Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-22
TAFT SAYS THE
 PEOPLE RULE.
Through the Republican
 Party'==-Labor, Trusts.
PRAISE FOR ROOSEVELT.

F Put Up EHective opposition 10 Sor-
 porate Abuses - Additional Lesisla-
 tion Required -"No Reform Under
 Present Democracy"
 Hot Springs, Va, Aug. 22.-Thou- sands of people from the surrounding towns and country came to Hot Springs to celebrate Virginia day" and to hear the speech of William H. Taft, Republican nominee for the pres idency.
 Judge Taft was surrounded during his speech by approximately 5000 peO- pie. Judge Taft accompanied by Mrs. Taft Colonel B. S. Allen and Repre- sentative Slemp, drove to the ball park in carriage. with little Charlie Taft. Arthur Vorys and Alvah Martin, na- tional committeeman from Virginia, accompanied the party in another car riage. .
 MT. Taft said in part:
 AS. soon as the Republican party came into power in 1897 it repealed the German Wilson tariff bill and enacted the present Dingley tariff bill, and with the assurance of an honest monetary standard confidence was restored and period of business expansion and prosperity followed to an extent never before known in the history of the world. ,1. $ S
 Development of Abuses. N Wages were never higher, and the average standard of living of the wage earners, of the farmers and of the busi ness men in point of comfort and of enjoyment of life was advanced be- yond precedent. Attending this great prosperity abuses developed growing out of the dishonesty of some promi- nent men intrusted with the manage ment of the business of others and of a greed of financial power on the part of others stipulated by the enormous successes incident to the combination of capital in large corporations
 These abuses took the form of the violation of the antitrust law and in the granting of rebates and discrimina- tions by railways to large shippers. When the extent of these evils was brought home to the people President Roosevelt evoked the attention of con gress and the public to them and pro. ceeded to enforce the laws then on the statute books.
 "It was not until Mir. Roosevelt, real. izing to the full the danger to which our society was exposed unless the of fending corporations, railway and in- dustriat were made to obey and fear the law, took vigorous action in the recommendation of new legislation and in the enforcement of the old that any thing effective was done to check the growing evil"
 Record For Remedial Legislation.
 The Republican congress which had been elected with Roosevelt in 1904 Mir. Taft said, made record for reme' dial legislation along the lines recon mended by the president, which, as he has said himself, has never been equaled in our time. Mir. Taft referred to the railway rate bill, the bill creating the bureau of corporations, the pure food law and the meat inspection bill, most of which, he declared, encountered the open, bitter opposition of all tho corporations and failed of passage ir the previous congress. In spite of con tinued opposition they were finally en acted into law.
 What has been the result of thi: legislation and executive actionT ht asked. Secret rebates and unlawful discripinations have been actually abolished. No monopoly of business ir any line Is now maintained by a secre reduction of freight rates to it which il denied to competitors" He declared that the people hay, ruled through the Republican party. !" have no hesitation in saying that no since the beginning of the government has any other national administration done so much for the cause of labor b! the enactment of remedial Legislation as Theodore Roosevelt and the Repub llcan congresses elected and sittinl during his terms of office.
 "It is true" he said. ''that additiona legislation is needed to perfect the ma chinery for enforcing the principle laid down by MT. Roosevelt and de clared in the remedial statutes alread. passed"
 Of all possible agencies for reform he said, the Democratic party unde its present leadership is the one leas ! ..utgffad fr aus- .r.,slff