The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-09-17
PRESIDENT PRAISES TAFT
AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

lutely necessary that his control should
be rmativ and l~horoughgoing; All in
terstate business carried on by the great
corporations should, in the interest Of the
whole people, be far more closely super
vised than at present by the national gov
eminent; but this is especially true Of the
railroads., which cannot exist at all save
by the exercise of powers granted them
on behalf Of the people, and which, there
~countability to the people. 1t is in the
interest of the people that they should
not be permitted to do Injustice; and it
they should not suffer injustice. Their
prime purpose is to carry the commodities
of the farners and the business men; thew
contributed to them by their Shareholders.
they could not be run at all save for
the money paid out in wages to the rail
road employees; and, finally. they. could
any one, were it not for the employment
by them of some masterful guiding intel
ligenee, whether Of one man or Of a
group OF men. There are therefore sew
eral sets of interests to be considered.
Each must receive proper consideration.
and when any one of them seltishly de-
must be refused. Along certain lines all
of these groups have the same interests.
1t is to the interest of shipper, farmer,
wage worker, business man, honest share
holder, and honest manager alike that
there should be economy, honesty, intelli-
gence. and fair treatment Of all.
Try Our STOCKS.
ing would b. a benefit to e%verybody ex-
cept the swindlers who profit by stock
T sha altering it would benefit the honest
s~narehoider because honest investments
would not be brought into competition
with mere paper; it would benefit the
wage worker because when the money
earned does not have to go to paying in
left, out of which to pay wages; it would
benefit the shipper because when only
honest 10 ~kho have to be paid inter
IT would benefit the public because there
would be ample money with which to give
efficient service. Similarly, the preVen-
d doas OF davorltism as among shippers
est, and confers great good upon the
smaller business man and the farmer,
s,,nb II relieves Of oppression. Again,
agement as will prevent crookedness and
oppression works good, directly or in
alreetIy to al honest people. Therefore
ihese lines should be done: and no mans
1egitlnate interest would thereby be hurt.
bul AFTER this point has been reached
injustice to one class in the effort to
snow favor to another class, and each
Grass naturally tends to remember only
It's own needs.
The stockholders must receive an am
pie return on their Investments, or the
Ialiroads cannot be built and successfully
49, iiAed, ana the rates TO htpperS
Eng the wage to employees, from the
highest to the lowest, must all be con-
dltioned upon this fact. A fair working
agreement must be devised according to
the needs of the several cases so that
proLts, wages and rates shall each be
tsasonaoie with reference to the other
LWo-and IN wages I include the properly
large amounts which should always be
paid 10 those whose masterful ability is
required Tor the successful direction of
great enterprises. COMPILATIONS which
IaVOr S1lNh III IN 4. a~,,ft1Il1
should themselves be favored and not
forbidden by law: although they should
! p s strictly supervised by the government
mission, which should have the power of
Passing summarily upon not only the
question OF the reduction but the raising
No Demagogues.
This railroad problem is itself one OF
the phases of one of the greatest and
most intricate problems of our c~iviliza-
slon: Tor Its proper solution we need not
merely honesty and courage, but judg-
ment, good sense, and entire fairminded-
ness. Demagogy in such a matter is as
Gsrlaln TO work evil as corruption itself.
Inc man who promises to raise the wages
OF railroad employees to the highest point
ana at the same time to reduce rates to
me lowest point is promising what neither
the effort to perform it were attempted
would result to both shipper and
wage WORKER, and ruin to the business
~ SHAS III LAG OuIlII II mani TO
trust in such a matter as this is the
who, like Judge Taft, does not prom
Use too much, but who could not be sway
by any consideration; who viii
wage relentless war on the successful
W~rongdoer among railroad men as among
all other men; who will do all that can
be done to secure legitimately low rates
70 shippers and absolute enn among
the rates thus secured: but who will
neither promise nor attempt to secure
rates. so low thar tho Nxyoo &C 90 ~, nr r,0,,11
lose his earnings and the Shareholder,
whose money built the road, his profits.
He will not favor a ruinous experiment
IKE government ownership of railways;
he will stand against any kind of con-
Ilscat1on OF honestly acquired property;
but he will work effectively for the most
and control. of railways, so as to secure
Just and fair treatment of the people as
a whole.
What is here said as to his attitude on
the railway question applies to the whole
of the trusts. He will promise
nothing on this subject unless he firmly
He will go into no chimerical movement
to destroy all great business combinations:
Tor this can only be done by destroying
all modern business: but he will in practi-
cal fashion do everything possible to Sc
cure such efficient control, on behalf of
the people as q whole, over these great
power to work evil. Mr.. Taft's decision
In the Addystone Pipe Lin case while on
the bench is proof, by deeds not by words,
of the far sighted wisdom with which he
serves the interests of the whole people
ever when those Of the most powerful
corporations are hostile thereto.
Friend TO Labor.
If there is one body of men more than
another whose support I feel I have a
right to challenge on behalf Of Secretary
Taft 1t is the body OF wage workers Of the
country. A ~stauncher friend, a fairer and
truer representative. they cannot find
within the borders Of the United States,
He will do everything in his power for
them except to do that which is wrong.
he will do wrong for no man. and there,
fore can be trusted by all men. During
ten years OF my intimate acuuaintance
with him. since I have myself, as gov
ernor and president, been obliged to deal
practically with labor problems. he has
been one of the men upon whose Judgment
and aid I could always rely in doing ey-
erything possible for the cause az the
wage worker, OF the man who works with
his hands. or with both hands and head.
MT. Taft has been attacked because Of
the injunctions he delivered while on the
bench. I am content to rest his case ON
these very intunctions; I maintain that
they show why all orr people should be
grateful to him and should feel 1t safe to
entrust their dearest interests TO him
Most assnredlv he never has Yielded and
never will Yield to threat or nress,1re ~
n ~ ~ AHA~ W 49, Il 1870