The Springfield herald., 1907-08-23

l
+ and declares charge of Social i.
I. ism against them absurd. +
+ Says Bryan's proposed ma i.
+ tional referendum absurd, and +
+ that commoner seems to favor +
+ law to convict peaceful wealthy +
+ and pass by lawless poor. +
+ +
1.
Columbus, Ohio.-William H. Taft,
secretary of war, made what he was
pleased to term his political confes-
sion of faith" at Memorial hall, under
the auspices of the Buckeye Repub-
lican club. The auditorium, which has
seating capacity of more than 5000,
was packed to the doors.
The address was notable from the
fact that 1t is regarded as the plat
form upon which he will make his
campaign for the Republican nomina-
ton for President.
Special interest was manifested in
Secretary Taft's utterances on the tar
if. He reiterated his previous declara-
tons in favor of revision. and de-
clared that 1t would be both unwise
| and unsafe for the Republican party
, to fail to pledge itself to revise the
Dingley bill as soon after the next
| presidential election as possible. Taft
| also declared in favor of Imprisonment
| of individuals responsible for viola
tons of the antitrust law, and for
the giving or accepting of rebates. as
more effective than fines. His defense
| of President Roosevelt's policies
evoked enthusiastic applause.
Secretary Taft spoke in part as fol
lows:
81 have been invited by your body to
discuss the national issues. Some of
these involve the abuses over which
the public conscience has been aroused
and the proper remedy for their re-
| moyal.
THE first, and possibly the greatest
abuse has been in the management of
the arterial system of the country
which the interstate railroads form.
| Any unjust discrimination in the terms
upon which transportation of freight
or passengers is afforded an individual
or locality paralyZes and withers the
business of the individual or the local
ity exactly as the binding of the ar
teries and veins leading to a member
of the human body destroys its life.
| Rate Law Falls Short.
"The rate law does not go far
enough The practice under it has al
ready disclosed the necessity for new
amendments and will doubtless sug-
gest more. Such is the true method
the empirical and tentative method
of securing proper remedies for a new
evil
| THE classification of merchandise
for transportation is most important
| r..,- .
from one class to another the rate is
changed and may work injustice. With
the power of rate fixing, it would seem
should so the power in the commission
to classify and prescribe rules for uni
| form classification by all railroads.
Recent revelations have emphasized
| the pernicious effect of the so-called
| ver-capitalization of railroads which
aids unscrupulous stock manipulators
in disposing of railway securities at un
reasonably high prices to innocent
buyers.
"A railroad company engaged in in
| terStatc commerce should not be per
mitted, therefore, to issue stocks OF
bonds and put them on sale in the mar
| kCt except after certificate by the in
terstate commerce commission that the
securities are issued with the approval
| rocd purpose.
"The contention on behalf of the
railroads. already noticed, that such
| supervision as the rate bill and these
suggested amendments afford. is so
cialistic and tends to government own
ership, is utterly without basis.
"They discharge a public function
| Thy have been weighed in the balance
and found wanting. The remedy foi
| the evils must be radical and effective
| If it is not so, then we may certainly
| expect that the movement toward gov
ernment ownership will become a for
midable one that can not be stayed.
Opposes Government Ownership"
81 am opposed TO government own
ership-
First, because existing government
railways are not managed with either
the efficiency or economy of privately
managed roads and the rates charged
are not as low and therefore not as
beneficial to the public.
Second, because 1t would involve ar
! expenditure of certainly twelve billions
of dollars to acquire the interstate rail
| ways and the creation of an enormous
national debt.
| Third because 1t would place in the
! hands of reckless executive a power
| of control over business and politics
| that the imagination can hardly con
ceive. and would expose our popular
| institutions to danger.
| 1.-The movement of competing rail
way companies to consolidate aros,
originally from fear that the anti
4 ~ f.,rlN do haf to lre