New-York tribune., 1906-12-30
TAFT ON PRESIDENCY.
DEFINES HIS POSIIION,
Not Seeking Nomination, but You'd
Not Decline 1t.
From me Tribune Bureau. ]

noted for its friendness 10 Mr.. Taft. brought
out to-day = statement from the Secretary de-
claring his position. this being. in the est;na-
iioa o, some persons. precisely the purpose Of
the publication. Secretary Tafts statement is
rs follows:
For the purpose of relieving the burden i'm
posed by recent publications upon some Of my
friends among the Washington newspa per
respondents of putting further inquiries TO me.
] wish 10 say that my ambition is not political:
that I not seeking the Presidential nomina-
tion: that do not expect TO be the Republican
candidate if for no other reason because of
what seem be objections TO my avail
ability which do not appear 10 lessen with the
continued discharge Of my own official duty:
hut that am not foolish enough to say that in
the improbable event that the opportunity to
run for the great Office OF President TO
come to ] should decline II. for this would
not be true
WASHINGTON OPINION DIVIDED.
Opinion is divided to the results of this
statement which all who know Mr. Taft accept
perfectly frank and sincere expression OF
his position. In some quarters 4 Is held that
the secretary's declaration thai he would not
decline the nomination we're the opportunity Of
accepting it presented will give heart to the
great army of admirers who regard him as the
hest man 10 succeed President Roosevelt Those
who entertain this view insist that Mr. Tafts
friends may now take off their coats and go
work. metaphoricay speaking confident that
should they succeed they could not only count
tho readiness of their favorite 10 make the
race. bat that they from this time on conf
IDENTITY assert that the Secretary will accept the
grave cares and responsibilities of Republican
sfandardhearer If requested 10 do So by a suf-
fcient number Of the members of his party.
They maintain. with excellent show Of rea-
son that the unfailing capacity Of Mr.. Taft.
The instances in which lie has ably supported
President Roosevelt In grave emergencies. and
the breadth and craftsmanship he has exhibited
SIS a member Of the Philippine Commission and
~ the Cabinet have won for him the support of
ma ioritY Of the voters in his party. who will
rejoice At learning that he IS prepared yield
10 their wishes il these wishes are clearly
enough expressed.
The objections tn his availability To which Mr..
Taft refers are assumed 10 he the fact that he Is
hold in some quarters TO be the author Of in
functions against labor organizations. and that
he regards il as essentially his duty to advo-
cste and work Tor freer trade with the Philip
pines that he Is likely incur the opposition of
the extreme protectionsts in his own party. Nor
viii the fact that this advocacy may initiate
against his political future in the slightest de-
gree deter him from what he regards a his duty
10 the Philippines. II is also held that the dam
ger of being represented as an administration
candidate something Of a handicap to Mr..
Taft. The President has scrupulously refrained
successor. and has emphatically declared that
time viii he DO
on the other hand. there are in Washing
ton. and among them some of the ablest poll
tcians and students OF political affairs, who de-
clare that Secretary Taft has sounded the death
knel Of his political future. at least has
adopted a policy which viii inevitably prevent
him from obtaining the nomination. Those who
take this position declare that the organization
to r11as of
Mr. Taft. and that this organization not the
Republican voters as a whole. will name the
delegates TO the next national convention. They
declare that the only method by which Mr.. Taft
can obtsin the support OF the delegation from his
own state is by accepting the offe- of certain
influential friends 10 go into the field now and
make a fight capture the organization, and
This is precisely what the Secretary declines
70 do.
politician OF great experience. who shares
this view of Secretary Taft's availability, said:
We're Presidential nominations the result ct
popular prina ries. in which the voters OF the
party could express their unhampered choice.
Mr Taft would be nominated but parties in
this country are and must lie controlled by
organizations and 90 not believe that strong
Taft sentiment is 10 be found in the organiza-
lions which go o make up the Republican party.
Secretary Taft holds the views Pres-
despite The fact that his long judicial training
has produced in him great deliberation in
reaching conclusions. Theodore Roosevelt could
never have obtained the Presidential nomination
from The Republican party except for the knowl-
edge which the voters had gained of him while
he was filing the unexpired term Of President
Mckinley: even at Chicago the sentiment OF the
organization at heart opposed TO him, but it
realized that only his nomination could bring
victory 10 the Republican party"
Summing up therefore, the men who hold
these yiews-and they are among the abest
politicians in Washington, possibly in the coun-
fry-express confidence that Mr.. Taft's unwin-
ingness TO 'fsO after the nomination, the
friendship which the President entertains for
him and that adherence 10 his convictions
which he maintains in the face OF the wishes Of
influential men in his party will combine 10
put him out OF the running long before the nom
mating convention, which is still eighteen months
distant, meets.
POLITICAL ACTIVITY INCREASING.
The Ohio publication and Secretary Taft's
statement have. however. served TO emphasize
the fact that the time is rapidly approaching
when Presidential nominations in order. For
the present all the men regarded as Presiden-
tisl possibilities taking to the tall timber.
under the impression that IL would hamper their
purposes they 70 admit at this time
that they are candidates. Such an admission
would. they believe. result in their becoming
Immediately the targets for the stones which
viii invariably be thrown at any man who an
nounoes that he is candidate for the Presiden-
tial nomination Of one OF the great political
parties. Nevertheless there numerous evi-
derces that al men vi. hax- heard