Champ Clark letter to Bennett Champ Clark - December 6, 1918
Transcript
,U.S.A., [December] 6, 1918. Lieutenant- Colonel Bennett C. Clark, Asst. Chief of Staff 88th Division American Expeditionary Forces in France via New York: Dear Bennett: Glad to get your cable, which came day before yesterday & was dated same day: Cannon hasn’t quit & will not till you return or till Repubs organize House. I had a perfect understanding with him & Jacks that When you came back you should have your old place and Cannon should be Journal Clerk with Jacks retiring entirely. So that was settled when you resigned as Parlimentary Clerk. I think Extra session inevitable - but when I do not even guess. Of course Repups. want it soon as possible in order to get House offices. Chairmanships etc.; and of course they force it by the simple device of beating one more big appropriation Bills – which would force it for a date before June 30. I will cable you if necessary. Of course we are anxious to see you; but, anxious as I am to press you to my heart once more, I don’t want you to resign so [ms illegible: 1 wd] as to cause any reflection on you. Some are resigning now, Col Stineson (Ex. Sec. of War for instance) and any time after resignation become common, you can resign & I will reappoint you Parliamentarian & your appointment will hold till the Repubs reorganize. Of course I would have to reappoint you before March 4 and you will have to be here in order to be reappointed. There is not much to report. Every body & every paper full of President’s trip to Europe – arguments as to whether his absence beyond 3 mile [ms illegible: 1 wd] constitutes “inability to discharge his functions” & makes Marshall automatically President ad interim; which is he can sign bills while beyond 3 mile [ms illegible: 1 wd]; whether preventing Bills at Whitehouse causes them to become laws in ten days etc., etc. I have no doubt of his right to go or to sign bills wherever he may be and that Marshall does not become President etc. but it has created an infernal uproar and [ms illegible: 1 wd] Senate happy about no Senator being on Commission. The President re-
Transcript
ceived a bitter & biting frost Monday when he addressed the [Missouri] houses. Seude first thought of not coming over but finally came – in such a sullen frame of mind that except two or 3 palpitating patriots like Morris Shephard, they refused to applaud or rise up. McAdoo resigned his various offices as Poohbah. Carter Glass has been appointed Sec. of Treasury. Nobody has been made Director of Rail Roads Barny Baruch & Garfield and some smaller fry have resigned. Surplus war clerks are being discharged by hundreds – even thousands. Mann is back. He claims to feel well; but last night at end of three days filibuster he looked very fatigued. I do not believe he can stand Leadership work (as he does it) for 3 months. If he is fit, he will be elected Speaker, though there is much opposition to him. For your delectation I enclose Senator Sherman’s speech about him - bitter and unfair. More of House Repubs. applauded President last Monday- not a handclap. If Mann is well enough to the Speaker, they will have a great & crab race: Gillelle, Touner, Phil Campbell, Moudell, Hampy More, Nick Songworth, Old Fess, et al. - I sent you (or rather got Creel to send) a long cable from Jim wanting you to go to Switzerland on business Mission. - I enclose Senator Reed’s speech - best he ever made – well worth reading. Last week picked up $600.00 lecturing in [North Carolina] Christmas I will place $200.00 to your credit - birthday & Christmas gift. Graves lost 9th by 319; Folk by 2934; I carried it by 1529. Even the G.-D. Loosened up sufficiently to say that I was the only Dem. in Missouri who I ran ahead of the ticket & while my plurality was reduced in a light vote I had reason to feel comfortable. - We are both well. So are folks at [New Orleans, Louisiana]. Going to have only 3 or 4 Christmas Holidays. Your loving Father, Champ Clark.
Details
Title | Champ Clark letter to Bennett Champ Clark - December 6, 1918 |
Creator | Clark, Champ |
Source | Clark, Champ. Letter to Bennett Champ Clark. 06 December 1918. Clark, Champ (1850-1921) and Bennett Champ (1890-1954), Papers, 1853-1973. C0666. The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, MO. |
Description | In this December 6, 1918 letter to his son Bennett, Champ Clark discussed local and national politics, as well as President Woodrow Wilson's trip to Europe. Champ Clark, a long-time resident of Bowling Green, Missouri, was a politician in the Democratic Party. He served as a representative of Missouri from 1893 to 1895 and from 1897 to 1921. From 1911 to 1919 he served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Bennett Clark served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 140th Regiment, 35th Division and as Assistant Chief of Staff for the 88th Division during World War I, and was Missouri State Senator from 1933 to 1945. |
Subject LCSH | Clark, Champ, 1850-1921; Clark, Bennett Champ, 1890-1954; Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924; World War, 1914-1918 |
Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
Site Accession Number | C0666 |
Contributing Institution | The State Historical Society of Missouri |
Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the State Historical Society of Missouri: 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri, 65201-7298. (573) 882-7083. |
Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
Date Original | December 6, 1918 |
Language | English |