The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-25
TAET AND HLGHES.

It is beginning to be realized that Secretary of War Taft does not play the game of politics as most men play it. He has his own way, which of itself warrants the confidence of his friends that if he should be nominated for and elected to the presidency he would fol- low his own view of his official respon- sibility. Of course there is danger. in the judgment of many men, in under taking to enter the political ring with a new and personally formulated set of rules but it has already been dem onstrated that for Mir. Taft to follow the conventional methods would be for him to lose in direct ratio with their employment
 To the better understand the manner in which MT Taft is acquiescing in his presidential candidacy, it should be remembered that there is not a scin- tilla of direct evidence that he ever de-
 
 sired to run for that office. It has been known ever since his first appointment to the bench that his ambition was to sit on the highest bench of the coun- try and to that end he bent all of his great judicial talent. Perhaps had he shown less ability, less fidelity and less courage he would never have been talk en from the bench by former Presi- dent Mckinley to undertake as difficult a piece of work as was ever given an American to do, the pacification of the Philippines. Perhaps if he had shown less capacity, less interest and less patriotism in that undertaking he would not have been called to the cabinet by the President and he thus would have been deprived of the op, portunity given him at Rome, in Cuha and in the Canal zone to demonstrate his remarkable personal power and versatility Whether his presidential prospects ever get an inch beyond where they are at this instant. he will ever be remembered as man who did we'll the task entrusted to him. Tn that fact lies his unexpected and un- foreseen and unencolraged entrance into the field as a presidential candi- date.
 The very conditions which of them- selves brought h..p more and more conspicuously before the public as a man fitted to be President, and which finally forced him to permit the use of his name, are tho very conditions which now eonvirca him that so far as he is concerned the r'Iles of the preliminary contest must be such as harmonize with his public career from the first, There is nd reason to believe that his eyes are closed t0 the ser:- ousness of the situation in his own State of Ohio, but there are no signs there he is ready to meet if with . deal in his mouth. He cannot he averse to the delegation from New York. but he warns his friends that no attempt must be made to wrest by aggressive means the representation from that State in the nominating convention from Governor Hughes MT. Taft un- questionably recognizes the nigh per sonal character, the official integrity and political ability of Governor Hughes, and in addition he recognizes that the electoral vote of New York next November is of greater import ance to the Republican party thar ! the nomination of either candidate. i Governor Hughes. like himself. has won distinction by sticking to his ioh and by declining to be side-tracked by thoughts of higher honors. Both have in this way been forced to enter the race. eXcep. upon the untenabe the ory that the presidency is an honor which any citizen can afford to put away from him. It may be taken for granted that in warning his friends in New York not to attempt to divide the delegation SC long as Governor Hughes is candidate Mir. Taft is moved by ! two reasons. In ths first place he ad- mires his rival sa man of capacity. and in the second place he does not