The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-08-20
Secretary Of War Makes
Keynote Speech to Ohio
Republican Club.
DEFENDS POLICY
OF THE PRE- SIDEN1s
Advocates Revision Of Tariff AZ
ter Presidential Election,
Stands by Presidents
Railroad Views and
Favors 1mprison
ment.

COLUMBUS. o.. August 1s.--william
II. Tafs Secretary of War. made what
he was pleased to term his "pblitica,
confession of faith at Memorial Hall
atSo- night The auditorium. which has Q
seating capacity of more than 5000.
i was packed to the doors and several
thousand persons who came to hear
the secretary speak were unable to gain
lradmittance.
The secretary spoke under the aus
Ipices OF the Buckeye Republican Club.
and the address was notable from the
fact that 1t is regarded as the plat
form upon which he will make his cam
paign for the Republican nomination
/ Tor President.
Mr.. Taft made no formal announce
ment of his candidacy, but he was
introduced by Governor Harris as the
next President of the United States
which was the signal for prolonged
|outburst of applause
Special Interest was manifested in
Secretary Taft's Eutterances on the tar
4 IiT. He reiterated his previous declara-
tions 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
DingleS law as soon after the next
presidential election as possible.
Mr.. Taft also declared In favor of
imprisonment of individuals responsible
for violations of the antitrust law and
Tor the giving or accepting OF re-
bates as "A more effective measure. His
defense of President Roosevelt's poll
cies evoked enthusiastic applause. Sec.
retary Taft spoke in part as followsl
eff the IntcrstnIe) Commixsion
could not fix rates, then neither
II nor Il court could safely deter
4 mine whether rute was unrea-
sonnblc."
ait is well understood that the.
Elkins bill WAS pnsscd without
opposItion by, and with the full
consent of, the RAILROADS., and that
the chief reason for this wns the
elimination of the peuitentfary
4 penalty for unjust discrfnilnations.',s
4 IA railway company engaged In
interstute commerce sho6ld not be 4
permitted to issue stock Or bonds
and put them sale In the market
except after n certificate by the
Interstate Commerce Commission
TINT the securities are issued with
the approval of the commission for
n lcs4timate railroad purpose.'
"EMlcient regulation is the very
antidOte and preventive of sOcinl-
i ism nnd government oWnership."
"Ins the enrly enforcement OF a
:
II cause of Its evil tendencies, that
which In the past has been regard
, ed ms legitimate. juries nres not
inclined by their yerdicts to im-
prison indivilunls.'
.sNvl.en. therefore, the govern
ment revenues need addition or res
adjustment, believe Federal
graduated Inheritance tax to be
useful mems of raisin2 govern
ment funtls.'''
.oThe railways can blape no one
but themselves II the revelation OF
4 their migrant violations OF law
and of their unjust ndministration
of public trust have led,to an
outburst of popular indignation
!, and have brought temporary
exccss.''
"Thc present business. system of
the country rests on the protective
tariff, and any attempt to change
/ to free trade bnsis will scertninly
J, lead only to disaster" ~
I have been invited by your body t,l
discuss the national issues. Some o!
these involve the abuses over which
the public conscience has been aroused
and the proper remedies for their re-
moval. The first. and possibly the
greatest. abuse has been In the man-
agement of the arterial system of the
y
4 form. Any unjust discrimination In
the terms upon which transportation
of freight or passengers Is Afforded an
individual or a locality. paralyzes and
withers the business of the Individual
or the locality exactly as the eebindina
OF the arteries and veins leading to q
member OF the human body destroys
it's life.
The result of twenty years opeHa-
II ton under the interstate commerce
act of 1887. passed to restrain
abuses of unjust discrimination and
Observation-Disclosures of rates. was that
the railroads came to regard the ac-
@ tion of the commission 1T created as
of no importance. 8 In
President Roosevelt. in his massage
of 1901, asked that it be made an adj
i l*ministrative tribunal with real power
This was done by the passage of the.
i, rate bill, in June. 1905, The new act
enables the commission to AK rates
+ and gives efficacy to all of its order.
by providing that they shall go into
q effect thirty days after they are. made,
unless suspended by an order OF court
and failure to comply with them tt
a punishable by fine of $4,000 day
kduring the delinquency
Objections to Rate Bill.
Never before was there such a united
n s|opposition by the railroad interests 10
!, any national.measura as they instltutec
\ against the rate htll. a campaign OF
education was entered upon, speechea
Iwere made in every part OF. the count
3 try. and literature was showered upon
: the members of every community, With
I the hope of convincing the public thai
: the bin was dangerous innovatlon.
1 The objections urged against II cvert
!, three: First, 1t was said to be un,HtsS
> because 1t was--a departure from the
! laissez faire doctrine OF as little gov,
j ernment as possible, and was a lonE
step toward socialism and government
: ownershlp. .G
The revelations of infideilty to trust
o obligations in the insurance investiga-
! tions in New York. the fraudulent dis.
! criminatiens in the traffic OF the coal
lcarrying roads disclosed by the In