The Washington herald., 1907-12-11
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

The Homecoming of Secretary Taft sets
"A new mark in official travelling. This
journey is the second globe girdling tour
he has taken. and if he had carried
distance meter with him on all his trips
through foreign lands while attending to
the business of his government it would
register 10000 miles Perhaps no high
official of any government at any time
has travelled so far for his country as
has Mr.. Taft Certainly no other Ameri-
can official OF rank has done so. Whether
or not Mr.. Taft will get the next Repub-
lican Presidential nomination. he is yet
one of the most interesting figures in the
present history y-mal1ing epoch Of the
world. Few men in all the world stand
out in bo;der relief in the chronicles of
the day than does the American Seere-
tary OF War
William II. Taft was a Federal judge
when President Mckinley called him out
into the arena Of world politics We had
a baby left on our doorstep out IN the
Pacific Ocean and that baby. named the
Philippine Islands, needed a new nurse.
Mr.. Mckinley believed Mr. Taft to be
lilt nurse par tAttlitltts ana 80 ne ctllL
him TO the orient This trip ran his mile
age UP to $500 miles Then he came back
10 the United States 20 testify before "A
Congressional committee. This doubled
his mileage. Then he went back 20 Ma
Mia by way of Rome and settled with
the Pope the delicate question of the
disposition Of the friar lands in the Phil
ippines. This gave him 21,564 miles more
10 register as a traveller.
Then he came back TO be Secretary OF
War. His next trip was to get a first
hand acquaintance with the Panama
Canal, and this added 4.S62 miles TO his
score. The President had only a short
time before requested him to take charge
Of the canal, and to devote TO it the
spare time be did not have-with the
not underscored by the Presidential
hand-and that was the way he did it.
After this came another trip to Panama,
ami following it the Taft-Cupid trip Ia
the Orient. Then Cuba got naughty and
he had to pay the Cubans a call Still
another trip TO Cuba. and the canal was
pulled of before Mr. Taft started on his
second official globe-trotting tour.
William H. Taft is "A remarkable man.
When be was in Yale he proved that a
boy can be an athlete and a student al
the same time. Tales of Bill Taft's
prowess even yet are told on the Yale
campus although he left there nearly
thirty years ago. He was the champion
heavyweight wrestler among the sons
Of Old Eli. and when il came TO class
rushes-weH. il just was no rush unless
Bill Tart was in il. Taft was a big chap
even then. His big girth Is not the prod
uct Of high living entirely. although Mr.
TAFT likes good things to eat Most Of It
IS due to his natural physical bigness
He weighed 225 pounds when he was in
school. a lad of his own size and weight
one day tackled Bill Taft. and before he
got through with his job Taft had lifted
him bodily from his feet and thrown him
over his head After that Bill Taft
found no one who was willing to dispute
his title to the heavy-weight champion
ship.
When Taft left school he went back TO
Ohio and did some newspaper work while
getting start in his profession About
this time a scandaloUs periodical ap-
peared in Cincinnati Its owner was
worthless, and suits for libel could not
remedy matters. But one day the sheet
hbeled the father of Mr.. Taft. The latter
went into the Office OF the editor and
gave him such a licking as few men get.
The paper at once suspended publica-
ton and its editor took TO the tall timber
As Senator Foraker pits himself against
Mr.. Taft from this on he can reflect upon
the changes that time brings u men, II
was Gov. Foraker who gave Mr. TAFT
his first seat on the woOlsack by ap-
pointing him a judge Of the Superior
Court Of Cincinnati to fill an unexpireI
term. At this point many biographers
of Air. Taft fall into an error. At least
two OF the most popular magazine writer's
Of to-day have said that he never held
an elective Office. This is not true. After
he had filed the unexpired term on the
bench he was a candidate for election To
the same position for full term. and
was elected by large majority. This
was the only elective Office Mr.. Taft ever
held.
As a judge Mr.. Taft always was more
interested in the spirit Of the law than
the letter. and his decisions are as often
cited to-day as those of any other cir
cult judge who ever sat on the bench
He was absolutely free from prejudice.
showing neither fear nor favor in his
judicial role. In one instance ex-Presi-
dent Harrison was counsel in a case be
fore him. and it was Harrison who had
gwen hin his position. Yet even the
urgent request OF III" eX-President did NOT
avail to have the case postponed when
postp0nement was asked. as Judge Taft
said he could see no good reason why the
case should be further delayed.
Mr.. Taft was once solicitor Of the
Treasury. He was so successful in his
work in this position that his friends all
urged him to return to private practice
when he was rendered the Federal Judge
ship They pointed out TO him that with
his reputation he could return to the prac-
tice Of law and make fortune. while
the place on the bench would afford him
little more than a livelihood. Mr.. Taft
made the characteristic reply that there
are other rewards in this world beside
dollars and cents.
Judge Taft was wearer of the in !
dicial ermine for eleven years before no
was sent by President Mckinley TO the |
Philippines. When he went there were
prophets at home and abroad who pre- |
dicted that the jolly fat man from Gin |
cinnati would fail in his mission. When
the Americans in the Philippines met him
and talked with him they thought what
a pity il would be for him TO have his /
beautiful notions about the Filipinos
rudely upset But the chance to say Il |
told you so never came to them. for
Mr.. Tafts theories worked out in a vyay |
that satisfied tho Ffiininoc .,a Il