The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-26

and yet at times I feel as though I did
not know him at all.
July 20. 1907. when he wrote the letter
the President publishes, he was so de-
voted to the trust-smashing policies of the
administration that he could not consent
to be made President If as part of the
same movement I was to be honored
with a reelection to the Senate, because
of my opposition to that special feature
of my policies and now since the Stand
ard OIL company matter there is mani
tested the most unusual Indignation.
Apparently every man who has had
any relation to the company is to be
driven out of public life If so, I shall
probably have a great deal of company.
Bouquet for Taft.
IF only one month ago, when Mr.. Taft
visited Middlebass Island and Toledo, he
was the guest of Mr.. c. T. Lewis of the
firm of Dyle & Lewis, who have been the
attorneys of the Standard Oil company
for many years, standing next in rank
in that relation to Mr.. Virgil p. Kline,
and when Mr.. Taft had occasion to pass
back and forth between Middlebass Island
and Toledo where l had the pleasure of
meeting him, he travelled in the yacht OF
Mr.. Richardson a prominent magnate of
the glass trust and while he doubtless
paid his fare, at least the papers so an
nounced, when travelling from Hot Springs
to Toledo on his way to Mfddlebass
Island, yet nevertheless he rode in the
private car of one of the officers of the
road of which also Messrs. Doyle and
Lewis are attorneys. What a series of
objectionable crimes.
'There did not seem to be any such
righteous dislike of these Standard Oil
and other trust representatives ranking
in the bosom of Mr.. Taft on the occasion
T ~. ,fror q
acted like a good, square, sensible, honest
minded man, who really enjoyed the COM
pany he was keeping and the entertain
ment he was receiving and who recog-
nized, as the late Senator Hanna was ac-
customed to say, that there were good
trusts as we'll as bad, and even decent
people in the employment of the Standard
Oil company as well as Objectionable peo-
pie and all that is to his credit.
LAS to the Brownsville matter Mr.. Taft
says, speaking of me:
a. He has seized upon and magnifed an
unmportant and incidental matter to en-
barrass the administration, using in this
without scruple blind race prejudice to
accomplish his main purpose
IT have no way of proving what was in
my mind except by referring to the Rec
ord Any one who reads will fail to find
a sentence, or word to justify any such
statement as Mr.. Taft makes.
Has No Revenge.
'In view of Judge Taft's statement L
trust l may be allowed TO repeat what
I have said a number of times, that in
this whole matter l had no revenges
to seek or personal ends to serve, but
was anxious to Sc that common Justice
was done to the representatives of
noble and loyal race, everyone of whom
is by nature a republican. The colored
II n q
displeased with the action of the re-
publican party in not passing some re-
lief measure for these soldiers, and
many of them have signifed pur-
pose to vote against Judge Taft be-
cause of his official relation to the
matter, and now comes the President
and publishing Judge Tafts letter,
containing his unfortunate reference to
this unfortunate case. What does he
mean? Does anybody imagine that the
President is unable to see that he Is
rubbing a sore when he should have
bought a plaster? Does he imagine, or
can anybody suppose that the repub-
lican colored voters of this country
can be brought to the support of Judge
Taft by parading in these closing days
of the campaign Judge Taft's BELT
Ting of their chief grievance by mem
| tioning it as an incidental matter,
~
| fed, using in this without scruple a
| blind race prejudice and then adding
| the charge that all this is done by
! representatives of law-defying corpor-
| ations to bring discredit upon the ad-
ministration of its policy with re-
! spect to them This is worse than tn
! Presidents claim that the panic of last
| october was precipitated by lot of
| rich men in Wall street, who wanted to
| bankrupt tn emselves and the whole
country that they might discredit him;
and worse even than the story that
| those same men raised fund of
100000 with which to prevent him
| from naming his oh osen successor.
| happen to know better than anybody
else can know that there is not the
| slightest ground for such charge. 1t
| is invention pure and simple, and, judy
ing by the frequency with which the
President is bringing the matter to the