The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-04-27
FRANK 3. HOWE, Editor and Publisher
"oId Bill Taft,v a Hewer Of Wood.

|
OF William II. Taft written by William
Allen White. The following are brief
extracts from the article:
For, after all, 1t is the heart more
than the hand OF ones antagonist that
breeds enmity. And the diplomacy OF
the sack-coat will get as far in this
world on its essential kindness and
fairness as the diplomacy OF gold braid
and tin swords will get on its essen.
tial selfishness and greed. For, after
all, this is sackcoat world. Gener.
ally speaking, the world has come to
the belief that the longer tails a mans
working coats have, the less energy
and the lower temperature will he dis
play. Between the sans-culottes and
the spike tails is the business suit, and
In America. at least, that is the royal
! garment. Secretary Taft and Mrs.
Taft went around the world without a
valet or maid, visiting high potency
princes and powers. Taft belongs TO
that class OF Americans who when oc.
casion requires can hook up their
wives dresses In the back and lace
their own shoes. And this does not
| mean necessarily that the Tafts are
poor but honest" They are the kind
OF people who most Of their lives have
iived In house OF nine rooms, on an
income ranging from two to six thous.
and dollars year, with one or two
servants, horse and buggy, and a
child In college. The independence of
America is in that class. For the man
who does not need valet is not much
awed by king. II Taft should be
made president of this republic he
would never cease to be in the heart
OF MN strap.hanger commuter. moi
OF the city, with its Grass wealth and
Diting poverty, nor OF the country-but
suburban president, the first of his
type. Our presidents have been curl.
ousiy reflective OF our national life
considerable minority of the men
whom this nation has elected TO the
presidency since the Civil War-Ijn.
COIN, Grant, Hayes. McKinley-haye
come from the farm. Cleveland was
| village bred, Roosevelt was city bred
Harrison got his best training from
the inland town. But this new tyne of
American from the suburban commu.
NIFTY, who as a boy knew both swim
ming-hole and pavement. who roamed
the woods and fought the north-end
gang, who was afraid of neither cows
nor cars-this Is new type of man
IN american politics-a type that must
become more and more prevalent az
the country grows less and less rural
ana more and more urban.
oIten an illumination squint AZ n
man may be had by looking at his how.
hood; and the boyhood of William
Howard Taft. which began in Auburn
suburb OF Cincinnati in eighteen six
" TOUR, when he was seven years old
was the rollicking, fighting, dreaming
animal boyhood of the average Amer.
lean boy, who has books and brooks
around him, and is torn in his heart
70 decide which tempt him most In
MS early teens he resembled the tyne
Oh tall, raw-boned, mbberly, soueaky
| voiced, milky-eyed, shock-headed bie.
looted boy who laughs at himself more
IMAM at any one else and Taft's whole
Doyhood career is epitomized I'm the
fact that a dozen or so men now en-
their late forties and early fifties scat.
tered over this planet remember the
honorable Secretary of War. not as
william, not even as Will, certainly
not as Willie and not as Bill, but as
ola BILL Taft. The elimination of
| william signifies that he was no, n
prig; the elimination of Willie indi'
Gates that he was not a sissy: the elm
nation OF Will goes to show that no
was not Lovely Character. and Rill
proves that he was no coward while
old Bill" makes It definite and certain
mat ne was well beloved and that
proves that he was effective, impul.
sive and kind. These traits, then
form the foundation upon which the
man is built. ~ '"e
when he entered Yale where his
father had been a student before him
young Tart In spite of the fact that his
iatner was member of Grants cab
met at the time, still remained cold
Bill He didn't let his fathers hon.
ors bother him, but In school went nf-
ter his own honors. And here is some
thing worth remarking. Young Taft
70. ms honors without being grind.
he danced we'll sang well. wrestled
wen, wore his clothes well. and prob.
ably loafed well, but never forgot the
main business OF life-to get an edu.
cation. And he did that job we'll. fin.
ished 1t up, rounded 1t of, nut in good
measure, and quit the second man IN
a class OF 1870 boys. That was his Of.
fectiveness showing itself.
In those days [when he was 3O1 he
was hulkink six-footer, moon faced
good natured, who threw of work nv
tne ton, without sweating, but with
that merry heart that maketh a glad
conntenance. Incidently he had
iighting record. He had ground a
blackmailer's face into the sidewalk
Tor libeling Judge Taft, he had whip,
ped q ward heller for intimidatinp
voters at the primaries, and he had
taken a ward boss by the scruff of the
neck and the reef of his trousers and
had literally thrown him out of n con.
vention. He had the blind, roaring
MEMORABLE warth of big man OF
peace. And in those days, when he
was still boy to the old men. and
only boy to the young men, he was
10 the clan OF his kind that loved him.
still odd Bill He was what slang
calls mixer. He fought the gang
on the floor of the convention and was
never too nice to get down In the pri.
marles and work at the polls. And
when he came rolling down the street
like a good natured porpoise, or when
he banged his big fist on the bench
as ne sat In court, he was still "old
Bill, much to be respected little to
be feared, save by the unrlghteous
and always to be loved. He had but
one weakness for politician--work.
He kept his docket clean His traces
never scraped the wheel: his should
ers always were In collar and withal