Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-18
TAFT TALKS IN TARIFF LAW
President-elect Restates His Position
on Revision.
MUST BE THOROUGH AND HONEST
new Pledge OF Loyalty TO Plat
fOrm-No Change Better Than
Act Not Based on Right
Principles.
MUST BE THOROUGH AND HONEST

NEW YORK, Dec. II. - President-elect
Taft was guest OF honor last night at the
twenty-third annual dinner Of the Ohio
society in New York. Around the 100
tables placed in the grand ball room in
the Astor gallery of the Astoria hotel were
men gathered from every section OF the
country and leaders in many walks Of
life.
Mr.. Taft took advantage of the occasion,
in a speech filled with more earnestness
than any he had delivered since his cleo
ton, to pledge his administration and his
party 30 far as he can control It, to a
loyal adherence to the Chicago platform.
He dwelt almost wholly upon the revision
of the tariff, which he singled out as the
most important declaration made at the
last national convention and after having
previous referred to the veto power OF
the chief executive. said with all the
emphasis Of which he was capable:
Better no revision at ell. better that
the new bill should fail unless we have
an honest and thorough revision on the
basis laid down and the principle outlined
in the party PLATFORM"
Mr.. Taft also referred to the Sherman
antitrust law and declared for its enforce
ment as one Of the Roosevelt policies that
the party had pleuBeu ltsell 10 carry lOl-
ward.
Seated at the presidents table" with
Mr.. Taft were the vice president-elect, Mr..
Sherman, Governor Charles e. Hughes
Henry w. Taft, president Of the society;
Charles p. Taft of Cincinnati, Horace D.
Taft of WATERFOWL. Conn. Arthur I. Had
ley, president Of Yale; former Senator John
c.. Spooner, Que Of those who responded
to the toasts; ]. Pierpont Morgan, Paul
Morton. Governor Franklin Fort of New
Jersey, Secretary Straus, Frank H. Hitch
cock, Bishop Leonard of Ohio, General II.
c.. Corbin, Admiral Casper Goodrich and
others.
Group of F~inanciers
At one of the tables was perhaps the
most notable group of financiers ever gath
cred together at a dinner in the coun-
try. There were E.. II. Hartman
George F. Baker, president of the
First National bank; George w. Perkins
Of J.. p. Morgan & Co.; e. II. Gary of the
United States Steel corporation; John Olaf
lin, Frank A. Vanderlip. vice president Of
the National City bank; Darwin p. Kinsley,
president of the New York Life Insurance
company; ]. p. Morgan, jr., E. T. Stotes-
berry of Drexel, Morgan & Co, Philadel-
phia, and ]. r. Steele OF ]. P. Morgan
& Co.
At another table were four Rockefellers.
John D., John D.. jr, William and P. A.
Rockefeller. with them sat John ID.
Archbold, the active head of the Standard
Oil company and John G. Milburn, the
special counse of the company. Frank b.
kellogg, who has been prosecuting the
Standard and William Nelson Cromwell.
brought to the front in the recent Panama
canal discussion were near neighbors to
the Rockefellers.
Thomas +. Ryan sat at a table with
B. r. Yoakum, James E. ingalls,. Wade
II. Ellis, Leslie NJ. Shaw, Myron T. Her
rick, Justice william A. Day, Robert c.
Clowry, Charles II. Treat and Delaven
smith were others among the more than
900 diners. The galleries of the bail room
were filled with splendidly gowned women.
Ohio ana New York.
The Interstate commerce in the ex-
change of prominent men between Ohio
and New York and "the conspiracy by
which only New York or Ohio men were
entitled to the presidency" were constantly
referred to by the speakers and were the
cause of much merriment. Governor
Hughes was hailed by POSTMASTER Henry
Taft and by senate Spooner as ''the sue
cessor Of Mr.. Taft" when it should again
come New York's turn to name the oc-
cupant of the White House.
In assuming his duties as POSTMASTER,
Henry Taft said it was the custom for
presiding officers to eulogize the guest
of honor. For obvious reasons" he con-
tinued, you will pardon me If l do not
say much on that subject"
The president-elect was the last speaker
Of the evening. having been preceded by
Governor Hughes, Mayor Mcclellan of
New York, Mr.. Spooner and Senator Pat
rick Francis Murphy.
Address of Judge Taft.
"Tve had a very peculiar experience
this evening"" said Mr.. Taft, but L went
through it with less suffering than 1 had
expected. 1t was the task OF listening to
my brother tell what he might of me
with due regard to delicacy and propriety.
From the patronizing manner with which
he spoke you might think hat he was
older than l am. or at least that he
makes such a claim. but as a matter of
fact he is two years younger than 1 am
and in the past, when my discipline was
more strict l think I have several times
had the best of him"
Mr.. Taft said the first time he had
ever had the honor to attend an Ohio
society dinner in New York was shortly
after his first return from the Philippines,
when then. as now, he was making a
plea thai America do all that lies in it's
power to make the people of those is
lands grateful and proud OF the altruism
which the United States had displayed as
trustee OF an unfortunate people.
1T am going TO talk a little politics To-
night said Mr.. Taft, and / want to in
vite your serious attention to some Of the
peculiarities with which We nave to deal
in our form OF government as compared to
that Of other nations. Ours is essentially
a government Of parties. England also
parties, but there they fix the responsibility
OF the party on one man. They do not
divide the responsibility as We do here
under several different heads. The division