The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-07-01
WARNS HIS PARTY
President Taft in After Dinner
Speech at Yale
Injects a Little Political Advice
Into His Address.
MUST KEEP PROMISES
Or BE Relegated to Place of a
Minority Opposition.
Compares Brands of Democracy
to Brands of Whisky.

New York, July President Taft
paused in the course of an after din
ner speech to 1900 graduates of Yale.
gathered at the annual alumni feast
last night, to issue a serious note of
warming to congress and to the lead
ers of the Republican party. The
president declared that if the party
which placed him in power and so
long had controlled the government
failed to live up to it's promises and
the expectations of the people it
would be relegated to the position of
a minority opposition.
Mr.. Taft had been speaking humer-
oHsly of recollections of his own col
iege days which made his sudden
change to a serious tone of the i'm
portant utterance upon national affairs
all the more impressive. The preSi-
dent spoke extemporaneouSly, and his
utteranceS as to the duty of the party
OF which he is nOminally the head,
seemed the result of sudden impulse
rather than of studied intent.
Mr.. Taft made no effort to explain
his warnings. The Yale men caught
his meaning and the significance of
the remarks coming at this time of
the tariff debate. and they stood and
cheered for several minutes He had
been speaking of Secretary Dickinson,
a Democrat upon whom Yale had
conferred an honorary degree. He
taunted the Democracy with the best
Of good humor as to it's present day
condition, and this led him into the
declaration as to his own party.
After paying tribute to others upon
whom the university had conferred
honorary degrees. the president came
down to Secretary Dickinson and
said:
Others Will Follow.
You went south of the Mason and
Dixon line to get a secretary of war
to give a degree to. 1t is well that
you did because he is going to build
the Panama canal and other uniVer-
stiles will follow where you got in
early.
"One of the difficulties that has con-
fronted Brother Dickinson. out in Chi
cago where he has a. temporary resi-
stituted an orthodox Democrat and
whether be really ought to be counted a
Democrat if ne allowed himself to go
into a. Republican cabinet. Well when
you come to discuss what is a Democrat
these days you are presented with very
much the same difficulty that l have
before me now in giving certain rules
for the construction of the pure food
law as to what whisky is. They say
there is Straight whisky and then there
is 'rectifed' whisky and then there is
imitation whisky. Now, speak with
a good deal of hesitation in saying
straight Democrat or a 'rectifled Dem
ocrat I would not dare to say in his
presence that he was an imitation
Democrat.
1.-The truth is, and speaking seriously
/ consider myself most fortunate that
[ was able to obtain for that important
place in my cabinet a man who repre-
sented the highest ideals of the south;
who knew no section in his patriotism;
whose coming into the cabinet was sig
p!fcant of the friendliness of large
element in that southern section that 1t
is in my heart to bring close to the
north.
Troubles of Our Own.
Now, my dear friends in suggesting
differences among Democrats am far
from ignoring some difficulties that are
on our side. I remember in 1904 that
Mr.. charles Francis Adams gave what
I may call a perfectly good Adams rea-
son for the election of the Democratic
candidate over the Republican candi-
date He said that one of the essentials
of g successful free government was an
able patriotic and efficient opposition
and that as the Democratic party had
utterly failed in reaching that ideal he
was in favor of putting the Republican
party in that place. Now, 1 venture to
say that while that may not be the
reason, which shall move the American
people it is true that if the Republican
party does not live up to its promises
and what the people expect of 1t, it will
be relegated to a position like that of
a minority opposition and therefore I