The morning journal-courier., 1907-12-31
Vigorously Defends the Ad- ministration in a Notable Address Before Mer- chants Association
 of Boston.
CAUSES OF TROUBLE
Capitalists Held Responsible Revelations Created Distrust Government Must Press it's policies-Hopeful
 of the Future.

Boston, Dec, 30.-Greeted with cheers as the next president of the United States topic which he care- fully avoided in his own remarks however, Secretary of War William H. Taft delivered his first public speech since his worldcircling tour tonight at the annual banquet of the Boston Merchants association at the Hotel Somerset. The banquet closed a long and strenuous day for the secretary of war, during which he delivered brief address before the 400 ministers in the morning and attended a reception and spoke before a large gathering of the Jews of the city at the Elysium club in the afternoon.
 A more notable gathering of promi- nent and representative Boston busi- ness men has seldom been seen in Boston than that which greeted the secretary tonight. Previous to the banquet a brief reception was held in the parlors of the hotel, during which Secretary Taft met the speakers and principal guests of the evening.
 In the banquet hall beautiful deco rations adorned the tables which pro- vided for the seating of over five hun dred guests, while behind the speak CTS table were a great many Ameri- can flags,
 President Jerome Jones of the Bos- ton Merchants association, presided over the banquet Seated on either side of him were the speakers and guests of honor. who included Secre- tary of War William H. Taft, Con gressman Swager sherley of Ken lucky, Lieutenant Governor Eben s. Draper of Massachusetts,, Mayor John n. Fitzgerald, and Rt Rev William Lawrence, bishop of Massachusetts.
 Lieutenant Governor Draper extend ed the welcome of the commonwealth to Secretary Taft and Congressman Sherley, and was followed by Mayor Fitzgerald, who extended the welcome of the city
 Introducing Secretary Taft, Presi~ dent Jones said.
 eve are favored this evening by the presence of a man from the middle west who has impressed us all with his fitness for the most important posi- tion a great and powerful nation can bestow and in brief an official of great strength and wisdom. He has recently put a girdle around the earth as an ambassador of peace and good will. visiting the great rulers of mighty na- tions, and we want to hear him talk to usn
 Immediately a great cheer rose from the assembly and as the secretary of war rose to open his speech all the guests stood up with him and filled the air with long continued cheers.
 Calls from many parts of the room for three cheers for Secretary Taft, the next president of the United States" were met with more tumul- tous cheering.
 Secretary Taft's Speech.
 Secretary Taft then delivered the fol- lowing speech, which he read from manuscript throughout, making no ad- ditions or comment relative to his own candidacy for the presidency or other topic:
 During the last three months, the country has suffered from a severe monetary panic Even yet the clearing house certificates finger in your bank exchanges as emphatic evidence of it's severity and of the extreme measures which had to be taken to avoid greater disaster. Doubtless many of my hear CTS have not yet recovered from the intense nervous strain and mental suf- fering to which they have been sub- iected since the middle of October. The panic has been given a certain pollti- cal bearing and importance. For this reason, 1 have selected it as my topic of tonight:
 The panic of 1907, its causes, its probable effects, and the relation to il aof the policies of the national admin sistration.
 N What did cause the panic? Writers upon financial subjects who have given their lives and constant attention to matters of this kind, who are able te 4 institute a comparison of, the present panic with previous panics, and whc are entirely familiar with the condi- tions preceding all of them, substan- tially agree upon the causes PanicS and industrial Impressions are the re- suit of the characteristics of human nature, which manifest themselves in business or elsewhere The world gen erally has a certain amount of loanable capital available for new enterprises or the enlargement of ola ones. In pc riods of prosperity, this capital with | the instrumentalities for enlarging il potentially by credits is put into new enterprises which are profitable, and < the increase in free capital goes or H almost in arithmetical progression, Al ter time, however, expenses of opera tion and wages increase and the profit from the new enterprises grows small CT. The loanable capital gradually changes its form into investments les: and less convertible. Much of that which might be cnr is wasted ir unwise enterr 'avagance ir ICon o-eeA