until 1910, house committee members and chairmen were selected by the speaker, who also ranked the members of the committee. seniority on the committee was just one of the factors that was taken into account in ranking the members. in the 61st congress, speaker cannon (r-il) had used his power to change committee assignments to demote and punish insurgent republicans. in march 1910 the speaker was stripped of his powers over the composition of standing committees.