The daily sentinel., 1908-06-18

Il
mutual counsel, each with his own
| individuality and characteristics keep
ing constantly in view the ennobling
vision of better and greater
America. They have not been sat
isfied that the Temple of Prosperity
should be decked alone by the jewels
of the fortunate and the opulent, but
have insisted that it should still more
abound in trophies which commem
crate the enforcement of even-handed
| justice and the maintenance of that
equal opportunity which spreads hope
and ,blessing even to the humblest
home. Since the day when, less than
| thirty years of age, Mr.. Taft de-
nounced, with burning words, a MEM
Der of his profession who had been
guilty of flagrantly vicious practices
and had demoralized the community.
he has ever been associated with the
| cause of true reform-with that re-
form which will not content itself
| with academic dissertion or hollow
words. He has been imbued with the
spirit of action. His advocacy of
sounder conditions has never arisen
from desire for the exploitation of
himself. 1t has always been based
upon answering integrity and the
| courage to speak the truth. as he un-
| derstands it, on all occasions, no mat
| ter how influential or powerful the
evils which he may attack.
"No one has ever yet assumed the
presidential chair who had received
a more ideal preparation for the du
ties of that great office. AS Judge
in State and Federal courts, as Solic
itor General, as Governor of the
| Philippines Secretary of War
which has included the work of Col
l oil 70 of
tional Public Works, he has received
his training and has always shown
himself master of the situation and
competent to make more honorable
and beloved the American name.
There have been no years of inaction
| in his career. He has been continu-
ously engaged in weighty tasks and
each successive service has been char
acterized by an increasing influence
upon most vital questions
"In our domestic affairs. in what
ever position he has held, he has dis
J played the rare union of judicial
temperament with an unsurpassed
gift for administrative arrangement.
To him belongs the extremely valu-
able faculty of eliminating the non
essential from complicated problems
and going directly to their substance.
His capacity for work is enormous,
yet quite helpful is his eqlable tenn
permanent, which will not allow the
lannoyances of life to distract or
hamper him. Although OF an aggres-
sive personality. he possesses an in
finite good nature, n cnarm of man
ner and poise which have made him
a model for exalted station. In the
! final analysis even the highest offic-
ials must be judged as men and un-
der this criterion Secretary Taft is
now and will ever be kno Vn for his
broad sympathies with every grade
of humanity and as one invariably
actuated by that democratic spirit
which should characterize "A progress
/ sive American. And yet no one can
his severity in dealing with wrong
doing. While no honest enterprise
need fear him. no dishonest scheme
could hope to hide its face from the
| light or to escape punishment.
! More than any other of our pub
! lie men he has had to do with our
i outlying dependencies and colonial
relations. 1t was he who took in
charge the prosecution of that colos-
/ sal enterprise on the Isthmus, the
canal uniting the lesser and the
greater oceans. and under his direct
ing hand the completion of this most
stupendous of public works is no
longer a vague and distant hope, but
| an imminent reality. With his ever
| ready skill as a pacificator. he restor-
ed tranquility in the fertile Island
| of Cuba, so often distracted by civil
strife. In the far-off Philippines. |
| under blazing tropical sky, he
found a people of many races and |
| tribes, degraded by centuries of mis-
rule and oppression; and there too he
n lich hn of 1a
and local control in place of confus- !
ion and bloody strife. but showed the |
way to self-government, and a new
recognition of the rights of man. For |
peoples and races, like individuals, |
under the inspiration of a friendly |
guide, may lift their faces heaven
ward and seek to climb the great |
worlds altar stairs to nobler heights |
of liberty and opportunity. 1t is to |
his lasting honor that his desire was
not to be known as Taft. the Pro-
Consul" but as Taft. the Father of
the Filipinos," who brought to them
the light of modern civilization.
In the larger sphere of world
politics, we are entering into new and
closer bonds with all the nations of
the earth. Who is better qualified
than he to lead America to her true
position in this later day when the
boundaries established in the GEN.
turtles past are becoming less distinct
and Kingdoms and races are begin
ming to realize that they have all one
common destiny?
Secretary Taft has exceptional
familiarity with conditions in the
distant Orient-in Japan, in China.
We may rest assured that our tradi-
tional friendship with Japan will con-
tinue. Moreover, the future prom