The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-13
Taft Tells Grand Rapids Club Why Martyred President
 Would Approve Ad- ministration.
WOULD BE PROTECTIONIST
"Greatest Politician of ,ne Age" Would Favor Expansion and Com-
 mend Roosevelt Policies.

Lincoln club banquet here tonight was brilliant success. with galaxy of speakers never equalled in Michigan political banquets. It was held in the Klingman Furniture Exposition build ing and more than 20oo persons oc- cupied seats at the table. The hall was eiaborately decorated, and as a com plinent to Ambassador Jusserand of France French colors were mingled with the American.
 President Roy M. Watkins of the Young Mems Republican club, and President Charles Holden, of the Lin-' coin club opened the banquet with greetings. United States Senator Will Ham Alden Smith was toastmaster and introduced the guests of the evening The speakers were Amba ssador Jusser- end, Congressman George Edmund Foss. Secretary of War William H. Taft, Governor Curtis Guild, Jr,, of Massachusetts, and Director John Bar rett, of the bureau of American Repub- lies at Washington
 Although all of the speakers were greeted with enthusiasm, it was Sec retary Taft who received the greatest outhurst of applause. It continued for several minutes before he could begin his address. Interrupted frequently by applause, he spoke in part as follows:
 T did not select this toast, and ahould not have chosen it of my own Free will. It Is difficult to fit into a new niche of history really great man whose greatness is indissoluby asso- ciated with a particular crisis in which he lived. One cannot take him from the environment in which the grand ness of his character stands out. There gre few lives which seen to have been shaped so providentially to meet a country's great need as that of Lin- coin with a reference to slavery and the civil war Coming from childhood of the greatest penury and discomfort and squalor, ningling with the hum best and the poorest in a western settlement. Lincoln acquired sense of equality and democracy and love of equal rights that never left him and gave deep color to his whole life.
 He was the greatest politician of the age and while lie had deeply inbedded in his moral nature the principles in favor of human liberty, his whole life showed that he never allowed the long ing for the impossible to interfere with the securing of the possible. He was a party man, as every man must be who wishes to leave his individual impress upon the in llvidual character of the nation. And no one recognized this more fully than did Lincoln For that reason we may say in the first place that if Lincoln were living to-day he would be a republican.
 As a. follower of MT. Clay; he was in favor of the protective American system as 1t was called. During his administration, the Morrill, tariff was passed. for the system of protection to American industries on the modern play was then fully inaugurated. We can IneIt1OIt dSSl6il Dlbi iu o PioNN 4i the present day among protectionists
 "Where would he stand in respect 10 our Philippine policy and expan- sion? Would he, as the anti-imper- ,alists take the position, were he liv, ing to-day. that the republican party in its action in respect to Porto Rice and Cuba and the Philippines had de. parted from the principles that actu. ated him in becoming a republican and in retaining that party in nationa control?
 "Iincon was not man stiffiv dog. matic He vas a man who allowed the application of his principles to bt controlled by the fitness of the thing
 ;Sis whole nature was that of z sweet reasonableness and common sense. Had he been in the seat occu' pied by Mckinley when the problem was presented to him after the Span fish war as to what should be don with respect to the Philippines there Is nothing in his career, nothing 1T any of his speeches properly under stood which would have prevented him from taking exactly the samt course which Mckinley took.
 'nThe truth Is, when the altruistic liberal policy inaugurated by McKin lev and carried on under Roosevelt with respect to the Philippines. is ful " understood and the life of Lincoln his ideals and his political method,
 IA l.. without hesitation. that he would nav, approved the Philippine policy from the beginning to the end, not as a de parture from but as a vindication . the principles of the declaration Q ,ndependence We are upon the in ternatinnal stage: We must play som nart We can no longer occupy th nosition of isolation. Let us then So -o Ii that the part we bear is of sui ncien. dignity and force to he worth o' the intelligence. the wealth and tn moral tone of our people and the ex tent of our possessions.
 During the administration Of Thec lore Roosevelt. our influence as warl mower has exceeded anything befor in our history. We have done nor towa-d bringing about the pe7ce of tf world tna~ any other power in thi century. Under these circumstances tNere room for doubt that Ahrahal Lincoln would have approved t''e poiio of McKinley and Roosevelt in mair +sinins our position aS . world powe in increasing the size Sf our navy z
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