Semi-weekly herald., 1908-06-22

judicial career which was Taft's am
billion, and for which he was so emf
nently fitted. lie made such a rec
ord as a judge that at the close OF
his appointed term he was triumph
anlly elected for another term But
already he had attracted attention
outside his state, and he had served
but two years OF the five years for
which he had been elected when Pres
ident Harrison asked him to take the
difficult post of solicitor general OF
the United States. This was an of.
fee of the utmost importance, involv-
Ing not only wide learning and tre-
mendous application. but the power
OF clear and forceful presentation OF
argument. Two of the cases which
he conducted as solicitor general in
volved questions of vital importance
to the entire country. The first grew
out of the seal fisheries controversy
with Great Britain. Mr.. Taft won
seph II. Choate who is widely recog.
nized as the leader of the American
bar The other was tariff case in
which the law was attacked on the
ground that Speaker Reed had count
ed quorum when the bill passed the
house. That, too, he won. 1t was
l,t,. IA fc nj
that Mr.. Taft met Theodore Roose
welt, then civil service commissioner
and began the friendship which has
continued and grown ever since and
which has had such farreaching in
fiuence upon the lives of both men
On the Federal Bench.
Mr.. Taft's record as solicitor gen
eral so clearly proved his fitness foi
he bench that after three years IL
Washington he was sent back to Obi,
az judge of the Sixth federal circuit
a post generally recognized as pre-
liminary step TO the supreme court
which was then the goal of his ambi
ton.
Pioneering the Roosevelt Policy.
Mr.. Taft In an address to the Amer
lean Bar association at Detroit Ii
the summer OF 1895. had enunciatet
the principle on which President Roos
evelt has made his great fight for the
suppression of monopoly and the abo
lition of special privilege. Thus Mr.
Taft pioneered the way for the "Roos
Blazing the Philippine Trail.
Since the settlement Of the recon
struction questions no more delicate
or fateful problem has confronted
American statesmanship than that o
the Philippines.
But even at that early day there
were few-a very few-among the
leaders of American thought and ac
tion. who saw clearly the responsi
bility thrust upon the country by the
adventitious possession Of the Philip
pines. and determined to meet 4
fully. no matter what clamor of op
position might arise. Among thest
President Mckinley was one. Mr.
Taft was another. Mr.. Taft had beer
opposed to taking the Islands. He
was opposed to retaining them. More
than all he opposed their exploitation
for American benefit. He believed that
the Philippines belonged to the Fill
pinos. and should be developed in tn
interest of their own people
shoulderine the white Mans Bur
den."
He saw the possibility of lifting
feeble, ignorant people into the ligh
OF liberty and setting them upon tn,
path to intelligent, efficient self-gov
ernment. That possibility reconcilet
him to the continuance of American
authority over the islands, for non,
saw more clearly than he the chao
certain to result from immediate in
dependence for the Fllipinos, with it
inevitable and speedy end in complet,
and hopeless subsection to some othe
power. Therefore when President Nc
Kinley asked him to go to Manil;
and undertake the difficult and thank
less tast of starting the Filipinos upoi
their true coarse he sacrificed the ju
dicial career which was his life's am
bition and shouldered the white mani
burden" 1t was In March. 1900. tha
he received his appointment as chair
man of the Philippine commission.
Overcoming the Barrier Between th
East and West.
Moreover. their leaders had beel
inoculated with the belief that be
tween west and east there is an im
Continued on Page 3. Column 81
lpasslble barrier which will alway,
IL