The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-04-28

IL was Judge Taft'B opinion In the Adj
dyston Pipe a. Steel Company case
that sustained and revived the Sher-
man antitrust law, which, since It's
passage in the eighties, had been al
most dead letter upon the statutes.
In affirming Judge Taft's decision up
holding the Sherman law, the United
States Supreme Court paid him the
compliment OF transcribing his de-
cision In the highest courts own
opinion thus making the Taft decision
the adjudged law OF the land. It was
upon this opinion that the Supreme
court rested In deciding the famous
Northern Securities merger cases for
the pepole, and upon that decision
much OF recent litigation brought by
the government for the people against
socalled trusts and combinations In
restraint OF trade has been started.
Thus have events been moved by the
forces OF life that control them to
exalt the man who, by simple faith In
the ultimate justice Of things In this
world, followed an enlightened con-
science, though 1t led him, for time,
through unpleasant paths.
For eight years. Judge Taft sat on
the federal bench, and just when II
seemed that the time was ripe for his
promotion TO the supreme bench of
the United States-the goal of his
life's ambition-he was called away
from his work, and the course OF his
life was changed. But his eight
years as a federal Judge had proved
two important things to himself and
to the world; that he could do most
extraordinary amounts of work with
out depressing fatigue, and that under
any fire he could stand unmoved by
ambition and unstirred by fear. Moral
courage OF the highest order had been
added to the ediflce OF his character,
and the industry of his boyhood and
youth had become ground into his
middle life and was a part of his very
soul. Hence his altruism was a work
ing force In his country, and his
wholesome, spontaneous nature, still
boyish in its gentle simplicity, had
become an armor OF righteousness
that could not be broken.
And it Is fair question to ask,
What kind OF president, all things
considered, will he make? That, af-
ter all, Is the reason why this article
was written. II its facts are passably
correct, one may deduct certain
things from them. Assuming that the
facts hereinbefore set down are cor
rect, II Is obvious that first of all we
may expect president who will work
hard-for he has but two meals aday
and tolls without resting from ten un-
til six every day; then we may ex-
pect that he will work hard with a
kind, self.effacing spirit; then that he
will work hard mselfshly and without
much initiative. For he has rarely
gone from beaten paths, though he has
shown that he can go alone. The great
things he has done I'm this world have
been done at the desk. He Is mo
orator as Brutus is" He will say lit
tie and do much.
And what Is there to do? That Is
important In considering his relation
to the presidency. In the first place,
In the executive department of this
government there Is much unfinished
business-begun with entire propriety
and in the fire Of the heart, but still
only begun. There are dozen and
more great epoch-making lawsuits
pending-mostly in federal courts of
the first instance--which must be
pushed through by the executive de-
partment to successful adjudication
by the Supreme Court before certain
laws may be enforced We have sta
tutes but little law upon the great
vital questions now before the Ameri-
can people for first settlement. The
railroad law is an undigested statute,
new and raw and not entirely under.
stood. certainly not entirely adjusted
TO our commercial life. The Sherman
law, which Judge Taft's opinion re-
| vived and reinforced. still lacks much
of being perfect statute. Many OF
its provisions literally and maliciously
enforced would work more harm than
good The Pure Food law is still In
the making before the courts. The
Panama Canal is only well begun
| Our relations with Cuba loom big on
the horizon, unsettled and portent
Gus, and even with our insular pos
sessions relations have assumed nc
time-worn security. There is
enough unfinished business is the exc
cutive branch of this government to
keep an active man in the presidential
Office busy night and day for half a
dozen years, II he does nothing else
indeed, the most rapid progress
toward a more equitable distribution
Of the common wealth of this nation
may be secured not by piling up new
work on the executive desk, but by
cleaning off the desk.
| The times demand not a man bear.
ing promises of new things, but man
who can finish the things begun
Such man is Taft, n newer of wood
who has no ambition to link his name
with new measures, but who, with a
steady hand. and heart always kind
md mind always generously just,
| can clean off the desk. Counsel for
his or that plaintiff suing for popu-
ar favor may object that Taft is the
,hoice of the President, and that 1t is
not proper that president should
name his successor. To which afllant
replies, that II President Roosevelt
had not pushed Taft into this presi-
dental race. had not made 1t plain to
the people that man of his heart was
before them seeking their preferment
any casual student OF political c0ndi
lions In America knows that President
Roosevelt would have been his own
| cttnn N q
Moreover If he remained supine and
silent while those who have fought
against progress in this country set vi
their plans to destroy all that Roose
welt has fought for. he would have
made his election-night declaration tC
to keep out of this race the mere
spectacular rhetoric of dreamer oi
dreams. If Roosevelt believed In the
forward movement of his country, he
had no chOice hut tn work for n wit \