The Elbert County tribune., 1907-08-22

Columbus, Ohio.-William H. Taft,
secretary Of war, made what he was
pleased to term his political confes-
sion of faith,' at Memorial hall, under
the auspices of the Buckeye Repub-
lican club. The auditorium which has
a seating capacity of more than 5000,
was packed to the doors
The address was notable from the
fact that it is regarded as the plat
form upon which he will make his
campaign for the Republican nomina-
tion for President.
Special interest was manifested in
Secretary Taft's utterances on the tar
iff. He reiterated his previous declara-
tons 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
Dingley bill as soon after the next
presidential election as possible. Taft
also declared in favor of Imprisonment
of individuals responsible for viola
tions of the antitrust law, and for
the giving or accepting of rebates, as
more effective than fines. His defense
of President RooseveIt's policies
evoked enthusiastic applause.
Secretary Taft spoke in part as fol-
lows:
Il have been invited by your body to
discuss the national issues. Some of
these involve the abuses over which
the public conscience has been aroused
and the proper remedy for their re-
moval.
''The first, and possibly the greatest
abuse, has been in the management of
tQrtD oil of hA ft.tF
which the interstate railroads form
Any unjust discrimination in the terms
upon which transportation OF freight
or passengers is afforded an individual
or locality paralyzes and withers the
business of the individual or the local
ity exactly as the binding of the ar
teries and veins leading to member
of the human body destroys its life.
Rate Law Falls Short.
''The rate law does not go far
enough. The practice under it has al
ready disclosed the necessity for new
amendments and will doubtless sug-
gest more. Such Is the true method
the empirical and tentative method
of securing proper remedies for a new
evil.
"The classification of merchandise
for transportation is a most important
matter in rate fixing, for by transfer
from one class to another the rate is
changed and may work injustice. With
the power of rate fixing, 1t would seem,
should go the power in the commission
to classify and prescribe rules for uni
form classification by all railroads.
Recent revelations have emphasized
tho pernicious effect of the so-called
over-capitalization of railroads which
aids INSCRIPTIONS stock manipulators
in disposing of railway securities at un-
reasonably high prices to innocent
buyers.
"a railroad company engaged in in
terstate commerce should not be per-
mitted, therefore, to issue stocks or
bonds and put them on sale in the mar
kct except after a certificate by the in
terstate commerce commission that the
securities are issued with the approval
of the commission for legitimate rail
ro2d purpose.
"The contention on behalf of the
railroads, already noticed, that such
supervision as the rate bill and these
suggested amendments afford, is So
cialistic and tends to government own
ership, is utterly without basis.
'They discharge a public function.
They have been weighed in the balance
and found wanting. The remedy for
the evils must be radical and effective.
II it is not so, then we may certainly
expect that the movement toward gov
ernment ownership will become for
midable one that can not be stayed.
Opposes Government Ownership"
Il am opposed TO government own
ership-
First, because existing government
railways are not managed with either
the efficiency or economy OF privately