The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-07-23
P(lIiCQ| Comment.
Taft.

Since the foundation of the govern
ment no man has come to presidential
Office so adequately prepared by ex-
perience and training for its duties
as William Howard Taft. He is fifty
one years of age and in the very prime
of his powers. He is both a scholar
and one acquainted with business af-
fairs. By the time he was forty years
AZ age he had won success at the bar
as a practicing lawyer and. later, had
distinguished himself as a judge. In
his more recent career as an admins
traitor he has been for a considerable
period in each post, the governing head
Of two essentially foreign countries
Cuba and the Philippine Islands-and
the head of one of the great depart
ments of our national administration.
In the character of special envoy he
has visited the principal countries of
the world and come into contact and
personal relations with their foremost
men. 1t may be said of Mr.. Taft, re-
calling his experiences at home and
abroad, that his acquaintance with the
governing forces of the world to-day
is more comprehensive than that OF any
other man, certainly than any other
man Of similar responsibilities and
prospects.
The choice Of this type Of man-of
man schooled and drilled, so to speak,
for the great duties of the pres
idency-is a distinct departure from
American practice. Hitherto we have
selected our Presidents upon other con-
siderations; and with only a few ex-
ceptions, they have been men of es-
sentially American experience and linn
tied outlook. There has never been
even an effort to put into the presi-
dency man definitely acquainted with
the world and its affairs and adjust
ed by experience and temperament to
the work of administration. And in
truth there has been less need Of it
in times past than now, when, through
the progress Of events, our RESPONSE
bilities have become enlarged to the full
VI.
day, when every larger project of ma
tional policy touches at some point
upon the interest of every other coun-
try, the President ought to be a man
Of wide outlook, of comprehensive
knowledge, and of expert skill in the
management Of great affairs In the
length and breadth Of our country
there is no man whose experiences and
successes In the sphere of international
affairs is comparable to that Of Mr..
Taft.
1t Is gratifying to be able TO. say
that on the personal side Mr.. Taft per-
fectly meets the requirements Of the
heal American gentleman. He comes
of the old American stock-of that
breed whose forbears were schooled
In the town meeting and who made
grievous sacrifices that this country
might be free. He comes of an edu-
Gated breed-ef a race who thought
1t better worth while to endow their
sons with knowledge than to increase
their holdings Of railway or sugar
stocks. 1t is to be recalled that when
Mr.. Taft visited Havana some two
years ago to adjust serious political
complication, he was able to turn aside
as II for holiday, to give before the
University OF Cuba a philosophical
address which attracted the attention
and interest of the wide world of schol-
arship. On the intellectual side
Mr.. Taft's character is of that quality
so truly aristocratic as to make him
practically the soundest of democrats.
He is the type CT aristocrat who scorns
special privilege and who lives equity
Furthermore, he is one whose propen-
stiles match his principles. On the
purely domestic side Mr.. Taft's char
acter is of the best. There is no home
In Washington whose atmosphere Is
sweeter than his own, and there is no
family group whose sentiments are
more genuine or whose interests are
more closely knit.
The Argonaur mas no fear that in
the presidency Mr.. Taft will be a
dummy, another mans man, as some
body has put it. He has never been
dummy in any other relationship of
his life; his whole course has been
marked by a singular frankness and
independence combined with a ready
initiative.-San Francisco Argonaut.