Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-09-16
GREAT POSTPONER.
Is The TITLE GIVEN SECRETARY
TAFT BY v. ]. BRYAN.
Saws the Heavyweight Secretary
Advises pOstponement of Tariff
Reform, Income and Inheritance
Taxes, Railway Regulation and Self
GOvernmen for the FiIipinOS.

|
liam J. Bryan here tonight reply to
the recent address of Secretary of
War Taft upon the Oklahoma-In-
dian territory political situation in
who were unable to secure admit
lance to the auditorium attended an
overflow meeting nearby. Mr.. Bry-
an was enthusiastically received In
addition to scoring Secretary Taft
soundly for placing his personal am
billions above the welfare of the peo-
views of Secretary Taft on national
politics. Mr.. Bryan declared that
the constitution of the proposed new
state was even better than that of
the United States. Mr. Bryan said:
Secretary Taft in his speech made
in this territory a few days ago ad-
vised the people to reject the pro-
posed constitution and postpone
statehood until another enabling act
had been secured. At first blush
one might suspect that the secre-
tary's advice was due to his personal
interest in the next election. He
might be accused of advising the
postponement of statehood with a
view to keeping seven electoral votes
out of the democratic column, but
the more generous view to take of
the matter is that his advice result
ed from his habits of thought.
"He is inclined to postpone every
thing. He promises to acquire the
title of the Great Postponer. In a
speech made not long ago at Column
bus, o., he announced himself in
favor of tariff reform, but he would
postpone it until after the next cleo
ton. He also made an elaborate ar
gument in favor of the income tax,
but he would postpone it Indefinitely.
He agreed with the president in re-
gard to the wisdom of an inheritance
tax, but that, too, he would postpone
until more convenient season. He
did not seriously object to regula-
tion of railroads, but he did not de-
clare for it Immediately. He is on
the way to the Philippines to tell the
Filipinos that while he thinks they
ought to have self-government after
a while, he wants it postponed for
the present. 1t is not strange there
fore, that he should yield to his rul-
ing spirit in the matter of state
hood and tell you to put it Off"
Mr.. Bryan took up one by one Mr.
Tafts objections to the Oklahoma
constitution and argued against the
sOundness of the secretarys conten-
tons. Mr.. Bryan continued:
"Have you read his Columbus
speech? If so, you will find in it an
arraignment of protection as we
have it today-an appeal for a reyis-
ion of the tarilf-but he paralyAed
the force of his own speech by post
poning the tariff reform until after
the election. Tariff reform is never
undertaken by the republicans just
after a republican victory, because
the victory is taken as an indorse-
ment of the policy and is never un-
dertaken before an election for fear
it will interfere with another repub-
lican victory.
Secretary Taft did not discuss the
trust question; he wisely avoided it,
because he favors taking a backward
step on that question.
Secretary Taft made plea in
favor of imperialism. Well, the peo-
pie of Oklahoma have had enough
experience with carpet-bag govern
ment to know something about a col
onial policy.
IF officers appointed by the fed
eral government are SO unsatisfac-
tory, what must be the feeling OF
! the Filipinos against officers of am
| other race sent across the ocean 10
administer a government? | Hm
glad that Secretary Taft has referees
to the Philippines, ror his discussion
shows that he believes in a colonial
policy and that he disputes the doc
trines set forth in the Declaration Of
| Independence. While he himae'f
seems disposed to acquiesce in iue
suffrage amendments adopted in Io
| South, he oyerloOEs the fact that Oh
| black man of the South has the pJo-
lection of living under laws whic1
the white man makes for himself,
while the Filipino lives under the
laws which the white man macs
for the Filipino, laws under which
the white man would not himself be
willing to live.
Then, too, the secretary confuses
| two questions that are entirely dis
tinct. The question in the South is
not whether the black man is capa-
BILE of self-government; it is wheth-
er he is capable of conducting gov
eminent under which the white man