The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-01-02
TAFT HEARD from
The Secretary Gives Views On
Public Questions
NO MEkTIoN OF Ills CANDIDACY
Secretary OF War Delivers His First
Speech Since Returning From Tour
Of World Before Notable Gather
ing in Boston.

Boston, Special. with
cheers as "the mex. President of the
United States,' a topic which he
carefully avoided in his own remarks,
however, Secretary Of War William
81. Taft, delivered his first public
speech since his world-circling tour.
at the annual banquet of the Boston
merchants association at the Hotel
Somerset.
The banquet closed a long and
strenuous day for the Secretary OF
War, during which he delivered a
brief address before 400 ministers In
the morning and attended reception
and spoke before a large gathering Of
the jews of the city at the Elysium
Club In the afternoon During his
visit to Boston, which ended Tues
day morning. Secretary Taft is the
guest of Samuel Carr, Boston bank
er, and a relative of Mrs. Taft.
AS Mr.. Taft rose all the guests
stood up with him and filled the air
| with long g-continued cheers.
Secretary Taft read his speech
from manuscript throughout, making
no somment relative to his own candi-
dacy for the presidency.
Mr.. Taft's speech was in the main
a broad defense of President Roose-
yelt and the administration in deal
ing with the trusts and with the rc-
cent financial crisis Those respon-
| sible for the panic be said, were the
I"guilty managers of some of the
large railroad and. financial enter
prises,' and not those who in the
course Of their official duty, have
made known to the business world
the facts and commented on them. lie
denied that the administration had
arraigned the whole business world
as dishonest. The President had con-
demned the law breakers, and con-
vinced those who had unlawfully ac-
cumulated enormous power and capl-
tai, that they were not immune The
| President, he declared, had never saiG
otherwise than that the business men
of the country as a whole were honest
and their methods sound. Indeed,
said Mr.. Taft, sit is chiefly in the
interest of the great body of honest
business men that he has made his
great fight for lawful business meth.
ods.'
That the railroad rate law was re-
sponsible for the financial panic, Mr.
Taft characterized as absurd, and as
for the shrinkage in the value of rail
road stocks, he said that neither
Mr.. Roosevelt nor his administration
were responsible for State Legislation
against railroads. "Instead Of max
ing panic" he said, "the nationa
policy of ending the lawlessness o.
corporations in Interstate commerce
and of taking away their power O
issuing, without supervision, stool
and bonds, will produce change IL
their management and remove on
fruitful cause for loss Of public con
| fdence,"
| The action of the State Legisla
lures against railroads, he declares
was occasioned by the same revela
/ tions Of lawlessness and discrimin
nation in railway management tha
made the Federal rate bill a neces
sity, but, he said, "if the tSat
measures have been too drastic tn
cause Of the injustice is not with tn
national government. +"
! Mr.. Taft launched upon the Sc
Of government ownership Of rail
roads and declared that he was op
posed to the idea, because it mean
State socialism and an increase i
the power of the central government
that would be dangerous.
| On the subject of the United State
currency system Mr.. Taft comment
ed upon the fact that it was not s
arranged as to Permit its volume t
be increased temporarily. He be
lieved that had there been sue
currency the money stringenc
might, in part, have been alleyiai
ed.