Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-10-14
Makes Himself Solid With
Cleveland People.
Immense Audience Of Workmen
Pay Close Attention
To Me Speech, In which Ne Deals
With Capital and Labor.

East Liverpool, Ohio, Oct. 13.--In the
midst Of the steel and iron district of
Cleveland, William H. Taft today COM
manded the close attention of an i'm
mense audience proverbially regarded
"a the hardest place in the state Of
Ohio for a political speaker to obtain
a respectful hearing. He showed from
his viewpoint why it was that the
American workmen needed the protec-
ton of the tariff and what had been
the result when he had not had that
protection Mr.. Taft followed this
with a detailed account Of his own per-
sonal experience with the labor world.
H.. explained that the decisions he had
rendered while on the bench and for
which ne was now condemned by Mr..
Bryan and Gompers, were in reality
the legal basis of labor organizations
of The present and upon that basis they
had grown and prOspered until now
they were stronger than ever.
This meeting Mr.. Taft considers the
best and most effective he has had on
his present trip because of the charac-
ter of the audience, its known DemOc-
racy and Socialistic tendency and the
success he had in riveting attention.
The Taft special ran into its first
mlshap today. The front truck Of the
candidates car and the rear trucks
of the Pullman preceding it, went Off
the track just as the train was coming
to a halt on a siding at Sterling, short
ly after 10 o'clock this morning. No
IN was Gone.
n1H cd
by the candidate today. his big meet
ings were at Elyria. Lorraine, Cleve-
land and East Liverpool. At Lorraine a
cheer for Debs when the candidate
mentioned his name in connection with
the labor cases he had handled on
the bench inspired Mr. Taft to pay his
compliments to Debs as 2 Presidential
candidate.
mn. Debs is Socialist" he said.
Mr.. Debs is logical. He is opposed
to the institutions Of this country as
they have been established by the Con-
stitutiOn. He has right to be If he
chooses provided he accomplishes his
methods by legal and nom violent ways.
Therefore I am not going to criticise
MIR. Debs.''
In Cleveland after MBr Taft had re-
viewed his labor record at length with
an Illustration Of what he had to do
with helping to build up labor organ
izations in the Philippines and his adj
ministration in connection with the
Panama canal, he recalled the fact that
ne had since been made a member of
the union.
MIR. Gompers is one of the executive
council of the American Federation of
Labor" said Mr.. Taft, and I get the inn
preston that the whole Federation of La
Dor was delivered body and soul by Mr.,
Gompers to the Democratic party ana to
Mr. Bryan, hut it seems there are some
not. Mr. Daniel Keefe, the head of the
Longshoremen's Union. with whom, per-
haps. a number of my audience are ac-
quainted, does not thing that I am a
devil with horns He is going to support
me for the Presidency because lie says
he has found in his dealings with me
I'VE have had a good many that l was
just and fair the interests that he rep
resented as the head OF the Longshore-
mems Union and executive council of the
American Federation of Labor.
II sympathize with the men that by
manual labor ere building up this coun-
try and tn say that l am opposed to their
organizations and trade unions is to say
what is utterly false for | have studied
the question. have had to study it as
a Judge. have had to study it as an OK
cutive officer discharging duties affecting
labor and labor organizations and I am
strongly in favor of them. believe they
have done q great service to labor in
Gle vating its wages: but while ! am in
favor of combinations of labor as I am
I'm favor of combinations of capitai which
secure ecormy in productions. the per-
mission to combine labor and the PER
mission to combine canital puts most
powerful instruments in the hands OF
few men and with that immense power
they have corresponding responsibility
and therefore must he most careful to see
that power Is not exercised across the
lines Of lawfulness.
A tri-state rally Is what the Taft train
ran into here tonight, Republicans and
and marching clubs from PENNSYLVANIA.