St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1908-10-07
TAFT AS A SPEAKER.
His Talks to the People Winning
Many Votes.
DOESN'T POSE AS AN ORATOR.


dates CIearness and Sincerity Carry
Conviction.
From being decidedly apprehensive
as to the outcome of Judge Taft's
speaking tours Republican leaders are
now convinced that one of the wisest
moves of the campaign was the deci-
sion to let the Republican candidate
visit as many sections Of the country
| as possible between now and election
! day and talk to as many voters as the
! time will permit When speaking tours
for Taft were first discussed the oppo-
nents of the plan based their opposi-
ton on the fact that as an orator Taft
! cannot be compared to Bryan. They
! argued that Taft. who makes no pre-
tense to oratory. would be placed at a
disadvantage appearing on the stump
against the gifted Nebraskan. But
Judge Taft himself solved the problem
and cleared the whole situation with
one sentence in his recent speech at
Sandusky. Q.
Il cannot dwell in the ceruean blue,
but have to deal with facts he de-
clared. 1t is this dealing with facts IN
a clear. dispassonate manner that has
| made William Howard Taft what he
is. that will cause him to gain strength
every time he appears in public. Tatts
best friends cannot claim for him that
he is an orator But he can tell the
truth and does tell IT, He will not have
to paint beautiful word pictures Of
what should be done. He will not have
to plead with silyery eloquence for the
alleged downtrodden nor call on the
masses" to rise up and save the coun
try from the ruin which Bryan has
been predicting and finding various
panaceas for during the past twelve
years.
What Taft has TO do is to state
cold, clear cut facts, to tell the truth
about himself. to give to his auditors
a clear and unmistakable idea of what
Taft the man is and what he stands
for. And this he can do, and do well.
BY nature he is frank and open. 1t
would be difficult for him to dlssemble
If he wished to do 50.
Already Taft has begun making seri-
GUS impressions ON his audiences Bry-
an never fails to tickle his audiences,
In most instances he arouSes enthusi-
asm. but II is an enthusiasm which
rarely lasts. Those who listen and
applaud 20 away and forget. With
the Taft audiences it Is different. By
the clearncss of his exposition and the
absolute sincerity of his manner he
carries conviction. His auditors are
soon impressed by two things-Taft's
ability and Taft's sincerity
THIS man means what he says is
a comment frequently heard after Taft
has spoken. Another Taft character
istir that is winning many friends for
the Republican candidate among those
who knew nothing of him before they
saw and heard him is his great cour-
age. He says what he thinks. and
says 1t IN such a way that it remains
fixed In the minds of those who hear
him At Athens. O., he was address
ing 400 union coal miners. He told
them about having issued injunctions.
81 issued them" he said, because
the rights of the plaintiffs demanded
It. When | am on the bench | enforce
the law And have no apology to
make"
For minute there was absolute ST.
lence, dramatic in its intensity. Then
the 400 miners broke not merely into
applause but into enthusiastic cheers.
After the meeting they were heard ex-
pressing their views.
THAT man is on the level" said one.
He doesn't hand out any con talk.
He knows where he stands and is not
afraid to come straight out with a
thing. He a%t the orator Bryan is,
but he says things that Bryan wouldn't
dare say
Unlike many Of Bryan's utterances
Taft's utterances will bear inspection
He will make no declration that is
bItll " huuil udNt " htdl WIN
facts" he said In some Of his
speeches Bryan. intoxicated with the
sound OF his own words, frequently
makes statements not entirely trust
worthy. Taft has been too long on the
bench. too long in high government po-
sltions, where his utterances carried
weight, to permit of his making care
less statements. Furthermore, Taft
possesses to a marked degree the abil,
ity to discuss the most intricate sub
jects in the simplest language He
proved this most conclusvely at San
dusky when he made perfectly plain tc
his audience the development of anti
trust legislation and the powers and
limitations of the federal government
Everybody knew exactly what he was
talking about and understood 1t clear.
ly, yet there we're few in the audience
who realized that he was discussing
Rbstruse legal problems without resort
Ing to bewildering legal phraseology.
AS far as personal magnetism goes
Taft and Bryan are nearly equal. But
where Bryan's personality Is one that
creates interest and enthusiasm Taft's
is one that inspires affection and trust
fulness. THAT man has a fine face
l would trust him anywhere" said 8
West Virginia woman who with 6
large party came over the mountains
to hear Taft speak at Hot Springs