The sun., 1908-01-11

9etAenu9 toward eno worktngu1An a. the
one he held on tho bonoh Of an Ohio Oourtl'
was the succeeding ungrRmmatiCM in
Quiry. To this the Secretary replied that
the opinions he had expressed on that plat
form would be found to be supported by
every decision he had ever made In a labor
case have never changed my attitude
on this subject he declared.
He wouldn't say whether he was In favor
OF more immigration or not. The Philip
pines, Cuba. Alaska and the Canal were
on the War Departments hands. but he
hadn't had time 70 study thoroughly the
immigration question.
IL was about time for a tariff inquiry.
and t came: Isn't the industry Of this
country, based A. IL Ia on q protective tar
M. on an artificial basis and contrary TO
shs s law OF supply and demandl' -
secretary Taft met Il this way: Cor
tainly, strictly speaking. Il il on an Arti-
nclal basis. but II we were to abolish the
tarln entirely just now l very much fear
there VOL - be any business There was
= Ater and applause Mt this.
views were very well known and had fire.
quently been Expressed.
STORY WITH A sEoUEL.
To another inquirer about lnlunctiOns
as related to labor disputes Mr.. Taft told
q story. When he was on an Ohio bench
the lime dealing firm OF MoOers a Co. had
Drought suit against a bricklayers union
Tor ", 500 damages. IL seems that the union
had declared a boycott against Mooers
a 20. In consequence Of which their business
had been nearly ruined.
Ihe plaintiffs got a jury's verdict OF
$500 and they have been vRinly trying to
collect it ever since. Mr. Taft pointed out
how much more practically just It would
nave been had an Injunction been lsseud
TO prevent the illegal injury which the Law
had proved powerless to redress after II
had once been inflicted.
As a sequel to this tale came the big
scream of the evening. Somebody handed
up note reading thus:
IF il takes Mooers a CO. Is years
TO collect "a Judgment for g 500 from a
bricklayers' union. how long will it take the
United States TO collect a fine Of t2SOOO.OOO
from?
That was as far as Mr.. Taft got In reading
the inquiry. living gale Of laughter
swept the hall and it didn't subside for half
a minute. When il did MIR. Taft said that
the answer to that question involved pos
session OF mathematical powers that wero
beyond him.
What do you advise a workingman to
do who is out OF a job and whose family
70 starving because he can't get work. was
the succeeding inquiry
God knows" said Mr.. Taft solemnly.
such a man has my deepest sympathy
II they cannot get work the charities Of the
country may be appealed to, but it iS an
awful case when a man who is willing to
work and who scorns the charity OF any
man Is put in this condition.
Another injunction inquiry elected the
remark that labor unions didn't go into
court often enough. The trouble Is, said
Mr.. Taft, that the man without capital
is afraid to 60 into court. But organized
labor should not be afraid TO do this.
WOULD CHANGE SHERMAN LAW.
Somebody wanted TO know II the Secre-
tary thought the Sherman law an adequate
remedy against unlawful combinations OF
capita. Mr.. Taft thought IL was being
worked out so that it was getting to be
adequate. The trouble was that when It
was passed Congress did not understand the
forces against which il was aimed as well as
they were understood at present.
Il think the time has now como" he said,
-to draft a law as a substitute which
shall contain specifications so clear that
the business community shall know where
the line Is drawn between lawfulness and
illegality and may keep their business
within the proper limits
Just here Socialist stepped In with this
hard nut:
What do YOU think Of the sociaIistiO
method OF settling labor trOubles1
Mr. Taft replied that Socialism covered
so many theories that he didn't know what
his questioner meant. But he went on,
eff il means the rule OF a committee which
shall determine how much every doctor.
lawyer and other worker is worth to the
community and then divide up the common
wealth in accordance with that decision, l
prefer the present system-unless, Of course,
I'm on the committee" Later he had this
20 say on a cognate subject:
@It is not possible for the Government to
carry on an enterprise az economically as
private persons would carry it on for private
gain Human nature is so constituted, and
that is the answer TO many humane and
kindly theories that bear the name Of social
ism"
Still another curious person thlrsted TO
know IL anything was being done now by
the present Administration to bring about
better conditions between capital and labor.
That question is constantly before
President Roosevelt's mind" said Secre-
tary Taft. And when you are near him
il ne is constantly discussing a question
you're pretty likely to be discussing il too.
As TO the observation-disclosures liability act
there was only one thing the matter with
that. and that was that il was dead, having
been declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court on account OF an error
in the way i was drawn up. II ought
TO be repassed in proper form. and no doubt
"Why shouldn't blacklisted laborer be
allowed an injunction as well az a boycotted
oapitalist2' came next
aHe ought to be- shouted the big Secre-
tary, -and II / were on the bench when he
asked for IL I'd giveit to him mighty quick.
As to an income tax, Mr.. Taft made this
statement:
-R the country ever came under q strain
where it needed financial support the in
ability, under the Constitution as construed
at present. to impose an icOme tax would
put US at a disadvantage. But in such a
case think there would be either an amend
ment 10 the Constitution or q new construc-
tion Of the Constitution
50 IL went for I'm better part Of an hour
There were many Questions that couldn't
he answered for lack of time, but II was the
titled to the referees decision and when the
gong rang the crowd swarned into the ring
to grasp the victor's hand
Secretary Taft will spend today with his
brother, returning to Washington on Sum-
day.
---,, rrn nny uynn xUKy~unU