The Democrat-sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1906-1935, 1906-07-26
Big, Fat Man

Jlley Gull MIN Dill IN ClnclnnhUl,
and the president calls him Bill,
sometimes--went down into North
Carolina to teach political wisdom
to the people south of Mason and
Dixon's liGe.E
Reports do not say whether the
people in Dixie laughed right into
Taft's big, broad FACET is prob.
able, that they didn't for the
southern people are far famed fol-
their courteousness. But it is
reasonable to believe that they are
laughing up their sleeves at the
presumption of the aforesaid Taft,
who went among the Carehnians
as a special messenger OF the "big
stick" to tell them what all the
people of the south ought to do to
gain the eternal good will of the
"big stick" and of all the big
heads associated with it.
Taft told the people of Dixie
that what they ought to do to
neutrality-suspicious. political wisdom
is to "break up the solid south. "
Great head great wisdom for a
secretary of war to blurt right in
to the teeth of southern Democra-
cy SIN time of peace
Men like Ben Tillman-God
bless him and Joe Blackburn,
and Judge Tarvin, and Ed Car
mack, and John Sharp Williams,
and host of others, who know
more about the south and it's needs
and its. politics by their life's
work in Dixie than Taft would
learn in 1000 years by looking
across the Ohio. river into Dixie
from Walnut Hills or Mt. Auburn,
or any other Of Cincinnati's seven
hills, will surely be grateful to
Taft for coming right among them
to tell them that they must "bfeak
up the solid SOUTH
1t never occurred to Taft, per-
haps, that these southerners, and
many more than those named,
could retort with equal emphasis
and greater stress of fact, that
what is needed more than break
ing up the solid south is to break
up the "solid north" and the
political idolatry of the "solid
north, " as displayed in the last
three presidential campaigns in
the temple of Baal and the Joss
house of :Stand-Pat.
1t would be fitting rebuke to
Taft if the people of Dixie should |
respond to Taft's clarion command |
to "break up the solid south" by
telling him to "mind his
own business in the secretary of
wars office, or the Philippines, or
The Panama canal, or wherever it
really is, and say alsos"it will be
time to talk about breaking up the
solid south when the people north
IF Mason and !, DiXon's line get
enough political sense to break up
the "solid north. -
Why did Taft tell them down in
Dixie that they ought to break up
he solid south? Before he went
% Carolina to tell them that, be
vent to Sycamore Hill to submit
his "sDeech" to Roosevelt. Did
Taft tell the Carolinians to break
Up the solid south because Roose
'elt wants them to do so, and will
10 it with his ''big stick" if they
Ion't do it with their ballots?
Did Taft tell them that it is be-
'ause the "big stick" wants to
'eat out more electoral votes for
himself south of Mason and Dix
ms line.in 1908 than he did in
9o4? Or does Taft want the
solid south broken up so he can
get some of the fragments for
Iimself in d008-providing Roose-
elt desig1ates him as "heir APP
'arent" by using the "big stick"
o belabor the next national con-
ention into giving Taft the nomi-
alton? To a casual observer
ere in OHIO, who pretends to
now no more about the south
han Taft does, and who believes
hat the Tillmans and other brainy
len of the south know what the
outh wants and needs politically
nd every other way, Taft's speech ,
b the Carolinians reads like one
ord for the south and l6 words