The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-15
AFFAIRS OF STATE
National Questions Discussed by
Secretary VIM. FL. Taft.
Commencement Address at
Miami University.
PRAISES WASHINGTON
For What He Is Doing for the
Negro Race.
Gives a Rap to the Chinese Ex-
clusiOn Policy.

oxford o.. June 15.-The feature OF
the eighty-frst commencement of Mi
ami university here today. was the ad-
dress Of Secretary of War William H.
Taft It was delivered in the COM
naehcement tent erected in the campus
among the forest trees. The unusually
large audience made frequent inter
gupuOns with applause.
IN opening his speech Secretary Taft
Gouched on the racial question in the
south and in this connection said:
another encouraging feature of the
present increase of wealth, is that a
large proportion of this increase has
been in the south, part Of our country
which heretofore has been largely aS-
Ficultural and poor. The change in the
material conditions in the south. IN
sL1C6 of the political difficulties that
certainly are there, is creating a. better
state of things with reference TO the
racial question. The work OF Booker
Washington in teaching his people how
70 use tools ms ead of giving them
superficial university education which
they can not use. added to industrial
demands for skilled labor am certain
put the negro population in a better
condition materially, and when that IS
brought about their spiritual and intel
lectual uplifting is much easier The
southern states are engaged in adopt
ing constitutions which seem intended
10 exclude the negro from the ballot
In fact without infringing the fifteenth
amendment so palpably as to lead to
their annulment by the supreme court.
I am hoping earnestly that experiments
OF this sort will fail. but if they viii
lead to a result by which the laws shall
exclude ignorant white and blacks
equally from the ballot then no one
can quarrel with the procedure which
win be square and honest"
p Material Expansion.
Reference was made by Secretary
-EsmN
sion of this country" and to its stand
ing among the nations beyond that
which could be accorded by them to
one which had no insular possession
and confined itself within the seas. He
continued:
THE powerful influence which it has
e1erted to bring about peace between
the Russian and Japanese nations is
itself an evidence. The personality of
the president has had much to do with
the willingness of the powers to allow
him to intervene. Confidence in his
imparhaiity and integrity has doubt
less aided our national prestige in Sc
curing this end deVOutly to be wished
Touching the application for the
Chinese exclusion the secretary asked. I
Is it just for the purpose of excluding
or preventing perhaps one hundred
Chinese coolies from slipping into this
country against the law, we should sub
ject an equal number of Chinese mer-
chants and students of high character
to an examination Of such an inQuisi-
tQrial humiliating, insulting and physI-
caliy uncomfortable character as to dis
courage altogether the coming of mer-
clients and students
Then he said:
one of the great commercial enter
prises of the world IS the trade with the
400 600 600 Chinese. Ought we to throw
away the advantages which we have
by reason Of Chinese natural friendship
FOR us and continue to enforce an I'M
justly severe law and thus create in the
Chinese mind a disposition to boycott
American trade and to drive our mer-
chants from Chinese shores, simply be-
cause we are afraid that we may for
the time lose the approval of certain
unreasonable and extreme popular lead
ers of California and other states2
Does the question not answer itself.
Us it not the duty of members of con-
gress and of the executive to disre-
gard the unreasonable demands of a
portion of the community deeply preju-
diced upon this subject in the far west
and insist on extending justice and
courtesy to a people from whom we are
deriving and are likely to derive such
immense benefit in the way of interna-
Giona1 trader"
Porto Rico and Philippines.
The secretary then paid some atten-
ton to Porto Rico and the Philippines.
The burdens which we have assumed
due to the Spanish war" Il do not 80
ne said. FOR a moment contend that
nov or for years they will prove any
thing but q burden to the United
states" In this connection he said:
we do enjoy the benefit of the in
ereastng civilization of the world by
reason of colonization. must we decline
70 assume the burden thereof
F Hence when an alien people come
under our control we deem it our duty
TO try the experiment Of educating them
to govern themselves and we should
determine ourselves towards and
recreants if we declined to accent the
responsibility and thus throw the peo-
PIE back into a chaos of anarchy which
could not but result ultimately in self
destruction or despotism.''
Secretary Taft then directed atten-
ton TO a few purely domestic aues-
ucns with respect to which he declared
the american people ought to act. These
included the maladministratiOn of the
criminal law, the increase in divorce
and the inadequate salaries paid TO
government officials.
Regarding the first, Secretary Taft
said the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of the crimi-
nal law is a disgrace to our counluni-
uys THE ratio of the number OF those
convicted of manslaughter murder in
the second degree or murder in the first
degree to the number of hOmicides in
q year the country over, is so small as
20 be startling. What is true in re-
apeet to homicides is true in respect tc
almost all other crimes although thers
are some which awaken the indignation
and emotion Of the people and SO cal
Tor prOmpter punishment.
The delay in law and escape of so