The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-06-10
MONDAY. JUNE %, 1907
Prophecy Of Two Years Ago.


4 speech made by Secretary Taft at
Akron, Ohio, in the course Of the State
campaign of 1905 has been revamped as
Of present interest in view of Mr.. Tafts
candidacy for the Presidency Gov. Her
rickS defeat in the ensuing election by
the Democratic candidate for governor
suggests the interesting inquiry whether
Mr. Taft still adheres to his prediction.
made in the Akron speech, that Her
ricks overthrow would be "heralded as
the dawn Of the new Democracy. signifi-
cant of what was TO happen i'm the next
Congressional and the next Presidential
elections" Mr.. Taft went on 20 elabo-
rate his political prophecy In this wise
The Truth is that % one who studies the signs
Of the times it Is perfectly apparent that MI
BTan IS gradually rssgming control over the Demo
cratic parts and proposes 90 assume the aggressive
IN d controversy IN which DE hopes 20 array the
POOR against the rich. % shake the present system
Of private property and freedom 81 contract %
cripple the Federal courts that are nov such a
bulvark in the defense q the constitutional rights
cf individuals 20 substitute for present system
Of railways. privately owned and maintained. gov
eminent railways and m every way 20 introduce a
system ri patenaliSm leading toward socialism.
NtL'A III Alt Gnu HNIilA ffINdIlih idsai.kt lit
dustrial and social progress q this country.
Since the Ohio campaign Of 1903 there
has been developed under the leadership
OF President Roosevelt an aggressive Re
publicsnism that has taken over a con-
siderable portion Of the available political
assets Of the aggressive Democracy.
Equally significant with the dawn Of a
e
new RepublicaniSm. OF which singularly
enough, Mr.. Taft is set down as a leader
worthy 10 follow in the footsteps Of the
original metropolitan. Now, if Mr..
Taft were a "reactonary.' what Ian
guage could he more aptly employ %
express reactionary opinion Of the drift
and tendency of the new Republicanism
than that in which he pilloried the Bryan
Democracy? In fact. his conception Of
the Bryan Democracy is precisely that
entertained by the ''reactionary" Opposi-
ton 20 ROoseveItian policies Of all those
popular measures that have made the
Roosevelt administration famous. Time
brings Its revenses, and none could be
more remarkable than the quotation Of
passages from Republican campaign
speeches, condemnatory Of radical De
mocracy, that may now be used with
almost equal justice in condemnation OF
neo-Republicanisn, as represented by the
followers of Mr.. Roosevelt
We do not. however. entirely associate
ourselves. as the French say. with MI.
Taft's Characterization Of the Bryan De-
mocracy Mr.. Bryans platform in its
simplest form, as he himself puts it. is
Smash the trusts revise the tariff. and
regulate the railroads" Somewhat al
tered that is also Mr.. Roosevelt's plan
Of campaign: Smash some Of the trusts.
revise the tariff some time, perhaps. and
regulate the railroads But wherein is
the one programme more paternalistic or
more socialistc than the other? II the
platform Of the Bryan Democracy. always
excepting Mr. Bryans government rail-
way scheme. which he himself has rele-
gated TO the limbo Of the ultimate is
''paternalism leaning toward socialism. %
what kind Of paternalism is that for
which the Republican party now stands?
So far as that sort Of political criticism
is concerned, Mr.. Taft is now living in a
glass house Political opinion has not
marked time since 1893. and the Akron
speech, il brought up to date, would re-
quire some notable corrections.