The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-08-30


reaffirmation of all the important poll
cies of President Roosevelt, and espe-
cially those dealing with the railroads,
trusts and the prosecution of the GRIM
inal rich. He said he was In favor
of tariff revision, but not until after
the next election, and would willingly
have the national convention promise
reduction of duties. He endeavored
to show by repeated reference to the
opinions of William j. Bryan that the
Roosevelt administration had not
adopted In their entirety the Bryan
policies. He favored the railroad rate
law, but advocated amendments pre-
venting overcapitaliZation, the purchase
of stock of competing lines and the
election Of the same directors by COM
peting roads. Government ownership
Of railroads he opposes because it
would cost $4,000 100000 to acquire
them, because they could not be man
aged effectively or economically and
because chief executive could use
them to control business and politics.
To remedy existing corporate evils he
would send wealthy offenders to jail.
AS to the Roosevelt proposals for the
graduated income and inheritance
taxes, Mr.. Taft said it was within the
power of the federal government to
impose them whenever public finances
require 1t, but that as matters now
stand he would not favor such legisla-
ton. The charge that Roosevelt's
policies are socialistic Taft character
ICES as absurd, saying that the admin
istration would stop the growth of So
cialism by demonstrating the govern
ment's ability to stamp out evils which
had caused social unrest. The speech
ended with a eulogy of the president.
President Defies PIotters.
At Provincetown, Mass, Aug. 20, In
the presence of a great throng Of peo-
| pie, President Roosevelt officiated In
laying the cornerstone Of the Pilgrims
! monument and took occasion to let
the country know that the recent finan-
cial furry had not caused him to aban-
| don his policy toward criminal corpora
| tons. Varying from the text of the
| speech as previously given out to the
press, the glst Of which had leaked out
| In Wall street, the president babe de-
| fiance to the men of great wealth,
whom he openly charged with plotting
! to depress the market in the hope of
I discrediting his administration. He
said he had received countless requests,
public and private, that he should say
| something to ease the situation. He
pointed out that financial disturbance
was worldwide, and he believed most
of it was due to matters not confined
to this country and wholly unconnected
with any government action. But"
he said, sit may well be that the de-
termination of the government, in
which, gentlemen, it will not waver, to
punish certain malefactors of great
wealth has been responsible for some
thing of the troubles, at least to the
extent of having caused these men to
combine tobring about as much financial
stress ms they possibly can in order to
discr&it the policy of the government
and thereby to secure reversal of
that policy, so that they may enjoy the
fruits of their own evil doing. That
they have misled many good people
into believing that there should be such
reversal of policy is possible. If so,
am sorry, but 1t will not alter my atti-
tude." He said 1t was idle to ask him
not to prosecute criminals, rich or
poor, but that he wished 1t understood
that they had undertaken and would
undertake mo action Of vindictive
type and, above all, no action which
shall infict great or unmerited suffer.
ing upon innocent stockholders or upon
the public as a whole"
The president went further and &C.