The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-15
TAFT TURNS GUN ON BRYAN Critieises ths Democratic
 Leg q HE RAKEs P FREE SILVER
 I~- Replies to omment on Roosevelt
 Letter. Say. >srsskas Has Sought once Twelve years snd Ha. se- iected Issues onIy as vote-
 Catehers.


 are ample indications of his own po- litical position. William H. Taft to- day replied to Mir Bryan's comment on the Roosevelt letter. by switching the spotlight of Inquiry back to Mir Bry- ans own political record and making an analysis thereof.
 This Is Mir. Taft's reply: Tn my notification speech and in other | speeches made since I attempted to make clear my position on all the is- sues of the campaign. If MT. Bryan has been unable to understand them I cannot make them clear. stand on my record
 "Mr Bryan should devote a little time to his own record. from which he seems to be struggling to separate himself. with all the adroitness ac- quired in twelve years hunt for an issue upon which he can be elected President.
 The readiness with which Mir. Bry- sn in successive presidential cam paigns passes from one paramount Issue to another shows that the chief consideration which has affected his selection of an issue has been its plausibility in attracting votes. He presents the remarlxable spectacle of one who has been seeking the preai-, dency for twelve years without suc- cess and without official responsibili- ties and without the opportunity to test the various propositions which hA has advanced for reforms and yet of having the event demonstrate what colossal failure he would have made h each instance had he been permit ted to carry his proposals into policies
 Policies of Bryan.
 He does not nov say whether he ia still in favor of the free coinage of silver He does not now aHswsF the question whetheF lf l3e were Prea3- which he would be called upon to ex- srcise his discretion af1rmnttvely to maintain the parity bvtweAn gold and EsjIyet. he would exerciee that dlscre- ton He was not permitted himself to discuss in this campaign the issue of anti-lmperiallsm which was the paramount issue In 1900. as he de- 5 nlared, and in respect to which the policy of the Republican party has been vindlcated so that tranquility and good government exist in the Philippine Islands. and even the in- dependists prefer Republican victory to Mr. Bryan's promises.
 ''He now says that he favors the more rigid regulation of the railroads In 1896 he expressed the view that the railroads could not be regulated be- cause the railroads would own the regulator appointed by law, and therefore he was in favor of govern n1ent ownership. We hear nothing from him on this subject. Instead. by describing his platform. not only as an announcement of principle but as a protection against uncomfortable is- sues. he has attempted to give bond to keep the peace with respect to 1 ownership which by its mere an- nouncement showed its lack of vote- | catching quality.
 Heir to Roosevelt.
 He professes to have been the | father and now to be the heir of the | Roosevelt policies and yet, in no cam | paign of the three in which he has | taken part, and two of which he him. | self led, did he make them the para mount issue. Indeed. in the Parker | Mir. Roosevelt with miiitarism and | with being completely subject to the | influence of corporations only to see | him within the greatest peace triumph | of the world and secure such an ef- fectlve stamping out of corporate abuses as to elicit the admiration of the entire country.
 "Mr. Bryan professes to be the great friend of labor and yet he was one of the chief supporters In the pas sage of the German Wilson bill that made labor helpless for four years. He proposed as a remedy of the dis asters to which labor was thus ex- posed, the Issuing of a fifty-cent dol far which would have cut in half such wages as there were and would have led to the hardest kind of struggle on labor's part to restore its wages to It's proper equivalent under the gold standard.
 The country has been most fortun- ate that the fallacy of Mir Bryan's proposition of reform has been ex- posed without the cost of putting them into actual governmental prac- tice.'
 What Bryan Said.
 Baltimore. Md, Sept. IA few plain, simple sentences from Mir. Taft will be worth more than the eulogy that the President pronounces. The Presidents endorsement is of no value unless the President will agree to stay In Washington and see that Mir Taft makes good.y
 In these words. Will am J. Bryan summed up his opinion of the Presi- dents commendatory letter on Mir. Taft. soon after the Democratic candidate arrived In this city. The letter was urged the election of Taft.
 "It was expected. of course" said MT. Bryan. that President Roosevelt would support Mir. Taft. .Ie could hardly do less in view o1 the fact that he selected him as the administration candidate and supported him with all the influence that the administration could bring to bear.
 "The presidents letter may be ob jected to as irrelevant immaterial and not the best evidence. If Mir. Taft were dead 1t would be Interesting to know from Mir Roosevelt what he knew of Mir. Taft's opinion and work. but as Mir. Taft is alive and able to speak for himself it is hardly necessary for Mir. Roosevelt to tell us what Mir. Taft will do
 MT. Taft is running upon a plat. form which was so unsatisfactory that he had to amend 1t In several import ant particulars. and yet even as amend ed. it gives the public no definite Idea as to what Mir. Taft stands for. Mir. Taft also has made some speeches and promises to make some more. The ones |