Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-08-29

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 overeapitalization. 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 S12,000,OOOO0 to acquire
them, because they could not be man
aged effectively or economically and
because a 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 it, but that as matters now
stand he would not favor such legisIa-
ton The charge that Roosevelt,s
policies are soeialistie 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 eulogy of the president.
President Defies PIotters.
At Proyincetowa, Mass, Aug. 20. in
the presence of a great throng of peo-
pie, President Roosevelt OBLIGATED 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 gist of which had leaked out
in Wall street, the president babe de-
flance to the men of great wealth,
whom he openly charged with plotting
to depress the market in the hope of
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, tit 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 to bring about as much financial
stress as they possibly can in order to
discredit 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. Ii so, /
am sorry, but it will not alter my atti-
tude.7 He said 1t was idle to ask him
not to prosecute criminals, rich or
poor, but that he wished it understood
that they had undertaken and would
undertake no action of vindictive
type and, above all, no action which
shall inhict great or unmerited suffer-
ing upon innocent stockholders or upon
the public as 4 whole.
The president went further and de-