The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-27
TAFT STATES
 HIS POSITION Also Voices Sentiments of Senator Knox in Regard to the Presidential
 Nomination. NOT RUNNING
 AWAY FROM IT President Hadley Announces Names of Benefactors of Yale at Alumni
 Dinner.

At the dinner of the Yale alumni yes- terday afternoon Secretary William Howard Taft in behalf of himself and Senator Knox, who was also at the din- neK stated their stand in regard to the republican nomination for suc- cessor to President Roosevelt. MT, Taft, to illustrate his point, told the story of the Kentucky mountaineer who each year regularly voted the re- publican ticket, until finally d repub- lican governor was elected. Then he came down to Frankfort to see if he could be of any further help to the party. He stopped at the best hotel, which, by the way, was a poor one; then went to the hash houses and lunch counters. He hoped that the re- publicans were grateful for what he had dcne for them, but as he went about no one said much to him. One day he was seen going slowly out of Frankfort and some one asked him where he was going. He replied mournfully that he was going back to the mountains to hi5 home but added:
 "I have heard great deal of talk about the office seeking the man, but I have not seen any of 1t. If you see any office seeking the man, however, say that you saw Jim Scrubbs going down the Alexandria pike and that he was going damn slow"
 Cheers of the 5000 assembled grad uates and students followed this ex- planation of MT. Taft and MT. Knox's position in the matter. MT. Taft con- tinued:
 q don't thing my friend the sena- tor quite understands how much we have done for him by conferirng the degree on him to-day and making him Yale man. And I might add that there are other men who occupy the same position as Brother Knox and l do in regard to our position and pros- pects for the nomination And some of them became handicapped to-day when the corporation made MT. Knox a Yale man.
 Tt is not right that the former att torney general who is now senator, should not speak to-day. The corpora ton stood up on it's legs twenty minu- tes to-day to administer to MT. Knox along with others, his degree. But suppose that he thinks that the fact he has already delivered an address to the Law school students, let's him out. His address on constitutional law was admirable in every degree.
 Besides the solid matter such as that, I believe you want at commence ment some gingerbread and sugar and so you have called up me. Some are called upon to speak and some to give funds. Every Yale man who has money should follow this motto, Be fore You Die See Stokes
 ''To return to the Law school com nlencement, I was glad to see two of Philippine students taking high hon ors. Last year we had the honor at commencement of listening to the chief justice of the Philippines and a mem Der of the commission, l am glad to see the progress of those eastern is lands.
 "After speaking highly of the men on whom the corporation confered the honorary degrees, MT. Taft referred to those who are doing a great deal of work quietly for the university. Among those he named was Clarence Kelsey, valedictorian of his class, Otto Bar nard of '76 who was not a valedictorian and Barnum'77, who was equally com mon place.
 Those men," he said, fare of great service to Yale, and the work comes from their hearts. They constitute ar teries of finance and represent the high est type of men in Wall street. Their alma mater is greatly indebted to them"
 President Hadley had introduced Sec retary Taft as Bill" Taft, and said that to whatever position he might rise he would always be known to Yale men as "Bill' Taft. He said that the sec- retary's son, who is in the freshman class, bid fair to beat out his fathers record for high scholarship, and the secretary, who was in the upper ten in the class, beamed with delight
 The graduates went in to dinner at 1:3O o'clock. The gallery at one end of the hall and extra tiers of seats were occupied by ladies fortunate enough to secure tickets. At the west end was a platform ten feet high on which the speakers and invited guests sat. Over it was a large sounding board, which carried the words spoken to the far thest end of the hall. The oldest man, in time of graduation, who was pres ent, was Dr Gran, of the class of '43.
 HndIey TOastmaster.
 After Rev. Joseph Twichell, of Hart ford, senior member of the corporation, had offered grace and the dinner was disposed of President Hadley, who act ed as toastmaster, spoke. He said that, though in many respects the past year has been a bad one financially, for Yale 1t has been one of great. success; the subscriptions of graduates have been the largest, with one exception, of any
 SContinued on Third Page)