable reason for iTs ruThless recommenda-
Tion excepT a desire To save money. In facT There is no reason. Every
wiTness called by The commiTTee demonsTraTed The need for increased
raTher Than decreased employmenT. Every iTem of evidence submiTTed To
The commiTTee supporTed The PresidenT's recommendaTion of $875,000,000.
You can read The hearings Through from The firsT page To The lasT and
There is noT one line or a single sTaTemenT ThaT jusTifies a decrease Of
a dollar in The appropriaTions or The reducTion of a job in The employ-
menT program. The proposal To reduce The amounT is so unwarranTed, so
aT variance wiTh The evidence, so unjusTified by The sTaTisTics submiTTed
in The hearings, ThaT iT impossible To escape The conclusion ThaT The
commiTTee meT wiTh The preconceived deTerminaTion To cuT The amounT recom-
mended by The BudgeT. No maTTer whaT amounT had been recommended, The
commiTTee would have cuT iT. If The requesT had been for $500,000,000
The commiTTee would have cuT iT. If The esTimaTe had been for $200,000,-
000 They would have cuT iT. ApparenTIy iT is a purely arbiTrary cuT un-
supporTed by any facT or formula. And cerTainly iT is noT supporTed by
The American people.

Mr. MICHENER. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield aT ThaT poinT?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. My Time is very IimiTed. I hope The genTle-
man will excuse me.

We have had The recommendaTion of The commiTTee. Now, IeT us
examine The recommendaTion of The counTry aT large.

LeT us Take up The recommendaTion of organized agriculTure on This
subjecT. LeT us consulT The wishes of organized labor on This proposed
reducTion. LeT us consider The recommendaTion of The organized veTerans
of The UniTed STaTes, The opinion of The clergy, of recognized economisTs,
businessmen, and The Conference of Mayors of The UniTed STaTes.

WiTh asTonishing unanimiTy each of These greaT groups, in direcT
and inTimaTe Touch wiTh business, labor, and relief in every secTion of
The counTry, is asking a conTinuaTion of The W.P.A. program and a con-
TinuaTion or increase in W.P.A. acTiviTy.

The American Farm Bureau FederaTion in iTs annual meeTing aT New
Orleans, which adjourned jusT a week or Two ago, adopTed This resoluTion:

To The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes and The Members of The

SevenTy-sixTh Congress:

PursuanT To resoluTions adopTed by The House of voTing dele-
gaTes aT The TwenTieTh annual meeTing of The American Farm Bureau
FederaTion, The board of direcTors of The American Farm Bureau
FederaTion herewiTh calls To The aTTenTion of The PresidenT of The
UniTed STaTes and The Members of The SevenTy-sixTh Congress The
following maTTers, which are considered by The organizaTion To be
of ouTsTanding imporTance To The NaTion:

We recommend: * * *

(b) ThaT The Federal GovernmenT conTinue To provide employ-
menT for Those who cannoT secure employmenT in privaTe indusTry.

* * * * * * *

We are convinced ThaT The Federal GovernmenT musT conTinue

To supply The bulk of The relief funds, for The burden is beyond

I77

The presenT capaciTy of The local poliTical divisions To handle;
and we recognize The conTinued necessiTy ThaT The GovernmenT pro-
vide capiTal invesTmenT funds unTil such Time as privaTe funds are
again aTTracTed inTo producTive enTerprise.

There is The sTaTemenT of a greaT naTional agriculTural organiza-
Tion speaking for The farmers of The counTry. Organized labor Takes The
same view.

OuT of a number of official sTaTemenTs I will read one or Two
represenTaTive declaraTions:

Any reducTion in The proposed allonenT of funds for W.P.A.
would seriously handicap The funcTioning of W.P.A. and would prob-
ably mean an even greaTer number of dismissals of boTh projecT and
adminisTraTive employees.

 

W.P.A. has provided relief To The people of our indusTry as

well as To millions in oTher indusTries during a period of exTreme
wanT and necessiTy. We urge an appropriaTion for aT leasT $l,000,-
000,000.

And I musT Take Time To read jusT one more which I am cerTain will
be of parTicular inTeresT To The Members of The House. The several Con—
gressmen who have expressed Themselves on This quesTion here This afTer-
noon do noT have a single child in school. BuT here is an opinion from
The organized Teachers of The NaTion speaking from firsT-hand knowledge
on This subjecT of such viTal concern To The children under Their care:

JANUARY ll, I938
PA 2|8 2| NL
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
WashingTon, D.C.:
American FederaTion of Teachers, numbering 30,000 affiliaTed
wiTh The American FederaTion of Labor, urges full appropriaTion for
W.P.A. as recommended by The PresidenT.

Mr. Chairman, This is The recommendaTion of The Teachers of The
land who come in daily conTacT wiTh The child problem, who know family
condiTions, who see children coming To school someTimes wiThouT break-
fasT, and someTimes wiThouT shoes. They know ThaT if This reducTion is
made There will be a good many more wiThouT breakfasT and wiThouT needed
cloThing and medical care.

The churchmen of The NaTion, whose relaTion To The problem is even
more inTimaTe Than ThaT of The Teachers, have exhibiTed even a greaTer
inTeresT.

Upon The desk of every Member of Congress are leTTers from The clergy
of The NaTion, including pracTically every demonimaTion and creed. No one
is in a posiTion To speak wiTh more knowledge and more auThoriTy on This
quesTion affecTing boTh The maTerial and The spiriTual welfare of The
people and The NaTion. And They uniformly endorse an increase raTher
Than a reducTion in The amounT provided in This bill. In This connecTion
l musT also include in The RECORD The opinion of The accrediTed economisTs
of The NaTion, as follows:

 

I78

DEAR PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT: We, The undersigned economisTs,
are addressing ourselves To you in order To express our opinions
on a naTional problem of greaTesT imporTance which falls wiThin
our sphere of professional compeTence.

Newspaper reporTs, which have noT been denied, indicaTe ThaT
The Works Progress AdminisTraTion is planning To cuT iTs rolls by
a Third during The nexT 2 or 3 monThs. This acTion, we undersTand,
is conTemplaTed in order To sTreTch The presenT relied appropria-
Tion and To lay The ground for a greale reduced deficiency appro-
priaTion nexT spring. Such a policy would involve Throwing some
million breadwinners and Their families inTo desTiTuTion during
The severe winTer monThs. IT would involve a reducTion of more
Than $50,000,000 per monTh in direcT wage paymenTs in addiTion To
some $30,000,000 in relaTed expendiTures. Such a cuT in consumer
purchasing power would, we believe, consTiTuTe a severe ThreaT To
The conTinuance of The presenT economic recovery, and mighT even
cause a serious seT-back in business acTiviTy.

The rapid upsurge in business during The lasT 6 monThs has
been a source of encouragemenT To Those who believe ThaT The
severiTy of swings in business acTiviTy need noT be accepTed faTa-
lisTicaIly buT can be successfully counTeracTed by wise social
acTion. Thanks To The vigorous acTion Taken lasT spring by The
Federal GovernmenT under your leadership, The recession of I937
was arresTed; and The curve of business and employmenT Turned up-
ward. The expansion of The spending program was The chief govern-
menTal weapon used in fighTing The recession and sTimulaTing The
recovery. FurThermore during These 6 monThs The major channel for
The disbursemenT of new purchasing power has been The Works Progress
AdminisTraTion, and we believe ThaT The Works Progress AdminisTra-
Tion should conTinue To perform This funcTion unTil privaTe indus-
Try clearly demonsTraTes iTs capaciTy To absord all Those released
from relief rolls.

We conclude, Mr. PresidenT, ThaT The curTailmenT of The Works
PrOgress AdminisTraTion aT The presenT Time would be parTicularly
ill-Timed from an economic as well as from a humaniTarian view-
poinT, and we sTrongly urge ThaT The conTemplaTed policy of curTail-
menT be abandoned.

Of The 69 signers of The sTaTemenT, l3 are members of The faculTy
of Harvard, 7 are from Yale, 7 are from Columbia, 6 from NorThwesTern,

6 from Brooklyn College, 5 from MounT Holyoke, and 4 from TufTs. Among
The oTher insTiTuTions represenTed are Brown, Williams, AmhersT, STanford,
UniversiTy of Wisconsin, UniversiTy of Illinois, UniversiTy of Chicago,
Cornell, New York UniversiTy, UniversiTy of MinnesoTa, and PrinceTon.

On The oTher hand, There is noT an economisT from any college or
universiTy in The UniTed STaTes who has endorsed This unwarranTed, un-
scienTific, and arbiTrary reducTion in The amounT recommended by The
PresidenT.

Mr. HEALEY. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from MassachuseTTs.

Mr. HEALEY. Did The genTleman have some evidence before his commiT-
‘Tee ThaT all of Those persons cerTified as being eligible for W.P.A. were
noT on The W.P.A. aT The presenT Time?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I am glad The genTleman calls aTTenTion

 

I79

To The facT ThaT even wiTh The presenT employmenT There are sTill over
500,000 who have been cerTified To W.P.A. buT for whom W.P.A. is unable
To provide work of any kind. They are eligible, They have been on The
waiTing lisT for monThs, buT even wiTh The currenT appropriaTion They
cannoT be provided for. And in addiTion There are Twice as many eligible
awaiTing cerTificaTion.

The sTaTemenT was made on The floor here a few minuTes ago ThaT
P.W.A. would provide a million and a half jobs. Of course, The P.W.A.
program was Taken inTo consideraTion when These figures were TabulaTed.
FurThermore, iT should noT be overlooked ThaT we made These esTimaTes
on The assumpTion ThaT The presenT acceleraTion in business and indus-

Try would conTinue. If such a reducTion as is here prOposed, or any
oTher unToward condiTion, inTerferes wiTh recovery, iT will require more
Than a billion dollars To carry The program Through To June 30 insTead

of $875,000,000.

Mr. TERRY. Will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I wish I could yield To The genTleman,
buT I have only a minuTe or Two remaining.

Mr. Chairman, The businessmen of The counTry are also opposed To
This reducTion. OuT of The $875,000,000 recommended in The BudgeT, $750,-
000,000 is paid ouT in wages which flow direchy inTo The channels of
Trade. If you wiThdraw from The reTail business of The counTry ThaT
enormous amounT, iT affecTs The reTail merchanT, iT affecTs The jobber,
The wholesaler, The facTory-—iT shakes The enTire fabric of American
commerce and business. Take a plebisciTe of your home-Town merchanTs
and geT Their recommendaTion of The wisdom of The NaTion's invesTmenT in
W.P.A.

BuT, Mr. Chairman, There is no one more enTiTled To pass on This
quesTion or beTTer qualified To undersTand iT Than The ex-service men
and Their organizaTions. Here is a communicaTion which speaks for iTself:

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES
January ll, I939.

MY DEAR CONGRESSMAN CANNON: I am enclosing a copy of The
deTailed objecTives of The V.F.W. and call your parTicular aTTen-
Tion To The poinTs checked wiTh red pencil.

MILLARD W. RICE
LegislaTive RepresenTaTive

PoinT 3:

7. ReTenTion of W.P.A. wiTh liberalized eligibiliTy for
enTry, reenTry, and reTenTion of veTerans who need such employmenT.

The organized veTerans of The NaTion noT only endorse The presenT
provisions for W.P.A. buT They favor Their liberalizaTion.

BuT, Mr. Chairman, The mosT significanT recommendaTions on This
enTire quesTion come from The mayors of The UniTed STaTes, represenTing
every ciTy in The UniTed STaTes of over 50,000 populaTion. They express
The opinion ThaT disasTer will follow any reducTion in This appropria-
Tion. And who is beTTer qualified To pass on The quesTions involved in
W.P.A.? ls iT noT raTher singular ThaT There is noT a single chief execu-
Tive in any ciTy in any STaTe in The Union who believes ThaT This appro-
priaTion oughT To be reduced?

Mr. Chairman, if The proposed reducTion had any meriT, if iT was

 

I80

based on any maTerial grounds, if iT is jusTified from any reasonable
poinT of view, surely They could find aT leasT one mayor in The enTire
UniTed STaTes who could supporT Their conTenTion. Organized agriculTure,
organized labor, organized veTerans, organized business and businessmen,
churchmen, economisTs, The mayors of every large ciTy in The land are of
one accord in supporT of The full amounT asked by The BudgeT. BuT The
Congressman, in his superior wisdom, comes in, and he sees ThaT The child
has on iTs plaTe boTh bread and poTaToes. “0h," he says, ”you have Too
much,” and The Congressman, by his voTe on This resoluTion, reaches over
and Takes The poTaToes off The plaTe. IT is hard on The child, perhaps,
buT iT helps balance The BudgeT. Now, ThaT is noT melodrama. IT is The
ineviTable resulT in homes all over The NaTion of an affirmaTive voTe on
The pending resoluTion.

Mr. MASSINGALE. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I am sorry.

And in Their argumenT on balancing The BudgeT They go back and
quoTe a message of The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes, delivered when The
public debT was $2l,000,000,000, The mosT specious argumenT made in This
debaTe. Why noT go back To I9I6, when The debT was $I,OO0,000,000? IT
would have been jusT as consisTenT.

Mr. Chairman, beTween The Time when The debT was $l,000,000,000 in
I9|6 and The Time when The debT was $2l,000,000,000, This counTry wenT
Through a Trying ordeal, and The genTleman does noT quesTion ThaT debT.
Since The Time The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes wroTe ThaT message The
counTry has gone Through anoTher greaT Trial, a depression ThaT broughT
disasTer To more people Than The war, and no one will say ThaT The money
was noT well spenT if iT saved The American people.

 

APPENDIX D

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move ThaT The House re-
solve iTself inTo The CommiTTee of The Whole House on The STaTe of The
Union for The consideraTion of The bill (H.R.4805) making appropriaTions
To supply deficiencies on cerTain appropriaTions for The fiscal year
ending June 30, I946, and for prior fiscal years, To provide supplemenTal
apprOpriaTions for The fiscal year ending June 30, I946, and for oTher
purposes; and pending ThaT, I ask unanimous consenT ThaT debaTe on The
bill conTinue Through The day and ThaT aT The close of The debaTe Today
The firsT paragraph of The bill be read, The Time To be equally divided
beTween The genTleman from New York Mr. TABER and myself.

The SPEAKER. Is There objecTion To The requesT of The genTleman
from Missouri?

Mr. TARVER. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To objecT, a greaT
many Members of The House have indicaTed To me ThaT They feel ThaT This
bill should have 2 days' general debaTe. As The Chairman of The CommiTTee
on AppropriaTions knows, iT required more Time in commiTTee To consider
This bill Than any appropriaTions bill ThaT has been considered by The
AppropriaTions CommiTTee in The lasT several years. There are many Mem-
bers of The House who desire To be heard in general debaTe on This bill.

I have no parTicular objecTion To The limiTaTion of debaTe To Today
if we can be assured ThaT no oTher business is To inTerfere. l undersTand
There is a conference reporT on The lands-granT freighT-raTe bill pending
which mighT be Taken up aT any Time and which mighT Take some of The Time
ThaT we would oTherwise have for general debaTe. I would like for The
genTleman To couple wiTh his requesT, if he sees proper To do so, a
requesT ThaT general debaTe shall conTinue for aT leasT 4 hours.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I shall say To The genTleman ThaT I have
conferred wiTh The Speaker and no oTher business will be Taken up. The
enTire Time will be devoTed To This bill. I will couple wiTh my requesT

ThaT aT leasT 4 hours be devoTed To general debaTe.

Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To objecT, I do noT
undersTand ThaT ThaT requesT implies ThaT if There is an opporTuniTy To
have more debaTe Than 4 hours Today, and There is a demand for iT, ThaT
we should noT have iT?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Our inTenTion is To run as long as anybody
wanTs To Talk. We wanT The Members To Talk Themselves ouT, and anybody
who wanTs Time can have iT.

Mr. EBERHARTER. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To objecT, iT may
be ThaT under The proposiTion made by The genTleman from Missouri we
would have To run very IaTe This evening. Of course, There are very impor-
TanT projecTs ThaT have been eliminaTed from This bill in which a greaT

 

IU.S., Congressional Record, 79Th Congress, lsT Session, I945,
XCI, ParT 8, llO4l.

l8l

I82

many Members are inTeresTed, and I parTicularly hope ThaT The genTleman
will wiThdraw his requesT To read The firsT paragraph of The bill Today
because There are many Members who are noT members of The CommiTTee on
AppropriaTions who desire Time on This measure.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, no requesTs have been made
and we shall deny no requesTs ThaT are made.

Mr. EBERHARTER. Then do I undersTand The genTleman To say ThaT as

long as a genTleman is making a requesT for Time, ThaT he will be recog-
nized, and he will be yielded To?
Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Unless There is inTerrupTion from oTher

source Than The commiTTee.

Mr. MARTIN of MassachuseTTs. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To
objecT, I would like To know if iT is The inTenTion of The chairman To
go on wiTh The bill Tomorrow in The evenT ThaT we conclude general debaTe
Today?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. We expecT To read The bill Tomorrow.

Mr. WHITTINGTON. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To objecT, as I
undersTand, iT is noT proposed To Take up any amendmenTs Today; ThaT we
will merely read The firsT paragraph, which may be subjecT To amendmenT,
and Then Take up any amendmenTs Tomorrow?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. ThaT is correcT.

Mr. TARVER. Reserving The righT To objecT, Mr. Speaker, I do noT
undersTand The genTleman's sTaTemenT abouT "unless There is inTerrupTion
from some oTher source Than The commiTTee.” I am wondering if we could
have The assurrance from The Speaker ThaT no oTher business will be Taken
up This afTernoon excepT This.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The Speaker has given us assurrance ThaT
There will be no inTervenTion. IT is a IiTTle ouT of order, and raTher
bad TasTe, To insisT on The Speaker's making Terms.

Mr. TARVER. Then I Think The genTleman mighT wiThdraw his reserva-
Tion abouT "unless There is inTerrupTion from some oTher source Than The
commiTTee."

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. We will conTinue all nighT if necessary
unless somebody ouTside The commiTTee objecTs.

Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To objecT, I do This
for The purpose of asking if iT is The purpose, when we sTarT To read The

bill Tomorrow, To go on reading iT and come To a conclusion and voTe on
The bill immediaTely ThereafTer?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. IT is our expecTTaTion, Mr. Speaker, To
devoTe Today To general debaTe, To begin reading The bill for amendmenT
Tomorrow, and To conTinue Through The remainder of The week unTil The
bill is disposed of.

Mr. MARTIN of MassachuseTTs. Reserving The righT To objecT, Mr.
Speaker, noT To inquire abouT This bill, where does ThaT leave The con-
ference reporT on The so-called Boren bill?

The SPEAKER. The Chair will recognize The genTleman from Oklahoma

Mr. BOREN To call up The conference reporT afTer This bill is disposed
of.

Mr. MARTIN of MassachuseTTs. IT will noT be called up unTil afTer
This bill is disposed of?

The SPEAKER. ThaT is correcT.

Mr. EBERHARTER. Reserving The righT To objecT, Mr. Speaker, will
The Chair sTaTe The requesT of The genTleman from Missouri so ThaT The

 

 

 

I83

Members may undersTand iT?

The SPEAKER. The genTleman from Missouri asks unanimous consenT
ThaT general debaTe be conTinued ThroughouT The day, noT less Than 4
hours, The Time TO be equally divided beTween The genTleman from Missouri
and The genTleman from New York, and ThaT The firsT paragraph of The bill
be read Today. Is There ObjecTion?

There was no objecTion.

The SPEAKER. The quesTion is on The moTion offered by The genTleman
from Missouri.

The moTion was agreed To. .

Accordingly The House resolved iTself inTo The CommiTTee of The Whole ?
House on The STaTe of The Union for The consideraTion of The bill H.R.
4805, wiTh Mr. THOMASON in The chair.

The clerk read The TiTle of The bill.

By unanimous consenT, The firsT reading of The bill was dispensed
wiTh.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Mr. Chairman, we submiT Today The firsT
deficiency bill for The fiscal year I946, and The lasT appropriaTion bill
for The calendar year.

BuT, Mr. Chairman, before we Take up The bill in deTail may I
earnesle inviTe The serious and considered aTTenTion of The House To a
general phase of The fiscal program, parTicularly in poinT aT This Time.
There is no more viTaI consideraTion in naTional economy Than The NaTinal
BudgeT. In The sevenTeenTh and eighTeenTh cenTuries every adminisTraTion
ThaT came To power or fell from power in The major European naTions eiTher
rose or was wrecked upon iTs fiscal policies. NO naTion can be indefiniTely
mainTained Today on a deficiT budgeT. In The end disasTer musT overTake
any naTion which fails To pay iTs way.

Mr. Chairman, we have reached This year, This monTh, This hour, a
Turn in The long road. IT is a road ThaT leads from The beginning of our
GovernmenT down To Today and sTreTches way ahead Of us inTo The far disTanT
fuTure. Upon The naTure of The Turn we make Today depends To a very large
degree The desTinaTion To which ThaT road leads The NaTion, noT only nexT
year, buT for IOO years To come, and noT only for The American people buT
for The world. Unless we can mainTain This NaTion on a sound financial
baSis There is disasTer ahead for us and for The world.

The siTuaTion is criTical noT because we are in a sTage of Transi-
Tion from one hisToric era TO anoTher, noT because we are enTering upon
a period of exTraordinary scienTific and indusTrial developmenT. IT was
criTical before The war, before we dreamed ThaT a war was possible. If
is criTical because a decade before The Opening of The war we had develops
ed a spending psychology, had enTered upon a period of unresTrained and
uninhibiTed expendiTure. We boughT whaT we wanTed. Too ofTen we boughT
whaT we saw wheTher we were cerTain we wanTed iT or noT. We did noT sTop
To counT The cosT or TO consider The source from which The money came TO
pay for iT. The resulT was a spending spree such as The world had never
seen before.

LeT us Take a few concreTe insTances. For example, IeT us check
The asTounding growTh of The agriculTuraI appropriaTion bill. For The
fiscal year I933 The agriculTural appropriaTion bill ToTaled $l75,000,000,
To be exacT, $l75,67l,665. ThaT was a large sum.

Under The chairmanship of Congressman James W. WadsworTh, of New
York, The faTher of our disTinguished colleague, James W. WadsworTh, Jr.,

 

 

a
____.‘II

l84

The agriculTural appropriaTion bill carried a TOTaI of $3,232,995. BuT
coming back To modern hisTory. In I940 The agriculTuraI appropriaTion
bill was $l,l94,498,633. In 7 years The bill had jumped 700 percenT.

LeT us check The InTerior DeparTmenT appropriaTion bill. In I933
iT was $45,533,672.33. AT The beginning of The war iT had reached $l88,-
325,923. Likewise, The STaTe, JusTice, Commerce, and Labor bill for The
fiscal year of I933 was $Il2,29l,970.89. In l94l The combined bills
represenTing The same deparTmenTs aggregaTed $l,l30,43l,69l.

Mr. STEFAN. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield There?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Nebraska.

Mr. STEFAN. WiTh reference To The STaTe, Commerce, and JusTice
DeparTmenTs appropriaTion bill, The genTleman musT remember ThaT included
was an appropriaTion for aviaTion, which was badly needed for The prose-
cuTion of The war.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. BuT The expendiTure was a purely peaceTime
expendiTure. IT was in Time of peace, and aT ThaT Time no one dreamed a
war was ahead of us. If you had Taken a voTe on The floor you could noT
have goTTen one voTe for war. There was noT a man here who believed ThaT
we were going inTo war or would ever go To war. In Time of peace, wiTh
no prospecT of war we ran expendiTures from $ll2,000,000 up To $l,l30,-
000,000; more Than a billion dollars' increase in 8 years.

Now, These bills were Typical of pracTically all GovernmenT expendi-
Tures. In Those seven or eighT run-away years we increased The supply
bills, The annual appropriaTions by leaps and bounds. There is no paral-
lel in The annals of any naTion. Remember, These are noT war expendiTures.
There is noThing here for war or preparaTion for war. All The figures
ciTed are peaceTime expendiTures for The annual housekeeping expendiTures
of The NaTion.

IT mighT be added, however, ThaT The civil funcTions bill, reporTed
ouT by The SubcommiTTee on War DeparTmenT AppropriaTions, buT which car-
ries only civil appropriaTions, increased from $l06,578,489 in I933 To
$305,|88,5l4 in I940.

Mr. RABAUT. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield TO The genTleman from Michigan.

Mr. RABAUT. Did ThaT firsT bill include The DeparTmenT of Labor,
To which The genTleman refers?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Yes; STaTe, Commerce, JusTice, and Labor.
The four DeparTmenTs were provided for in one bill aT ThaT Time.

Mr. RABAUT. If iT refers TO STaTe, JusTice, Commerce, and Labor iT
probably has Taken in Social SecuriTy now, has iT noT? I mean The bill To

which The genTleman referred.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Yes; iT includes The deparTmenTs originally
provided for in The four-deparTmenT bill.

Mr. RABAUT. ThaT was because The subjecT became so large iT had To
be broken up and handled by Two commiTTees of The House, JusTice and Com3
merce in one, and Labor and Social SecuriTy in The oTher.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The increase was so rapid and so precipiTous
iT became necessary To divide The bill inTo Two bills. BuT These figures
cover The deparTmenTs handled in The original bill.

Mr. RABAUT. We had social-securiTy IegislaTion ThaT Took care of
The people. ThaT was The cause for The enormous increase.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. ThaT is whaT I am calling aTTenTion To-
‘The exTraordinary increase of all Federal expendiTures in such an

 

——7

l85

incredibly shorT space Of Time.
Mr. AUGUST H. ANDRESEN. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Minnesofa.

Mr. AUGUST H. ANDRESEN. The genTleman menTioned The increase for
The DeparTmenT of AgriculTure. I wish To call his aTTenTion To The facT
ThaT a large porTion of The billion dollars ThaT was apprOpriaTed wenT To

pay The farmers To produce less food.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. ThaT was only one iTem in The bill and The
bill was only one of The many passed by The Congress. Regardless of The
purpose for which expended, all expendiTures of The GovernmenT climbed To
asTronomic proporTions in a liTTle more Than half a decade.

Mr. RABAUT. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Michigan.

Mr. RABAUT. BuT I wanT To ask The genTleman if iT would noT be
fair, because all This money ThaT The genTleman is Talking abouT comes
Through The AppropriaTions CommiTTee, To sTaTe ThaT The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee has been forced To Take acTion because of earlier acTion Taken
in The legislaTive commiTTees of The Congress auThorizing expendiTures,
The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions being finally asked To appropriaTe The
money. ThaT is The cause of The high figure. We musT also remember ThaT
we had an economy in This NaTion of $38,000,000,000 which has risen To a
poinT where The Taxes of The NaTion a year or so ago were above whaT The
whole economy of The NaTion was when we came inTo power. So in jusTice
To The siTuaTion The Two Things should be menTioned aT The same Time.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The genTleman has puT his finger on The
crux of The maTTer. ExpendiTures necessarily originaTe in The Iegisla-
Tive commiTTees, which bring in bills auThorizing expendiTures and Then
demand ThaT The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee supply The funds. The Appro-
priaTions CommiTTee frequenle declines To apprOpriaTe The amounT auThori-
zed or in some insTances To appropiraTe anyThing aT all. BuT in The end
all musT accepT Their share of The responsibiliTy. The legislaTive com-
miTTees are responsible, The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is responsible,
and The House iTself is responsible for This exTraordinary and unprece-
denTed, buT perhaps noT unwarranTed increase in The annual expenses of
The GovernmenT.

I say "perhaps noT unwarranTed" because under condiTions exTanT aT
The Time many, if noT all of Them, mighT have been fully warranTed.

The alarming feaTure of The siTuaTion is noT ThaT in This shorT
period of 6 or 8 years appropriaTions and expendiTures mushroomed, and
pyramided, and skyrockeTed. The alarming feaTUre is ThaT Today-—under
vasle differenT circumsTances, and sTeadily shrinking revenues, wiTh
huge burdens of new responsibiliTies-There seems To be a general impres-
sion ThaT we can conTinue The free and unTrammeled spending of prewar
days. .
CondiTions have vasle changed since Those halcyon days in which we
spenT $I,OO0,000,000 iT was all righT, There was more where ThaT came from.

BuT Today we find ourselves in a vasTIy differenT siTuaTion. We
have noT balanced The budgeT for l5 years. FOr l5 years we have been
running This GovernmenT on IOU's, noT merely in Time of war, buT in Time
of peace. We owe Today, when we have finally seTTled all of our bills,
approximafely $300,000,000,000. Such a debT has never burdened any naTion
in human hisTory. Under The pressure of ThaT colossal debT we cannoT
<:onTinue To spend money aT The raTe aT which we spenT before The war. We

 

*—

I86

can no longer spend for any indispensable objecTive, however desirable
and however advanTageous The purpose of The expendiTure.

Today we have fixed charges ThaT we did noT have before The war,
fixed charges which musT be paid before we can spend a dollar for currenT
expenses.

For insTance, The inTeresT on The naTional debT is already beTween
five and six billion dollars annually. ThaT one iTem alone is larger Than
The enTire expendiTures of The Federal GovernmenT for all purposes prior
To I934. We have To Take ThaT ouT of our revenues before we sTarT To
spend.

NOT only ThaT, buT The naTional debT has To be refunded. IT is all
in shorT-Term issues, comparaTively speaking, and The loans, The cerTifi-
caTes of indebTedness, have To be renewed. We are paying now The lowesT
raTe of inTeresT ever paid on GovernmenT money-—abouT 2 percenT.

When business sTarTs again and invesTors need capiTal and The banks
begin To make loans, and we conTinue To refund This money, we are going
To have To pay more Than 2 percenT. If we refunded The public debT aT
The same raTe of inTeresT ThaT we paid afTer The lasT war, our inTeresT
charges Today would be Twelve billion dollars insTead of five. Then
where would we sTand wiTh $l2,000,000,000 inTeresT charges To sTarT wiTh?
IT is my belief ThaT while we may nOT always be able To refund aT 2 percenT,
we will noT have To go as far as we did before, buT There is no guaranTy
of ThaT.

Mr. SAVAGE. Mr. Speaker, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from WashingTon.

Mr. SAVAGE. The genTleman sTaTed ThaT we have noT balanced The
BudgeT for IS years. I remember ThaT The genTleman along wiTh me opposed
passing The Tax-reducTion bill while our BudgeT was in such bad condiTion.
I beleive The genTleman knows ThaT we are noT going To balance The BudgeT
for years To come as long as pressure groups can come in here and shove
Through Tax-cuTTing bills regardless of our responsibiliTy To The NaTion.
We are noT going To balance The BudgeT under Those circumsTances.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. ThaT is The asTounding feaTure of The
siTuaTion which confronTs us Today. We are being imporTuned by all sorTs
of pressure groups, InsisTing upon increased expendiTures and Then, on
The oTher side, we are being urged by pressure groups, jusT as insisTenT,
demanding reducTion in Taxes. And, mirabile dicTu, we have Members of
Congress who voTe wiTh boTh crowds. We have Members of Congress who voTe
for The highesT appropriaTions and voTe for The lowesT Taxes.

Mr. KNUTSON. Mr. Speaker, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The disTinguished ranking minor-
iTy member of The Ways and Means CommiTTee.

Mr. KNUTSON. There was made recenle a compuTaTion of appropriaTions
or requesTs for appropriaTions and They aggregaTed $39,000,000,000. There
are eighT valley auThoriTies requesTs in There. In addiTion, we have This
healTh program ThaT has been senT TO us by The PresidenT which will cosT
billions of dollars. There is also The fall-employmenT bill ThaT will
run info The hundreds of millions of dollars if noT billions of dollars.
As The genTleman from Missouri said, There is pressure. Of course, The
Taxpayer is seeking relief from warTime TaxaTion, which is only naTural,
buT whaT The chairman of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has reference To
is all The pressure groups asking for anyThing and everyThing, going on
The Theory ThaT every dollar They give me ouT of The Federal Treasury is

 

l87

ThaT much gravy. They refuse TO sTop and consider The facT ThaT every
dollar spenT musT be raised by TaxaTion.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. There is absoluTely no OTher source from
which The Federal GovernmenT can obTain money TO pay for all These local
expendiTures we are asked To voTe on This floor. All of iT musT come
direcT from The pockeTs of The Taxpayers of The NaTion-all The NaTion.

I am very glad TO hear The very influenTial genTleman Take ThaT posiTion.

I TrusT he will join This commiTTee in Trying To hold down expendiTures
and, incidenTally, will join wiTh The liTTle group of 33 who voTed on The
lasT revenue bill againsT reducing warTime Taxes while The Taxpayers are
sTill drawing warTime incomes.

Now, Mr. Chairman, The inTeresT on The public debT is only The firsT
Of The fixed charges, accumulaTed during The war, which The GovernmenT
musT pay before iT can begin paying on currenT expenses. BuT before I
Take up The resT of Them, in Their order, may I call aTTenTion To The facT

ThaT we are sTill running The GovernmenT on borrowed money and These exTra
appropriaTions for which we are being asked, and on which we will voTe
Tomorrow, would be deficiT expendiTures. We are sTill borrowing money.

We are now busily engaged in Trying To puT over The eighTh bond drive-
The VicTory loan. We are Trying To sell $II,OO0,000,000 worTh Of bonds
and having a harder Time selling Them Than we have had on any of The
preceding seven campaigns To sell bonds.

BuT There are men in The House who already wanT To sTarT spending
on ThaT $II,OO0,000,000 before we borrow iT, They come in here for ap-
propriaTions and They wanT To appropriaTe money we do noT have and have
noT yeT been able To borrow for Things we can geT along wiThouT.

We musT face The facT ThaT from This Time on we will have sTeadily
shrinking revenues. ThaT is ineviTable. Already The naTional income is
falling. For The currenT year iT reached $46,400,000,000, The largesT
amounT in The hisTory of any naTion. The mosT OpTimisTic esTimaTe for
The coming year is Ten billion below ThaT figure. BuT The people who
wanT To spend money, boTh in This House and ouT of This House, pay no
aTTenTion To The facT. They wanT TO increase expendiTures while income
is declining.

Mr. BAILEY. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield TO The genTleman from WesT Virginia.

Mr. BAILEY. Does The genTleman Think ThaT The besT Time To pay
Taxes is when The people have money To pay Them?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Beyond a shadow of a doubT. The basic law
of scienTific TaxaTion is ThaT The burden should be in proporTion To
abiliTy To pay. Those who have The money TO pay should pay, and They
should pay when They have The money To,pay. ThaT is why I joined wiTh
The genTleman in opposing The reducTion of Taxes in The lasT Tax-reduc-
Tion bill.

Mr. H. CARL ANDERSEN. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON Of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from MinnesoTa.

Mr. H. CARL ANDERSEN. I believe ThaT The genTleman from Missouri
and The genTleman now addressing The House were pracTically The only Two
Members of The House who argued againsT ThaT Tax-reducTion bill because
of The serious effecT iT mighT have upon our naTional income; am I nOT
correcT in ThaT?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I am always glad To find myself in agree-
menT wiTh The genTleman from MinnesoTa.

 

 

I88

Mr. Chairman, anoTher fixed charge we have never paid before is
The mainTenance of a miliTary esTablishmenT. For The firsT Time in Ameri-
can hisTory we musT mainTain a large miliTary esTablishmenT in Time of
peace. We are mainTaining Today a large sTanding armT and The largesT
navy ThaT The world has ever seen.

And fully as imporTanT as The Army and The Navy, we musT spend a
vasT sum of money in research. Everybody realizes ThaT The lasT war was
won on research. IT was radar, The proximiTy fuse, our anTisubmaribe
devices, The aTomic bomb, and innumerable oTher scienTific developmenTs
which proTecTed our conTinenT and crushed The enemy. All TesTimony be-

fore The commiTTee was To The effecT ThaT buT for These developmenTs we ET]
would sTill be fighTing on all fronTs. The nexT war-if mankind should T
ever again be cursed wiTh aniTher war-will be purely a war beTween ; I:

scienTisTs. So ThaT a heavy fixed charge, which we have never carried
before, musT be incurred every year in research To keep ourselves abreasT
of The Time To see ThaT no oTher naTion develops some secreT weapon

which would desTroy us overnighT. b, ".3

 

Mr. WHITE. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Idaho.

Mr. WHITE. The genTleman speaks Of The nexT war. Is if The genTle-
man's idea ThaT we musT conTinue To have an arms race and a naval race over
The world, and never devoTe our aTTenTion To disarmamenT and To obTaining
peace ThroughouT The human family?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. No; I have an abiding faiTh ThaT we will
never have anoTher war, buT The only way To guard againsT anoTher war is
To TrusT in God and keep our powder dry. These fixed charges are To keep
our powder dry.

Mr. WHITE. When The genTleman says, ”Keep our powder dry" he means
The biggesT navy and The biggesT army, and an armamenT race wiTh all The
naTions of The world. They will all keep Their powder dry, and They will
all have Tremendous armies and Tremendous navies. Is ThaT whaT The genTle-
man means?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. We musT always have a shOTgun behind The door.

Mr. WHITE. I Thank The genTleman.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. AnoTher fixed charge, incurred as an afTer-
maTh of The war is The expense of vasle enlarged inTernaTional obliga-
Tions. The world has shrunk so rapidly ThaT every naTion in The world is
jusT across The sTreeT from us, jusT over The fence. We have assumed,
beginning wiTh The San Francisco CharTer, inTernaTional obligaTions, in-
cluding financial obligaTions, miliTary obligaTions, diplomaTic Obliga-
Tions, and all of Them involving increased expense which musT be paid be-
fore we sTarT giving away money. They are expenses we have never paid
before, and we musT pay Them before we sTarT disTribuTing money for The
Things some of our friends here on The floor wanT spenT back home in
Their congressional disTricTs.

Mr. CLASON. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from MassachuseTTs.

Mr. CLASON. Has The genTleman any idea how much The UniTed NaTions
Organizafion will cosT The UniTed STaTes in iTs firsT year?

Mr. CANNON Of Missouri. The negOTiaTions now under way have noT
yeT reached The sTage where we can crysTallize eiTher The program or The
cosT of The prOgram, buT we do know ThaT iT will be subsTanTial.

Mr. STEFAN. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

 

l89

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Nebraska.

Mr. STEFAN. If I undersTood The genTleman's quesTion correchy,
if was how much has The UniTed NaTions OrganizaTion cosT up To This Time.

Mr. CLASON. No; iT was noT. I said during The nexT year.

Mr. STEFAN. I can Tell The genTleman approximaTely whaT iT has
cosT up TO This Time, buT I cannoT answer as To nexT year.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. AnoTher charge, and This is The greaTesT
debT Of honor America owes Today, an obligaTion which musT come firsT,
whaTever The cosT, is our obligaTion To The veTerans. We musT pay The
allonenTs, The expense of educaTion, The hospiTalizaTion; we musT pay
for all Of These Things we have promised and guaranTeed The men who saved
The NaTion in iTs Time of need, in The GI bill, in IegislaTion already

passed, and in oTher IegislaTion which will be passed in The fuTure. And,
however much we pay, iT will only be a parT Of whaT we owe Them.

IT was TesTified before The commiTTee ThaT The peak of hospiTaliza-
Tion of veTerans Of The war will noT be reached unTil I975. We are Today

paying pensions for every war The UniTed STaTes has foughT excepT The
RevoluTionary War.

We are sTill paying pensions for The War of l8l2, for The Mexican
War, The Indian War, and The Civil War, and we will be paying pensions
on This war for IOO years To come. From This Time on we musT seT aside
aT The beginning, before we pay anyThing else, billions of dollars TO

redeem our obligaTions To The veTerans. ThaT is a fixed charge ThaT can-
noT be avoided and one which no one desires TO avoid. And iTs cosT will
run info The billions.

Then we musT pay-now or evenTually-—The cosT of rehabiliTaTion.

IT is a parT of The cosT of The war, and iT is a maTTer Of parTicular
inTeresT aT This Time because a greaT many people are saying ThaT The
money They are asking us To spend oughT To be spenT in order To make work
for The unemployed. We have no unemploymenT in This counTry. NeiTher

in The ciTies nor on The farms are They able To secure The labor They
need. They are adverTising in The papers for people To work in The fac-
Tories and They are adverTising for people To work on The farms-—and geT-
Ting no applicaTions.

This siTuaTion will conTinue. We need Today every manufacTured
producT ThaT is consumed by a civilized people. Our shelves are bare;
our warehouses are vacanT; our pipelines are empTy. We need in This
counTry l5,000,000 auTomobiles. We need 5,500,000 radios. We need every-
Thing ThaT men consume. We have The money To pay for Them. You cannoT
go downTown Today in WashingTon and buy a shirT. They are noT down There.
We need men in facTories all over The counTry To produce These goods.
JusT as soon as we can geT Those facTories going, we will employ all of
The labor in The counTry. And ThaT siTuaTion will conTinue unTil we
reach The saTuraTion poinT in supplies. There is a difference of Opinion
among economisTs as To when ThaT poinT will be reached, buT nobody esTi-
maTes ThaT iT will be reached in less Than 2 years. Some say 5 years.
BuT aT The end of ThaT Time, when we reach The saTuraTion poinT in The
producTion of goods for daily consumpTion,Then The TesT will come. ThaT
is when unemploymenT will develop if aT all-noT for The nexT 2 years and
perhaps noT for The nexT 5 years, buT when iT comes, as ineviTably iT musT
come-and as iT has come afTer every war-we musT be prepared To meeT iT.
How will you meeT iT? IT will require huge expendiTures. We musT have
money. BuT if we go our To every Member's congressional disTricT and

 

I90

build everyThing his consTiTuenTs wanT There, and spend all The money
ThaT They would like for us To spend There, wiTh This huge unpaid debT
sTill habging over us, how will we be in a posiTion To finance rehaibi-
TaTion when The Time comes-as come iT musT.

The alarming Thing is ThaT noTwiThsTanding we have all These new
expenses and fixed charges To meeT now ThaT The war is over, and wiTh The
decline in income There is a general expecTaTion noT only ThaT we will
conTinue To spend aT The old raTe of expendiTure, buT ThaT we will acTually
increase expendiTures. The peOple aT home are demanding iT. I have been
alarmed aT The leTTers I have received from my congressional disTricT.
From one Town in my congressional disTricT They wroTe ThaT They wanTed
To build a posT office, an airporT, a new sewer sysTem, and a hospiTal;
and They expecT The Federal GovernmenT To pay for a large parT of iT jusT
as in The old WPA days. All sorTs of commercial clubs and organizaTions
are wriTing. NoT only The peOple back home expecT The GovernmenT To pay
buT The Congressmen expecT To conTinue appropriaTions aT prewar figures.
Here in Congress bills are being inTroduced To auThorize heavier expendi-
Tures Than before The war. I read a bill jusT yesTerday which has been
inTroduced in anoTher body. IT is a general healTh bill. IT provides
for huge expendiTures,never made before. ITs aims are very desirable,
of course. IT provides for These vasT appropriaTions buT makes no pro-
visions whaTever for any funds To pay The expense excepT To Take Them
ouT of The general revenues of The Treasury.

Mr. JOHNSON of California. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from California.

Mr. JOHNSON of California. Is iT noT a facT ThaT The policy of The
NaTional GovernmenT now is To Take care of all flood-conTrol projecTs,
wiThouT any hope of recoupmenT from The IocaIiTies or ciTies?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I do noT know whaT The policy is, buT I
do know we have noT goT The money To do iT. In view of The facT ThaT The
genTleman menTions flood-conTrol, IeT me say we had before our commiTTee
yesTerday a Member who Talked abouT a projecT for flood conTrol in his
disTricT. He Told us ThaT for 50 years ThaT waTer had been causing Them
damage. As a maTTer of facT, iT had been causing damage ever since The
river had been There. Now, if we could noT finance before The war, how
can we finance iT now, afTer The war?

Mr. JOHNSON of California. We have been led To believe in Califor-
nia, where we have a greaT many of These mulTipurpose dams, someTimes as
many as five or six purposes, ThaT The only chargeable cosT againsT The
consumers of elecTriciTy or waTer will be The cosTs ThaT are properly
allocaTed To hydroelecTric power and irrigaTion. Is ThaT noT The fixed
policy of This GovernmenT?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I cannoT say whaT The fixed policy is, buT
regardless of wheTher iT is as The genTleman indicaTes, we do noT have
The money wiTh which To do iT.

Mr. ROBSION of KenTucky. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from KenTucky.

Mr. ROBSION of KenTucky. I firsT wish To commend The genTleman for
his fearless speech This morning, regardless of parTisanship. Recenle,
in my own disTricT, in making a speech or Two along The same line, and
The resulT iT mighT have upon people as far as bonds held by The people
are concerned, I found ThaT I received more applause along ThaT line, from
DemocraTs as well as Republicans. The whole counTry is Thinking along

 

l9l

The same line, I beleive. BuT whaT surprised me was This: I saw in The
WashingTon PosT of Sunday a UniTed Press sTory sTaTing ThaT invesTigaTion

 

had disclosed and ThaT The adminisTraTion would soon submiT a budgeT for
iT, ThaT our deficiT for This year would be somewhere around forTy or

finy billion dollars. When we passed The Tax bill, iT was said The defi-
ciT would probably be $30,000,000,000 This year. I Took occasion To say

on The floor ThaT iT was a very illogical bill, wiTh a deficiT of $30,000,-
000,000 facing us This year, ThaT we should reduce Taxes. I wanT To ask
The genTleman whaT is The likelihood as To whaT our deficiT will be for

The fiscal year ending June 30, I946.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The prospecT now, as nearly as we can figure
iT, is ThaT The budgeT for The coming year will be, roughly, beTween finy
and sixTy billion dollars. Our income will be less Than iT was lasT year,
and lasT year iT was only $46,400,000,000.

BuT I am glad The genTleman menTioned his consTiTuenTs. You know,
we grow worried when we receive a Telegram or a leTTer from back home de-
manding appropriaTions, BuT These demands are noT as serious as They some-
Times seem. When I was home The lasT Time delegaTes from various parTs
of my disTricT visiTed me. All of you had abouT The same experience. They
said They had compleTed plans for consTrucTion and needed Federal conTri-
buTions, and wanTed To know when They could geT The money.

I explained There were no funds available from which such expendiTures
could be meT, and ThaT They would noT be available unTil Congress voTed
Them. The I said, "As much as I regreT I have To disappoinT you, I musT
voTe againsT The appropriaTion of any money for such purposes. This counTry
is Too deep in debT and we musT begin cuTTing iT down." Under The circum-
sTances,I feel I would have To voTe againsT The appropriaTion of money To
sTarT anoTher WPA.

They were all businessmen. They Talked iT over for a minuTe and
Then said, ”You are righT abouT iT. We do noT wanT you To voTe ThaT money.
Of course, if everybody else is going To geT iT, Then we wanT ours; buT
if nobody is going To geT iT ThaT suiTs us. We would raTher pay off The
debT and keep The finances of This counTry inTacT Than To spend The money
when we oughT To be paying our dest." And They wenT away saTisfied. BuT
IeT me Tell you ThaT The conservaTive businessman-The inTeeligenT, average,
solid ciTizen of your disTricT-is going To sTand back of you if you sTand
againsT reducTion of Taxes, againsT increased expendiTures, and againsT
appropriaTions for anoTher WPA.

Mr. LUDLOW. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Indiana.

Mr. LUDLOW. I asked The genTleman To yield To me in order ThaT |
mighT make an observaTion. The genTleman from Missouri is making an eco-
nomic speech which I believe The enTire NaTion will applaud. He has here
Today charTed The legislaTive course of The direcTion we in Congress musT
Take if we are To save our counTry from financial disasTer. He has said
many Things, in my opinion, which oughT To be said for The good of The
counTry; and I know of nobody who could have said Them more effecTiver
or more impressively Than The chairman of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions.
He has performed a greaT public service in his speech This afTernoon.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I am glad To say ThaT I am simply follow-
ing The lead of The disTinguished genTleman from Indiana who has always
believed in a sane sTaTus of expendiTure. I have always been glad To
follow his lead, and when I did I always found I was in a sound and safe

 

I92

posiTion.

Mr. WOODRUFF of Michigan. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield The genTleman from Michigan.

Mr. WOODRUFF of Michigan. I wish To congraTulaTe The genTleman
from Missouri for The very splendid sTaTemenT he made jusT preceding The
remarks of The genTleman from Indiana. I should like To ask him if I
undersTood him correcTIy when a few minuTes ago he sTaTed ThaT our defi-
ciT nexT year would be beTween finy and sixTy billions of dollars?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. ThaT, of course, is purely a maTTer of
esTimaTe. No one can say whaT iT will be. I have heard iT sTaTed as
low as $40,000,000,000, alThough ThaT was an excepTion To The rule. The
average is abouT $50,000,000,000 and some go from finy To finy-five or
finy-six billions. ThaT, of course, is only an esTimaTe, buT in any
evenT we will have a huge deficiT.

Mr. WOODRUFF of Michigan. Will The genTleman Tell me wheTher or
noT Those figures have been arrived aT wiTh due consideraTion To The
amounTs of money we will secure from The disposal of surplus war sTocks?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The disposal of surplus war sTocks, of
course, is a maTTer which will exTend over a number of years and no one
can make an accuraTe esTimaTe as To whaT iT will amounT To in any parTicu-
lar year. IT will be so disTribuTed so ThaT The amounT will noT be very
large in any parTicular year; and for ThaT reason iT will noT be very
appreciable in iTs effecT on The naTionaI budgeT.

Mr. WOODRUFF of Michigan. I believe The genTleman will agree ThaT
The amounTs we receive will be very much greaTer in The immediaTe fuTure
Than in The disTanT fuTure.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. If we repeaT The experience we had in The
lasT war, The largesT amounT will be received in The firsT year.

Mr. WOODRUFF of Michigan. I Thank The genTleman.

Mr. GILLESPIE. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Colorado.

Mr. GILLESPIE. I believe The genTleman misTaTed himself. He said
The deficiT would be finy To sixTy billion dollars.

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. The budgeT will be finy To sixTy billion
dollars. I Thank The genTleman. ThaT was a slip of The Tongue.

Mr. DONDERO. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Michigan.

Mr. DONDERO. l wanT To commend The chairman of The AppropriaTions
CommiTTee for The courageous sTaTemenT he has made before The House Today.
I am no differenT Than any oTher Member of This body. I am receiving Tele-
grams, IeTTers, and peTiTions urging me To voTe very large sums for nearly
every kind of acTiviTy, including Federal aid To schools. We have a duTy
To perform on This floor and ThaT is To preserve a sound economic sTruc-
Ture in This counTry. If we do noT do ThaT, whaT is There lefT for The
hope of The world so far as mainTaining world peace is concerned?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Finance, of course, is The cornersTone
upon which everyThing musT be based.

Mr. BENDER. Mr. Chairman, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. I yield To The genTleman from Ohio.

Mr. BENDER. I refer To The commiTTee reporT, page 3, and The TiTle,
"Temporary housing for veTerans."

Mr. CANNON of Missouri. Will The genTleman permiT me To Take up
The bill in deTail a liTTle biT IaTer?

 

I93
FIRST DEFICIENCY BILL, I946

Carries appropriaTions ToTaling $l,l3l,552,3l2.48

ReducTion under BudgeT esTimaTes, $576,l42,l36.

NineTy-eighT percenT of The amounT in The bill is Traceable To The
I2 iTems in The firsT TabulaTion on page 2 of The reporT.

As will be seen, The ouTsTanding iTem in The lisT is The one of
$928,000,000 for naTional service life insurance. ThaT iTem alone accounTs
for 82 percenT of The amounT carried by The bill.

There is a sTaTemenT respecTing each of The iTems in The reporT.

The Employees' CompensaTion Commission iTem is for complying wiTh
The law regarding The compensaTion of civilians engaged in GovernmenT work
who were capTured and held prisoners by The Japanese.

For granTs To STaTes for unemploymeny compensaTion adminisTraTion,
There is a sTaTemenT in The middle of page 8 of The reporT. The amounT
in The bill will increase The ToTal for This year To $57,042,000. This
perTains To USES, which is involved in The pending resCisSion bill. ThaT
is a quesTion which The conferees will have To work ouT, including The
proposiTion of bringing inTo line wiTh This proposiTion The funds avail-
able To The War Manpower Commission for The operaTion of employmenT of-
fices. The iTem under consideraTion deals sTricTIy wiTh unemploymenT
compensaTion expenses, buT The law fixes an over-all ceiling on appro-
priaTions for The Two.

Advance planning for public works: AppropriaTed hereTofore $I7,-
500,000. We provide an addiTionaI $l2,500,000. We speak of This maTTer
on pages 8 and 9 of The reporT. We were asked To provide an addiTional
$I07,500,000, of which $57,500,000 was by way of conTracTuaI auThoriTy.

You will noTe ThaT we are providing ThaT works readied for con-
sTrucTion wiTh This advance planning money are noT To be financed by
Federal lending agencies. The law says ThaT The Congress shall noT be in
any way commiTTed To appropriaTe funds To underTake any projecTs, pans
for which were financed from advance planning funds.

IT has been announced ThaT The RFC will make loans or cooperaTe
wiTh privaTe lenders for almosT any Type of consTrucTion work. In oTher
words, we advance The money for The planning and The RFC, whose resources
The GovernmenT owns, will finance or back The financing of consTrucTion,
which is an indirecT way of doing ThaT which Congress has said in The law
iT would noT do. LeT us give privaTe capiTal a chance. LeT us make a
real efforT To regain compleTe conTrol of The righT To appropriaTe.

The Federal-aid highway iTem is in response To law. Reference on
page 9 of reporT.

ThaT is True, also, of The iTem below perTaining To foresT roads
and Trails.

FARM LABOR SUPPLY PROGRAM, $I4,000,000

This money is for The period ending December 3|, I946. ITem discus-
sed on page l3 of The reporT. The esTimaTe and bill provide for an addi-
Tional amounT of approximaTely $4,250,000 To be raised by charging 50
cenTs a day, wherever pracTicabIe, for The number of days a man works.

The esTimaTed ToTal availabiIiTy for I946 calendar year is $I9,564,000,
which SecreTary Anderson believes will be adequaTe. This year The avail-
abiliTy is abouT $32,000,000.

 

I94

As domesTic workers reTurn To The farms, as iT is hoped They will,
The need for bringing in alien labor will diminish. WhaT The siTuaTion
will be during The nexT planTing and harvesTing seasons no one can fore-
Tell. This is an insurance appropriaTion.

As The program nears iTs end, There arises for consideraTion The
disposiTion of camps, oTher faciliTies, and equipmenT which have been
purchased for use in The housing of agriculTuraI labor. IT has been
recommended To The commiTTee ThaT auThoriTy should be granTed To dispose
of such properTy To local public agencies or To nonprofiT associaTions
of farmers for conTinued use in The housing of agriculTural labor. We

are recommending such auThoriTy. T5.
The census iTem is for enabling The Census Bureau To supply sTaTis- ?
Tics for which There is an urgenT demand on accounT of The swiTch-over 'u

from war To peace. IT is a very economical prOgram and should be of
genuine value To business and indusTry in geTTing squared away for The
new economy era. The program is deTailed on page 356 of ParT I of The

 

hearings. k,_L
The reclamaTion iTems are explained raTher fully in The reporT, y I"
commencing on page l5. The projecTs are lisTed on pages 2ll-2I2 of ParT
II of The hearings. If you wish any furTher word abouT Them, we can
hear IaTer from The genTleman from Oklahoma Mr. JOHNSON .
There are many oTher iTems in The bill and we have screened Them
very carefully and very few have escaped wiThouT some pruning.
We have omiTTed from The bill funds under The four heads you will

see lisTed in The lower Table on page 2 of The reporT. They have been
omiTTed wiThouT prejudice. All, in our judgmenT, need To be furTher
sTudied, and ThaT sTudy can be made and, I am sure, will be made by The
regular subcommiTTees.

The iTem of Temporary housing for veTerans could be a boomerang,
if approved. I am noT so sure ThaT iT is noT more in The inTeresT of be-
coming dispossessed of useless Temporary housing, owing To iTs IocaTion,
Than To provide shelTer for veTerans in areas where a pauciTy of housing
prevails.

The need of colleges for Temporary housing for former servicemen
has been considerably meT by making available Trailer-housing which has
become idle. This is sTill going on. ThaT maTTer is noT involved here.

This proposiTion deals wiTh providing for communiTy shorTages. IT
conTemplaTes sawing up nonporTable houses inTo secTions or panels, craTing
Them, and shipping Them To new areas where a demand for housing for
veTerans exisTs.

TwenTy-five Thousand uniTs are involved. To dismember, ship, and
reerecT cosTs $2,500 per uniT average. To dismember and prepare for ship-
menT cosTs $600 per uniT average. The esTimaTe conTemplaTes ThaT 20,000

uniTs will be Taken by communiTies which will pay all cosTs save The $600
and ThaT 5,000 uniTs will be supplied on requisiTion To communiTies, un-
able To pay, for which The GovernmenT will be charged The whole cosT.

If The housing has any worTh, There is a quesTion as To why commu-
niTies should noT bear The whole expense. If The housing, when erecTed,
would be crude and uninviTing, iT is quesTionabIe wheTher or noT The Govern-
menT should be sponsoring ThaT kind of shelTer. OTher Than a small amounT
To smooTh over siTes from which housing would be removed, no appropriaTion
is necessary if communiTies really wanT and will pay for This Type of
shelTer.

 

I95

In any evenT, The IndependenT Offices SubcommiTTee begins hearings
on The 28Th of This monTh on The I947 BudgeT, and The Deficiency Subcom—
miTTee feels ThaT ThaT subcommiTTee should go inTo The maTTer aT greaTer
lengTh and in greaTer deTaiI.

VETERANS' HOSPITALS AND DOMICILIARY FACILITIES, $l58,320,000

The esTimaTe conTemplaTes, firsT, addiTionaI amounTs for consTruc-
Tion previously appropriaTed for; second, addiTional esTablishmenTs; and,
Third, exTensions To exisTing accommodaTions.

We all recognize ThaT addiTional permaneT accommodaTions will have
To be provided way and beyond whaT is conTemplaTed by This esTimaTe, which
looks To adding 29,445 beds. PresenT number, 85,094; fuTure objecTives,
I955, I7I,000; I965, 249,400; I975, 298,400.

This is a very imporTanT maTTer. IT is felT ThaT The Congress should
have some voice in The IocaTion of hospiTaIs and in The prioriTy for such
IocaTions. IT is felT ThaT The Congress should make a sTudy of exisTing
faciliTies builT during The war for The Army and Navy wiTh The idea of
IaTer use by The VeTerans' AdminisTraTion, and see whaT The plan is wiTh
respecT To such faciliTies. In oTher words, ThaT There should be an
examonaTion of The VeTerans' AdminisTraTion paTTern for fuTure faciliTies,
and ThaT we should noT go ahead wiTh expanding prOgrams wiThouT some
knowledge of The program as a whole To The exTenT ThaT iT can be reasonably
proJecTed.

We have passed The iTem over, Therefore, for The fuller considera-
Tion of The IndependenT Offices SubcommiTTee.

IT was represenTed To The commiTTee ThaT The VeTerans' AdminisTra-
Tion would like some expression of The Congress as To The uTilizaTion of
war-builT faciliTies, permanenle or Temporarily. We have included in The
bill a paragraph reading as follows:

The adminisTraTion of VeTerans' Affairs, subjecT To The appro-
val of The Federal Board of HospiTaIizaTion, is auThorized To uTilize
such Army and Navy hospiTals, Temporary or oTherwise, noT required
by The Army or Navy, as such AdminisTraTor and The Federal Board of
HospiTaIizaTion may deem safe and suiTable for The hospiTalizaTion
or domiciliary care of veTerans.

RIVERS AND HARBORS AND FLOOD-CONTROL PROJECTS, $I28,475,000

We have omiTTed The enTire esTimaTe. There are a number of projecTs
which The Deficiency SubcommiTTee feels should be reexamined by The regu-
lar subcommiTTee having jurisdicTion. ThaT may mean a delay of possibly
75 days, becaUse The War DeparTmenT subcommiTTee may begin iTs hearings
on The I947 bill on The 7Th of January. This bill will noT be a law be-

fore The laTTer parT of December. The oTher bill should be a law before
The end of February.
We could have selecTed ouT for inclusion in This bill a large num8

ber of iTems, buT iT was considered To be To The besT inTeresTs of all
who are inTeresTed in The projecTs To have Them all go over.
The projecTs which we feel should be furTher sTudied are The mulTi-
purpose dam projecTs. These are always cosle insTallaTions and iT is
felT ThaT The need for The mulTipurpose feaTures should be well esTablished

 

I96

and is sufficienT or will be sufficienT To warranT The cosTs of dams of
ThaT characTer. Also, wheTher or noT provision is being made for power
when simply provision for fuTure power insTallaTions would suffice. There
is much money involved in This maTTer and we owe iT To The House and To
The people To do This sorT of work jusT as economically as possible.

Mr. Chairman, we have grown so inured To The habiT of spending ThaT
iT is difficulT To free ourselves from iT. IT is difficulT for The peOple
To geT ouT of The habiT and sTill more difficulT for The Congress To geT
ouT of The habiT.

AfTer The debacle on Wall STreeT in which so many men wenT To ruin
in I929, a philanThrOpic organizaTion invesTigaTed The suicides and found
ThaT The greaT majoriTy of Those suicides which followed The crash were
noT due To The loss of properTy, buT due To The facT ThaT Their families
could noT undersTand Their changed financial sTaTus and conTinued, or
aTTempTed To conTinue, To spend aT The old raTe aT which They had spenT in
The days before The crash.

We have a crash in This counTry. We have burned up men and money
in The crucible of war To an exTenT beyond all compuTaTion. Like Those
Wall STreeT families we musT readjusT ourselves To a changed financial
sTaTus; we cannoT spend afTer The crash aT The raTe aT which we spenT
before The crash, and we musT make The peOple aT home undersTand ThaT,
and when They do undersTand They will supporT your policies of reTrench-
menT and amorTizaTion here on The floor.

We face Today a siTuaTion comparable only To ThaT which faced Ameri-
can sTaTesmen in The foundaTion of The Republic, and for ThaT reason I
would like To go back To Those consTiTuenT assembles which esTablished
The GovernmenT.

You men who siT here as Members of The SevenTy-ninTh Congress are
The legislaTive descendanT of greaT men in The Assembly who promulgaTed
The DeclaraTion of Independence and ThaT which evolved The ConsTiTuTion
were men who saT abouT where we siT Today. Perhaps in some ways we
have The advanTage of Them. In The firsT place, of course, we have a
much larger number here in The House. We have 435 Members. Only 56 men
signed The DeclaraTion of Independence and 39 signed The ConsTiTuTion.

We are a good deal older Than They were Then. Those who signed The
DeclaraTion of Independence were an average of 43 years old. The men

who signed The ConsTiTuTion averaged 44 years. The average age of The
membership in This House is a liTTle over 56 years. We have IO or I2 years
The advanTage of Them in age and experience.

We are more cosmopoliTan. They were sorT of a provincial seT, Those
fellows. They came from a IiTTle sTring of seTTlemenTs along The ATIanTic
coasT. We represenT here Today every secTion of The hearT of The NorTh
American conTinenT.

WiTh The excepTion of Charles Carroll of CarroIITon They all belonged
To one church. They all worshipped alike. We belong To divers religious
faiThs. They all belonged To The same poliTical parTy. They were Fede-

. ralisTs. We represenT boTh major poliTicaI parTies and perhaps some oThers.
They were largely men of one naTionaliTy. PracTicaIly all were
English. We have here on This floor descendanTs of every naTion in Europe.
In oTher words, my colleagues, we Today have every advanTage of Them. We

are older, we are more experienced and we are in a posiTion To Take a
broader view. We have a richer background. BuT we face a problem second
only in iTs serious imporT and implicaTions To ThaT which They faced when

 

I97

They founded This GovernmenT. They esTablished The GovernmenT. IT is
up To us To mainTain iT.

I do noT have To ask my colleagues, in passing on The appropriaTion
bills which will come before The House in The nexT year, To Take inTo
consideraTion as They Took inTo consideraTion aT ThaT Time The welfare of
The whole people, The welfare of The whole NaTion, and The inTegriTy of
The Treasury of The UniTed STaTes. Now This is The firsT criTerion. This
war is noT won unTil we pay for iT. The firsT inTeresT of The American
people is The safeTy of The GovernmenT. WiTh ThaT in view we are Thinking
of miliTary conscripTion; of sTrengThening The Army and mainTaining The
Navy; of consolidaTing The various branches of The service. The dominanT
concern Today is safeTy. BuT The firsT line of defense in any naTion is
a balanced budgeT. FOr The nexT several years ThaT musT be our firsT
consideraTion.

APPENDIX E

Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. Speaker, I move ThaT The House recede and concur
in The SenaTe amendmenT, and pendin ThaT I yield l5 minuTes To The
genTleman from Missouri UWr. CANNON .

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is again
advised by iTs loving friends-and we are deeply appreciaTive.

In The House yesTerday, I am Told, various sTricTures were pro-
nounced on The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions, on iTs personnel, on iTs pro-
cedure, iTs eThics, and iTs moral TurpiTude.

Now, forTunaTely or unforTunaTely, I was noT on The floor. The
genTleman from New York (Mr. TABER] and I were aT The Time conferring
wiTh The Bureau of The BudgeT in my office across The corridor.

IT is always cusTomary To give a Member of The House noTice in
advance when he or his commiTTee is To be made The subjecT of criTicism.
BuT in This insTance There was no noTice of any kind, and l was denied
The opporTuniTy of being presenT, and knew noThing of iT unTil appraised
by oThers and unTil I saw iT in The RECORD This morning. ConsequenTIy,
This is The firsT opporTuniTy I have had To acquiesce wiTh my disTin-
guished friend from Virginia in his high praise and richly-meriTed en-
comium of The CommiTTee on Rules.

IT musT have been a very edifying proceeding, Mr. Speaker. Judging
from The RECORD, They seem To have Thrown aT The CommiTTee on Appropria-
Tions everyThing in The arsenal, including The ConsTiTuTion, The Bible,
and The kiTchen sink.

So whaT I have To say This morning is purely defensive. I never
sTrike excepT in self-defense. And This is cerTainly no excepTion To
The rule.

Mr. Speaker, in The beginning, may I disabuse The mind of any Mem-
ber of The House who may perchance enTerTain any such unwarranTed illu-
sions ThaT There is on The parT of any of The members of The CommiTTee
on AppropriaTions, so far as I am aware, any feeling of any kind whaTever
againsT The CommiTTee on Rules,or any member of The CommiTTee on Rules.
And so far as I am concerned, I have never aT any Time, eiTher on The
floor or off The floor, expressed any senTimenT excepT The warmesT fellow-
ship for The commiTTee, and admiraTion for The manner in which They per-
form The onerous duTies devolving upon Them.

I pause here To afford anyone presenT an opporTuniTy To suggesT any
possible correcTion To ThaT sweeping sTaTemenT.

IT is To be noTed ThaT boTh The ConsTiTuTion and The Bible are ciTed
in The inTeresTing disserTaTion delivered in This connecTion. IT was

quiTe a sermon, wiTh TexT and exhorTaTion. I wear no Jeweled phylacTeries.

I am noT privileged To express graTiTude ThaT I am noT as oTher men. BuT

 

IU.S., Conqressional Record, 84Th Congress, lsT Session, I955,
Cl, ParT 9, ll057.

 

I98

 

 

I99

if I mighT be permiTTed To add Shakespeare To The oTher Two reference
volumes, I would call To mind The admoniTion of AnTonio To Bassanio. And
if permiTTed also To ciTe Holy WriT, would recall ThaT "The wicked flee
when no man pursueTh."

Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I make The poinT of order
ThaT The genTleman is noT speaking To The amendmenT.

The SPEAKER. The genTleman knows The rules. He musT proceed in
order.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I hope no TechnicaIiTies will be Thrown
in The way of a free discussion of This maTTer which has been iniTiaTed
by oThers, and To which we have had no opporTuniTy To reply.

Mr. COLMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consenT ThaT The genTle-
man may speak ouT of order, if he desires.

Mr. CANNON. I Thank The genTleman.

Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, reserving The righT To ob-
jecT, may I ask whaT was ThaT requesT?

The SPEAKER. The requesT was ThaT The genTleman may be allowed To
proceed ouT of order.

Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I wiThdraw my reservaTion
of objecTion.

Mr. CANNON. The genTleman is very gracious.

The SPEAKER. Is There objecTion To The requesT of The genTleman
from Mississippi?

There was no objecTion.

Mr. CANNON. So, Mr. Speaker, iT was a maTTer of some surprise To
find in This morning's RECORD grave and graTuiTous charges againsT The
CommiTTee on AppropriaTions.

The genTleman from Virginia “Mr. SMITH] , The chairman of The Com-
miTTee on Rules, wiTh whom iT has been my privilege To serve here in The
House for many years, speaking apparenTIy for his commiTTee, and wiThouT
advance noTice To any member of The commiTTee he criTicized, charged,
firsT, ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is violaTing, and has been
violaTing for many years, The rules of The House. Second, ThaT in conTra-
venTion of The law of The House, The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has been
holding closed hearings. Third, ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has
refused To hear Members and ciTizens who desired To appear before The
commiTTee in behalf of, or in opposiTion To, pending bills and appropria-
Tions. FourTh, ThaT The CommiTTee on ApprOpriaTions is conTinuaIIy reach-
ing ouT for power and deliberaTely encroaches on The JurisdicTion of The
legislaTive commiTTees of The House.

These are serious charges, Mr. Speaker, They are grave indichenTs
and are noT To be Iigthy broughT. And They are enTiTled To a pain-
sTaking and considered reply.

IncidenTally, we are charged wiTh harboring pique because The Com-
miTTee on Rules failed To granT a rule requesTed The oTher day waiving

poinTs of order on The supplemenTary appropriaTions bill. ThaT raTher
ridiculous charge falls when iT is recalled ThaT The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions asked idenTically The same rule on The firsT bill of The session,

The IndependenT Offices appropriaTion bill. ThaT requesT was refused.
If There had been any pique or resenTmenT because of denial of a rule iT
would have been in order on ThaT occasion. The denial of rules waiving
poinTs of order on rouTine appropriaTion bills is Too inconsequenTial To
give rise To even passing inTeresT.

 

 

200

BuT The charge ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions chronically
and consisTenTIy violaTes The rules of The House is quiTe anoTher maTTer.

The genTleman from Virginia would have us believe ThaT The rules
prohibiT closed hearings and ThaT This inhibiTion applies To and is dis-
regarded by The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions.

Now, I have The greaTesT respecT for The recollecTion of The genTle-
man from Virginia [Mr. SMITH]. I have always found him accuraTe. IT is
a maTTer of regreT To find This is an excepTion To an oTherwise flawless
record.

Under The law of The House, as adopTed in conformiTy wiTh The Reor-
ganizaTion AcT of I946, The commiTTee has The righT To hold execuTive
sessions when so auThorized by a voTe of The commiTTee; and iT will be
recalled ThaT immediaTely following The enachenT of The ReorganizaTion
AcT of I946, and The incorporaTion of This provision as paragraph (9) of
secTion 25 of rule XI in House procedure, The genTleman from Illinois
(Mr. DIRKSEN], who was aT ThaT Time a member of The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions, moved ThaT iT be The policy and pracTice of The commiTTee
henceforTh To hold closed sessions aT all hearings before The commiTTee
and iTs subcommiTTees. The moTion was unanimously adopTed and is a parT
of The archives of The commiTTee.

This is a maTTer, Mr. Speaker, which is enTiTled To plain speaking
here on The floor. The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions is ready To give iTs
reasons-To explain in deTaiI why iT holds closed sessions. In The firsT
place, we do noT have The room To hold open sessions. If you relax The
rule for one you musT relax iT for all, and we do noT have space or seaTs
for specTaTors. We hardly have The room aT Times for represenTaTives of
The deparTmenTs, noT To menTion casual or curious visiTors. Anyone who
has had an opporTuniTy To observe The proceedings in anoTher body in
recenT years knows ThaT There is a vasT reTinue of peOpIe who aTTend
These sessions because They have no place else To go. IT is unforTunaTe
ThaT lack of faciliTies prevenTs our offering compeTiTive field-day aTTrac-
Tions.

BuT The genTleman from Virginia says we deny Members, ciTizens, and
oTher inTeresTed applicanTs opporTuniTy To appear before our subcommiTTees
in behalf or in opposiTion To measure and appropriaTions under considera-
Tion. NoThing could be furTher from The facT. I musT say posiTively,
Mr. Speaker, ThaT in all my experience-and I have served aT some Time on
every subcommiTTee and in consideraTion of every deparTmenTal appropria-
Tion bill under The jurisdicTion of The commiTTee-never has anyone,
eiTher official or privaTe, whaTever Their sTaTion in life, wheTher Iobby-
isT on a salary several Times ThaT paid The members of The commiTTee or
wheTher paTrioTs from remoTe secTions of The counTry paying Their own
expenses To WashingTon and back home, been denied an opporTuniTy To ap-
pear before The commiTTee and presenT Their cause for or againsT any mea-
sure or fund under consideraTion by The commiTTee. Again I pause To per-
miT anyone To offer evidence in refuTaTion of This raTher broad buT ac-
curaTe sTaTemenT.

John Quincy Adams seTTled ThaT quesTion for all Time To come when
he mainTained againsT widespread and sTrenuous opposiTion The righT of
peTiTion, The righT of any ciTizen of The UniTed STaTes To presenT his
views or To appear before a commiTTee. The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions
has aT all Times and from The beginning sedulously proTecTed and main-
Tained ThaT righT.

 

20I

There are oTher reasons, Mr. Speaker, why we have noT held open
hearings. NoT only is iT physically impossible To accommodaTe specTa-
Tors, buT There are oTher consideraTions which will appeal To Those who
undersTand as eminenTIy convincing reasons. In providing money for every
acTiviTy of The GovernmenT The commiTTee necessarily handles many explo-
sive problems and some highly confidenTial informaTion.

During World War II, by some remarkable accidenT, we broke The
Japanese naval code and for 2 weeks The UniTed STaTes Navy knew in ad-
vance every move The Japanese Navy proposed To Take; where Their capiTaI
ships would be, where They would Take on supplies, where They would re-
ceive ammuniTion and fuel. During Those 2 weeks we secured such as ad—
vanTage over The Japanese Navy ThaT They were never able To recover or
overcome iT. Then whaT happened? I regreT To say, Mr. Speaker, ThaT
There are Those who will Talk. A reporTer found we had broken The code
and Telegraphed his paper. And 30 minuTes afTer The nexT ediTion hiT
The sTreeTs in Chicago, The Japanese changed Their code. My friends, do
you noT Think we should have been allowed To hold closed hearings on ThaT
quesTion?

There are Three members of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions presenT
here on The floor This afTernoon who knew 2 years in advance we were
working on The aTomic bomb, including The genTleman from New York [Mr.
TABER], The genTleman from Texas (Mr. MAHON]. We wenT secrele in The
nighT To Oak Ridge. We sweaTed for 2 years on ThaT nerve-racking propo-
siTion. Do you Think we oughT To have had open hearings on iT? If ThaT
had been The case, Germany would have beaTen us To The punch. We could
never have ended The war when we did. IT is ridiculous To say ThaT The
CommiTTee on AppropriaTions denies The House or anyone else any informa-
Tion we can give wiTh safeTy To The counTry and To naTional defense. All
TesTimony before The commiTTee is Transcribed by compeTenT reporTers and
published in prinTed hearings which are available To anyone who asks for
Them. Copies of all of Them go regularly by sealed diplomaTic pouch To
STalingrad, and The oTher chancelleries of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

BuT The charge is made ThaT we encroach upon The jurisdicTion of
oTher commiTTees. The chairman of The CommiTTee on Rules Tells The House
he himself enlisTs The chairmen of oTher commiTTees and secures Their col-
IaboraTion in proTesTing againsT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions.Taking
over Their jurisdicTions. My friends, The commiTTee has To much juris-
dicTion now To suiT The members of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions. We
have far more business Than we wanT. We cerTainly have no desire To en-
croach upon The prerogaTives or The jurisdicTion of any oTher commiTTee
of The House. God forbid.

The SPEAKER. The Time of The genTleman from Missouri has expired.

Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. SPEAKER, I yield an addiTional IO minuTes To The
genTleman from Missouri (Mr. CANNON].

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, IeT us Take as example, The bill before
The House lasT Thursday, The supplemenTary appropriaTion bill.

The chairman of The CommiTTee on Rules, in criTicizing The CommiT-
Tee on ApprOpriaTions, named Three commiTTees which he claimed had been
arbiTrarin deprived of Their righTful jurisdicTion by paragraphs in-
cluded in The bill as reporTed To The House. He ciTed The CommiTTee on
AgriculTure, The CommiTTee on House AdminisTraTion, and The CommiTTee
on VeTerans' Affairs.

LeT us Take up firsT The agriculTural provision in The bill.

 

202

Here was a provision for exTehsion of loans by The Farmers' Home
AdminisTraTion To parT-Time farmers. Two weeks before This bill was
prepared The chairman of The SubcommiTTee on AgriculTural AppropriaTions,
The genTleman from Mississippi (Mr. WHITTEN], conferred wiTh The chair-
man of The CommiTTee on AgriculTure, The genTleman from NorTh Carolina.
[Mr. COOLEY], and asked him if They wanTed The CommiTTee on Appropria-
Tions To Take iT up; and The genTleman from Mississippi EMr. WHITTEN] was
Told To go ahead and hold The hearings and include The appropriaTion,
which he did. They had The facTs in advance; They were consuITed, They
were asked, and They acquiesced. We did noT wanT iT. BuT ThaT was The
only pracTicaI way To geT The farmers Their loans.

So far as The CommiTTee on House AdminisTraTion was concerned, we
had indicaTed repeaTedly ThaT we did noT wanT To Take over Their work.

We had refused To accepT secTions which They asked us To process and in-
clude in This bill.

Likewise The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions included The iTem requesTed
by The PresidenT relaTing To veTerans relucTanTIy. The iTem was a requesT
by The PresidenT for $300,000 To invesTigaTe pensions To veTerans To see
if They were paid enough, if They were paid Too much, or if They were paid
Too IiTTIe; iT was a parT of The WhiTe House appropriaTion, and There was
no oTher way To geT iT before The House.

In facT, mosT of The appropriaTions carried in The bill were parTs
of The adminisTraTive program of The PresidenT of The UniTed STaTes. They
came down To us aT The lasT minuTe and There was no oTher way To geT The
program over excepT for The commiTTee To include Them in ThaT bill.

I do noT have To call The aTTenTion of The House To The facT ThaT
owing To The vasT coverage, and To The inTricacy of The problems involved,
every appropriaTion bill musT necessarily carry some IegislaTion.

In order To meeT This siTuaTion, 4 years ago I had The sTaff go
over all The bills we had passed aT The previous session and TabulaTe The
iTems subjecT To poinTs of order. When we had classified Them according To
jurisdicTions, we senT a lisT To each legislaTive commiTTee. Many of Them,
of course, were unimporTanT; They had been carried in The bill for many
years, buT They were ouTside our jurisdicTion. Of all The commiTTees of
The House who received Them, only Three gave Them any aTTenTion.

BuT, Mr. Speaker, whaT is The pracTicaI effecT?

The CommiTTee on Rules by iTs failure To acT makes iT possible To
denT The House an opporTuniTy To debaTe These quesTions, many of Them
viTal To The welfare of The counTry, To deny The House an opporTuniTy To
amend These proposiTions or To voTe on Them. All ThaT The CommiTTee on
AppropriaTions does in bringing in These budgeT esTimaTes in a bill, is
To give you an opporTuniTy To consider, debaTe, modify, and voTe. We do
noT ask you To approve Them. We merely ask you To consider Them and Then
voTe Them up, or voTe Them down. We give The House an opporTuniTy To
funcTion-To carry ouT iTs duTies under The ConsTiTuTion. ThaT is whaT
you are here for, ThaT is whaT your consTiTuenTs senT you here To do.

The facT ThaT The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions puTs an iTem in a
bill does noT mean ThaT The House has To agree To iT. We leave ThaT To
you. All we do is To give you an opporTuniTy To exercise your preroga-
Tive, represenTing The people of your congressional disTricTs. And The
people of your congressional disTricTs are enTiTled To have you pass on
Them, The CommiTTee on Rules To The conTrary noTwiThsTanding.

LeT us look aT This in a pracTical way. The commiTTees of The

 

203

House-The CommiTTee on Banking and Currency or The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions-spend weeks and monThs holding hearings, Taking TesTimony,
sTudying and invesTigaTing The many phases involved by compeTenT sTaffs.
Volumes of hearings are prinTed and greaT care is Taken in siTTing The
issues, and finally a bill is drawn which represenTs The besT JudgmenT
of men versed in The subjecT wiTh which They deal. Thereupon The Com-
miTTee on Rules-no member of which has heard a word of TesTimony or
read a page of The hearings or consulTed any auThoriTy, meeT and Throw
The whole producT of The commiTTee inTo The ashcan-—as The housing bill
for example. I have no personal feeling abouT The maTTer buT is iT
common horsesense?

Now The CommiTTee on rules has cerTain funcTions wiThin iTs province.

We were Told on The floor yesTerday ThaT The CommiTTee on Rules
gives Members an opporTuniTy To hide ouT, an opporTuniTy To pass The buck
if voTing on a bill mighT embarrass Them-if iT would endanger Their re-
elecTion. BuT on The DemocraTic side iT goes sTill deeper Than ThaT.

WhaT is The funcTion of The CommiTTee on Rules? We have Traveled
far afield in The InTerpreTaTion and adapTaTion of The funcTions of The
CommiTTee on Rules. LeT us geT back To The fundamenTals. There have
been Two greaT revisions of The rules of The House in modern Times, The

firsT one in I880 and The lasT one in I9II. If you will read The debaTes
on Those Two greaT revisions wiTh relaTion To The duTies of The CommiTTee
on Rules you will find ThaT commiTTee was noT inTended To reTard Iegisla-

Tion. Wherever There was a conflicT as To prioriTy The CommiTTee on Rules
was designed To resolve The conflicT. They were To make possible The
consideraTion of a bill.which oTherwise could noT be considered. They
were never auThorized, iT was never inTended, ThaT They should deny The
House The righT To pass upon any proposiTion reporTed by oTher commiTTees.

The SPEAKER. The Time of The genTleman has expired.

Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield The genTleman 5 addiTionaI
minuTes.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, may I quoTe from The greaT ParliamenTarian,
Asher C. Hinds, who knew more abouT The procedure of The House Than any
man who ever lived. Asher Hinds excelled in parliamenTary knowledge any-
one who has ever served The UniTed STaTes Congress since I789.

Here is whaT he said:

The CommiTTee on Rules officiaTes as To The consideraTion of
bills only when, for some reason, The ordinary meThod prescribed
by The rules for The order of business is noT saTisfacTory or pro-
duces delay.

The purpose of The rules was To puT The maTTer before The House and
puT iT before The House now.
Hinds furTher said:

The number of bills in relaTion To which iT officiaTes by
reporTing special orders is relaTiver few.

IT never occurred To him ThaT The Time would ever come when The
CommiTTee on Rules would arrogaTe To iTself The auThoriTy To pass on
every bill reporTed ouT by a commiTTee of The House. And To deny iT con-
sideraTion as iT has denied The House The righT and opporTuniTy To

 

204

consider The housing bill or iTems objecTed To in The supplemenTary ap-
propriaTion bill.

The absurdiTy of The siTuaTion is furTher emphasized by The facT
ThaT The greaTer number of The iTems will be puT back in The bill by The
SenaTe,

Members here have proTesTed, wiTh Tongue in cheek, ThaT The sTrip-
ping of The supplemenTary bill conTravenes The righT of The House To
iniTiaTe appropriaTion bills. ThaT issue is noT before us. The CommiT-
Tee on AppropriaTions by reporTing ouT The bill iniTiaTed The appropria-
Tions wheTher The CommiTTee on Rules makes iT possible To voTe on Them
or noT. And The SenaTe which has always had The righT To amend House
appropriaTion bills has The righT To amend This bill and will exercise
ThaT righT. So whaT has been gained by The failure of The CommiTTee on
Rules To make iT possible for The House To pass on The bill The CommiT-
Tee on AppropriaTions has reporTed? IT is Technically gone To seed.

In l9ll, when The quesTion of rules was before The House, Mr. Norris,
of Nebraska, one of The noTable men of his Time, said:

 

One of The greaTesT prerogaTives of The Members of This body
is To be permiTTed To voTe upon proposiTions maTeriaI To our people
and proposiTions maTeriaI To The conTrol of our own body.

Sherley, of KenTucky, one of The ablesT men who ever served in
This body, said:

The American people are a pracTical people and as a pracTicaI
people They will judge The House-noT by The inTricacies of parlia-
menTary Iae buT by The resulTs ThaT follow.

All This Talk, all This circumlocuTion, all This TempesT in a Tea-
poT here, all The parliamenTary peccadillos, are beside The poinT. The
people aT home wanT acTion. They wanT us To voTe on The quesTions before
The counTry Today.

Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, will The genTleman yield?

 

Mr. CANNON. I yield To The genTleman from Michigan.
Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. WhaT was The purpose in making poinTs of
order againsT The bill when iT was under consideraTion?

Mr. CANNON. For The reasons jusT given buT especially To show The
devious processes by which The Dixon-YaTes proponenTs seek To cloud The
issue. If The Dixon-YaTes paragraph had noT been in The supplemenTary
appropriaTion bill There would have been no difficuITy abouT securing a
rule.

The acTion on The supplemenTary bill was designed To focus aTTen-
Tion on efforTs To avoid The Dixon-YaTes iTem coming To a record voTe in
The House.

And do noT underraTe The possibiliTies of The Dixon-YaTes conTracT
sTill being enforced. The ranking member of The commiTTee said when The
bill was reporTed ThaT There was every confidence ThaT Memphis would noT
build iTs planT and if iT did noT, The Dixon-YaTes conTracT would sTill
be in effecT.

Creeping monopoly, as exemplified by The Dixon-YaTes conTracT, is
The issue aT sTake in The supplemenTary bill and in The refusal of The
CommiTTee on Rules To voTe a rule.

 

205

Mr. FOGARTY. Mr. Speaker, iT is my inTenTion To yield 3 minuTes
To The genTleman from Virginia Mr. SMITH , 3 minuTes To The genTleman
from New York Mr. TABER , and Then move The previous quesTion.

I now yield 3 minuTes To The genTleman from Virginia Mr. SMITH .

Mr. SMITH of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I feel sufficienle chasTised.
There is a cerTain number of innings To a ball game. The CommiTTee on
AppropriaTions had iTs inning on Thursday and baTTed around quiTe a few
balls. I had a feeble inning yesTerday. Then The CommiTTee on Appro-
priaTions had a IiTTIe biT of an inning again yesTerday. Now The chair-
man of The CommiTTee on AppropriaTions has had his inning and normally,
under The rules of The game, I would be enTiTled To anoTher inning. BuT
I forfeiT my righT To The final inning. I am jusT here Taking The floor
To say This, ThaT noTwiThsTanding everyThing ThaT has been said abouT
This maTTer, Two quesTions sTill remain. Who scuTTled The supplemenTary
appropriaTion bill? The CommiTTee on Rules did noT do iT. The oTher
quesTion is This. They do noT hold any public hearings in The CommiTTee
on AppropriaTions. And I inviTe your aTTenTion again To rule XI of The
Rules of The House of RepresenTaTives.

The only reason I Took The floor was To say ThaT we have all had
our innings. A good Time has been had by all. I am noT mad wiTh any-
body and I hOpe nobody is mad wiTh me. LeT us forgeT abouT This liTTle
incidenT. I jusT wanT To close The war. Everybody has had his say. I
sTill love CLARENCE CANNON, as I always have. I have The highesT regard
and respecT and affecTion for every member of The greaT CommiTTee on Ap-
prOpriaTions. They are doing a sTupendous job and a man-killing job. I
love Them all.

LeT us geT down To business and forgeT abouT This incidenT.

 

APPENDIX F

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a moTion.I
The clerk read as follows:

Mr. CANNON moves ThaT The House recede from iTs disagreemenf
To The amendmenT of The SenaTe numbered 4 and concur Therein. - a

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, objecTion has been made To sending To _
conference a supplemenTary appropriaTion bill carrying more Than one- 2
half billion dollars in needless appropriaTions. If There is any ques- sf

 

Tion as To iTs need, The chairman of The subcommiTTee which reporTed The
bill advises ThaT There is noThing in The bill of immediaTe emergency.
Such iTems as may in The fuTure require consideraTion can very well go
over To The nexT Congress.

Mr. Speaker, as Thomas Jefferson said in an immorTaI documenT: ”A
jusT consideraTion for The Opinion of mankind requires ThaT we give reason
for our acTion."

So, I give you here Today The reason why This acTion is Taken.

Mr. Speaker, The genTleman from New York [Mr. TABER], one of The
greaT men of The House of RepresenTaTives, is leaving his congressional
service wiTh The end of This session. If I had my way I would keep him
here because I Think he is needed. BuT he has more Than earned The righT
To a vacaTion. He is enTiTled To The lasT and besT years of his life for
himself, for his family, his friends, and his books, and in order To
caTch up wiTh his long neglecTed fishing.

AT a dinner Tendered him as a TribuTe To his disTinguished service
and as a Token of The warm affecTion in which he is universally held, sTa-
TisTics were quoTed of The naTionaI siTuaTion aT The beginning and close
of his service, as follows:

The year Mr. TABER came here The ToTal annual public expendiTure
was $3 billion. The firsT year ThaT he was here Congress spenT $3 billion.
We are spending This year $II5 billion, The largesT amounT ever spenT in
a peaceTime year in The hisTory of The American Congress.

GenTlemen, when you go home you can aTTracT special aTTenTion by

 

saying, "I have jusT come from a $I00 billion Congress." You are The
firsT man ever To go back To your congressional disTricT from a $IOO bil-
lion Congress in all iTs hisTory.

When Mr. TABER came here The number of employees of The Federal
GovernmenT was 536,000. Today iT is 2,5l4,000.

When he came here The public debT was $22 billion. Today iT is
$302 billion. IT is now pasT The high waTer mark. IT is The largesT
debT in The hisTory of The UniTed STaTes. IT is The largesT debT ever

 

|U.S., Congressional Record, 87Th Congress, 2d Session, I962,
CVIII, ParT I7, 23485.

 

206

207

owed by any naTion in any counTry in The hisTory of The world. And we
are sTill busily adding To iT as fasT as we can and every year spending
more Than we Take in.

ThaT is why The purchasing power of The dollar is down To less
Than half. ThaT is why The cosT of living for every family of The UniTed
STaTes is up. ThaT is why our gold is dwindling aT ForT Knox. We are
spending aT The raTe of $ll5 billion a year-far above our revenues.

We are sTill Taxing The people aT warTime raTes. In The pasT we
have repealed war Taxes levied To keep The Troops in The field as soon
as peace was declared. BuT noT This Time. We are Today levying every
Tax dollar we can draw ouT of The American people. We are sTill exacT-
mg The same Taxes we levied To keep our armies fighTing in Europe. And
wiTh all ThaT exTra revenue we are spending more Than we Take in.

An insTance is The iTem we jusT passed. AlThough congressional
expendiTures are already larger Than ever before we have jusT added a
program which will cosT a fabulous sum before iT is compleTed for a pro-
jecT rejecTed by every auThoriTy we consulTed.

This musT be added To The public debT already of recordbreaking
proporTions. From your voTe iT is evidenT ThaT all you genTlemen favor
increasing The public debT. When you go home Tell your people you voTed
Today To increase The public debT; ThaT you believe The public debT is
Too small, TheT you believe we oughT To owe more money; ThaT you believe
ThaT The purchasing power of The dollar should be depreciaTed; ThaT The
American people are living Too cheaply; ThaT The cosT of living oughT To
be higher, so you voTe To raise iT.

ThaT is whaT you voTed for jusT now.

 

The supplemenTal bill which we are objecTing will add more Than
half a billion dollars To The naTional debT. I know you high-cosT-of-
living genTlemen will be disappoinTed ThaT you will noT have an opporTu-

niTy To add iT To The bill you have jusT voTed Through. The name of
every Congressman who voTed for iT is rIghT here in This yea-and-nay voTe.

 

Why noT send iT back home To be posTed in every voTing poll in your dis-
TricT?

The chairman of The commiTTee who reporTed iT says iT is noT neces-
sary. He says if will in no way discommode The GovernmenT if you fail To

pass iT This year. So we are adhering To The refusal To permiT you To
add furTher To The Taxes of your already overburdened Taxpayers. As you
did in The voTe jusT Taken.

Surely, genTlemen, we oughT To be saTisfied wiTh a debT of $302
billion. Why insisT on owing more money? Why add To iT? ThaT is whaT
you voTed To do jusT now. And will you Tell us whaT your people and your
disTricT geT ouT of iT? NoThing buT more Taxes.

There is many a Taxpayer ouT on a small farm, a small businessman
in The local Town, a workingman here who has a hard Time paying even a
few dollars of Taxes. BuT when The InTernaI Revenue men bring iT To
WashingTon we spend iT all; we spend iT as you have spenT iT Today. We
send iT down To Florida. Florida received everyThing, every projecT she
asked excepT This one iTem. She received more proporTionaTely Than mosT
any STaTe in The Union. She received l0 projecTs. This was a parTicu-
Iarly bad iTem. BuT iT is fine for The promoTers. In one case down
There They boughT land for 5 cenTs an acre and goT The GovernmenT To
build some public works and sold iT for $5,000 an acre.

Florida could noT geT This iTem in The bill when we wroTe The bill

 

208

BuT IegislaTion suffers.

Congress oughT To go home. Congressmen oughT To sTay in Touch wiTh
The people and find ouT whaT They need, whaT They aTe Talking abouT, whaT
Their senTimenTs are. If Members had kepT in Touch wiTh The voTers we
would noT have had The voTe we had here jusT now. And, Mr. Speaker, we
have noT had any ouTsTanding generalship in The House This session.

We had a liTTle conTroversy wiTh The SenaTe some Time ago in chang-
ing The obsoleTe, anTiquaTed machinery in order To discourage The habiT
of The SenaTe of adding unwarranTed sums To House appropriaTion bills.

The oTher body soughT To Take away a prerogaTive lodged in The House
by The Founding FaThers who wisely provided ThaT The sTrongesT hold on
The pUrsesTrings of The NaTion should be in The hands of The House of Rep-
resenTaTives because iT is closesT To The people, and has To come before
The peOpIe every 2 years.

IT has been The prerogaTive of The House since I789. In ThaT baTTIe
we did noT have The supporT of The leadership. Daily we were imporTuned
by The Speaker To yield To The SenaTe, To surrender The prerogaTives of
The House, To agree on any Terms.

The CommiTTee on ApprOpriaTions, under heavy criTicism, mainTained
iTs posiTion buT iT was in spiTe of The leadership of The House when iT
should have been supporTing us.

The leadership is supposed under ordinary circumsTances To collabo-
raTe wiTh The commiTTees. AfTer a commiTTee has sTudied a bill, held
hearings, processed a bill, and has spenT monThs bringing in a reporT-
oTher Things being equal—-The commiTTees are enTiTled To The supporT of
The leadership of The House. LasT nighT my good friend HALE BOGGS, afTer
vigorously campaigning for Florida, brushed The ParliamenTarian aside.

He sTood There like an avenging angel. I have never seen anyThing like
if before. You could noT geT To The Speaker even if he had been willing
To see you. My good friend from Oklahoma, CARL ALBERT, assidUously op-
posed every efforT for economy by The commiTTee in Trying To mainTain
The bill iT had unanimously reporTed.

The oTher day There was an insulTing speech made in The SenaTe in
which They charged Members of The House wiTh moral obloquy and delinquen-
cies because They used Their frank as every Congressman from WashingTon's
adminisTraTion has done.

When The A's in The alphabeT were called Mr. ALBERT voTed againsT
The commiTTee, The unanimous reporT of The commiTTee, and Then aT The lasT
minuTe, afTer he had given The signal To The House, and everybody had
voTed, he changed his voTe so ThaT iT would look a liTTle beTTer.

The majoriTy leader of The House came To me lasT nighT, afTer The
rollcall sTarTed and said, ”If you will agree To IeT This half billion
dollar bill go Through”—-The one They said we did noT need-"we will Turn
and supporT you and give you This moTion.”

In oTher words, genTlemen, jusTice is for sale. No ThoughT of
principle. No ThoughT of The obligaTion of office. IT is a quesTion of
The highesT bidder.

AT The end of These long monThs, The longesT peaceTime session Con-
gress has had-—and wiTh no visible reason—-I honor The high office They
hold buT I cannoT endorse The qualiTy of leadership.

I have saT under l0 Speakers-buT I have never seen such biased and
inepT leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I submiT for The RECORD a summary TabulaTion on The

 

209

in The subcommiTTee. They could noT geT iT in The bill when if was re-
porTed by The subcommiTTee To The full commiTTee. They could noT geT iT
in The bill when The full commiTTee reporTed iT To The House. They could

noT geT iT in The bill when The House conferees Took iT up wiTh The
SenaTe conferees. So They come in here Today and buTTonhole every man on
The floor. ”WhaT is The U.S. Treasury beTween friends?”

Remember These boys are asking for someThing for Themselves. The
commiTTee has noT personal inTeresT. The only Thing The commiTTee has
To gain by This is ill will and unpopulariTy for being a "weT blankeT."
BuT surely somebody has To proTecT The The Taxpayers' money. The commiT-
Tee does noT seem To have any friends here Today. The Taxpayers' do noT
seem To have any friends here Today. Everybody is The friend of These
ingraTiaTing genTlemen from Florida.

A woman wroTe me yesTerday ThaT she Took a dozen eggs To markeT
and goT 24 cenTs for Them, and iT was noT enough To pay for posTage sTamps
To wriTe To each of her children. YeT you raised posTage The oTher day.
"Oh, The people are noT paying enough. Sure, voTe To make Them pay more

posTage and more Taxes." -.
Mr. Speaker, who is leading This raid on The public Treasury Today? '
The genTlemen from Florida-—fine fellows, of course-I love every one of

Them. The greaT Sunshine STaTe of Florida is Taking populaTion from
every STaTe of The Union. New York up here losT a Congressman. They
have puT him down in Florida. And They have Tax laws down There ThaT
pull New York money down There Too. They are aTTracTing populaTion from
all over. The reason They readjusTed your disTricTs This year is ThaT
Florida is such an enTicing STaTe. YeT They are so poverTy sTricken ThaT
They musT come up To WashingTon and run over The CommiTTee on Appropria-
Tions which has no inTeresT whaTever excepT To discharge The duTies and
serve The purpose for which appoinTed.

They are as redoubTable a gang of piraTes as ever sailed The Spanish
Main, and my STaTe and your STaTe are paying The bill in onerous Taxes.
Millions of dollars were plundered by CapTain Kidd and Blue Beard, buT
The amounT of money Kidd and Blue Beard Took pales inTo insignificance
compared To The money These highwaymen have Taken from The U.S. Treasury
here This morning. You cannoT give Them enough. No maTTer how much you
give Them, They wanT more. They come in here afTer being denied by an
imparTiaI commiTTee and Try Their case here on The floor. Nobody excepT
Florida insisTed on Trying Their case on The floor. Why have a commiTTee
if you are going To supporT These rebels againsT legiTimaTe auThoriTy
like oTher Caribbean freebooTers in CenTral and SouTh American principali-
Ties?

Today, genTlemen, you have voTed To increase The annual expendiTures
of The NaTion alThough The GovernmenT is already spending The largesT
amounT ever spenT in one peaceTime year in The hisTory of any naTion on
earTh.

You have Today added To The number of GovernmenT employees when
They are falling over each oTher in every deparTmenT. CompeTenT men Tell
us ThaT if They had only one-Third The number of employees in The PenTa-
gon, They could do beTTer work. ThaT is True of every deparTmenT of The
GovernmenT. You have Today voTed To increase The naTional debT already
so large ThaT iT sTaggers The imaginaTion. l was in Germany afTer The
war. AT one Time The German mark was an unassailable sTandard of value
ThroughouT Europe. ThaiGermany followed This primrose paTh unTil

 

2l0

evenTuaIly The deposiTor had To carry his money To The bank in a baskeT.
When he goT To The bank, The bank did noT counT The money. IT jusT dis-
TribuTed The bills by demoninaTion and weighed iT.

In I936 when a housewife Took a dollar downTown To The grocery sTore,
she goT $l.07 worTh of groceries for ThaT dollar. NaTions all over The
world were scrambling for ThaT dollar. They wanTed hard cash. BuT now
They are noT so keen abouT iT. Today iT is only worTh 44 cenTs.

Many a man who musT earn his living by The sweaT of his brow is
having a hard Time buying school shoes for his children. He is having a
hard Time filling The plaTes on The breakfasT Table. BuT when we send
The Tax collecTor around, he has To anTe up. Here Today you are Telling
ThaT man To IeT his children wear Their shoes a liTTIe longer afTer They
are already worn ouT. You are Telling The parenTs of some of Those chil-
dren To send Them To school wiThouT an egg for breakfasT or wiThouT a
slice of bacon so They will have enough To pay The Taxes you voTed on
Them This morning for The golden Sunshine STaTe of prosperous Florida.

I Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The SPEAKER pro Tempore. WiThouT objecTion The moTion is agreed To.

There was no objecTion.

The SPEAKER pro Tempore. The clerk will reporT The nexT amendmenT
in disagreemenT.

The clerk read as follows:

SenaTe amendmenT No. l3: Page l9, line 5, inserT: "AfTer
SepTember 30, I962, The posiTion of Commissioner of ReclamaTion
shall have an annual raTe of compensaTion as provided for posiTions
lisTed in secTion 2205(a) of TiTle 5, UniTed STaTes Code, so long
as held by The presenT incumbenT."

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a moTion.
The clerk read as follows:

Mr. CANNON moves ThaT The House recede from iTs disagreemenT
To The amendmenT of The SenaTe No. l3 and concur Therein.

Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, will The genTleman yield?

Mr. CANNON. I yield To The genTleman from New York.

Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, amendmenT No. l3 was inserTed by The con-
ferees afTer having been passed in The SenaTe version of The bill. In
parT iT represenTs a policy ThaT I cannoT go along wiTh. IT provides
for increase of salary for The Commissioner of ReclamaTion from $l9,000
To $20,000 a year. I am Opposed To The inclusion in appropriaTion bills
of increases in salary. I Think ThaT oughT To be Taken care of by The
appropriaTe legislaTive commiTTee.

If we do noT This idea of These civil servanTs running around To
somebody who has an appropriaTion bill up, if we do noT begin To sTop
ThaT pracTice and sTop The way we are doing business I can see no hope
for The peOpIe of The UniTed STaTes. We heard whaT The chairman of The
commiTTee said in his sTaTemenT as To The financial condiTion of The
GovernmenT. ThaT is The Thing ThaT worries me very much, and I do noT
believe we can conTinue long in The direcTion Things are going aT The
presenT Time. For my own parT I am opposed To This moTion and I hope
iT will be voTed down.

 

2ll

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I have no requesTs for Time, and move
The previous quesTion.

The previous quesTion was ordered.

The moTion was agreed To.

The SPEAKER. The clerk will reporT The nexT amendmenT in disagree-
menT.

The clerk read as follows:

SenaTe amendmenT No. l8: Page 29, line 7, sTrike ouT "I962"
and inserT "I963”.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a moTion.
The clerk read as follows:

Mr. CANNON moves ThaT The House recede from iTs disagreemenT
To The amendmenT of The SenaTe numbered l8 and concur Therein.

Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, The summer has waxed and waned; The birds
have nesTed and flown; The leaves are falling in The auTumn breeze, buT
Congress sTill sTays on.

We should have been home long ago. There are more new disTricTs in
The UniTed STaTes This year Than in any previous elecTion. In some dis-
TricTs The change has been comparaTiver small. They have added one
counTy or They have Taken away one counTy. BuT There are more disTricTs
This Time in The UniTed STaTes in which There is readjusTmenT, in which
There are new consTiTuenTs, Than in any previous elecTion.

We should have had an opporTuniTy To go home. These consTiTuenTs
wanT To see Their new Congressman, They wanT To hear him; and I am cer-
Tain The new Congressman wanTs To see his new consTiTuenTs. BuT we have
been kepT here longer Than aT any Time before, excepT in Time of war. Do
noT ask me why. I do noT know.

Someone is ready To commenT ThaT The lasT bill here This morning is
an appropriaTion bill. IT musT be The ApprOpriaTions CommiTTee. Why did
you noT hurry up?

I remind you ThaT early in The session we reminded The leadership
ThaT we would noT process appropriaTion bills unTil we had auThorizaTion.
Happily, under The American ConsTiTuTion, you cannoT appropriaTe a dollar
ThaT is noT auThorized by law. The legislaTive commiTTees hold The whip

hand. The delay on The pending bill is due To The facT ThaT we do noT
have auThorizaTions. ThaT has been True of mosT of our bills. We have
been here from January To 0cTober, buT The lasT auThorizaTion bill came

in lasT nighT.

Before The change in The ConsTiTuTion, we wenT home every oTher
year on The 4Th of March. Every bill had been passed, everyThing was
done ThaT needed To be done. There was never a year in which we failed
To compleTe The legislaTive prOgram in ample Time To adjourn by March 4.
Why did we noT go home in March of This year, or aT leasT in July, ac-
cording To law? I am convinced, we would noT have had voTes like we
had here This morning if we had been back home, rubbing shoulders wiTh
our consTiTuenTs, if we had had an opporTuniTy To see The hard condiTions
under which They live.

Back here in WashingTon we are in These lovely air-condiTioned
offices. We do noT have To be boThered by consTiTuenTs running in on us.

 

2I2

bill and The usual lisT of addiTional surveys and The sTudies agreed To
in conference: