Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-01
Short, EpigramatiC Speech Taken as
Significant by Crowd.
HE CAN'T DEFINE A DEMOCRAT
More Troublesome to Determine
Than What is WhiskyP
REPUBLICANS HAVE TROUBLES
In Humorous Vein Chief Executive
Refers TO Lack OF Organized OppO-
sitiOn to Dominant Political
Organization.

NEW HAVEN, Conn, June 30.-President
Taft paused in the course of an after-din-
ner speech to 1,s00 graduates of Yale,
gathered at the annual alumni feast to-
day, to issue a serious note Of warning to
congress, and to the leaders of the re-
publican party. The president declared
that, IL the party which placed him In
power and so long had controlled the gov
ernment, failed to live up to its promises
and the expectations of the people, II
would be relegated to the position of a
minority opposition.
Mr.. Taft had been speaking humorously
of recollections of his own college days
which made his sudden change to a serious
tone of the important utterance upon ma
tional affairs all the more impressive. The
president spoke eXtemporaneously, and his
utterances as to the duty of the party of
which he is nominally the head, seemed
the result of a sudden impulse, rather
than of studied intent.
Mr.. Taft made no effort to explain his
warning. The Yale men caught his mean
ing. and the significance of the remarks
coming at this time of the tariff debate,
however and they stood and cheered for
several minutes. He had been speaking of
Secretary of War Dickinson, a democrat,
upon whom Yale today conferred an
honorary degree. He taunted the demo-
cracy with the best Of good humor as to
its present day condition. and this led him
into the declaration as to his own party.
Comments on Democracy.
After paying tributes to others upon
whom the university today conferred
honorary degrees, the president came down
70
You went south of the Mason and Dix
ons line to get a secretary of war to give
a degree to- 1t is we'll that you did, be-
cause he is going to build the Panama
canal. and other universities will follow
where you got in early
''One of the difficulties that has con-
fronted Brother Dickinson. out in Chicago,
where he has a temporary residence, was
a discussion as to what constituted an or
thodox democrat and whether really he
ought to be counted as a democrat, If he
allowed himself to go into a republican
cabinet.
Well, when you com to discuss what is a
democrat these days, you are presented
with somewhat the same difficulty that
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, I speak with a
good deal of hesitation in saying whether
my friend Dickinson is a straight demo-
crat, or 'rectified' democrat l would
not dare TO say in his presence that he
was an Imitation democrat.
THE truth is, and speaking seriously
consider myself almost 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 significant Of
the friendliness of a large element IN that
southern section, that II Is in my heart
to bring close to the north.
Republican Party Troubles.
Now. my dear friends, in suggesting DIFF
ferences among democrats am far from
ignoring some difficulties that there are
on our own side. remember in 1904 that
Charles Francis Adams gave what NAV
call perfectly good Adams reason for
the election OF the democratic candidate
over the republcaA candidate. He said
that one OF the essentials OF a free gov
eminent was an able, patriotic and eff
cieht opposition ana that as the demo-
cratic party had utterly failed in reaching
that ideal he was in favor OF putting the
republican party in that place.
Now, I venture to say, that while that
may not be the reason which shall move
the American people, IL is true that II the
republican party does not live up to its
promises and what the people expect of
IT, It will be reiegated to a position like
that CT his ma atesty's oppositIon and
therefore, may say by way of caveat,
that we have troubles OF our own"
Presidents Busy Day.
The president had a busy day as the
honor guest of the Yale commencement
exercises. He attended a meeting OF the
Yale corporation, spoke at the midday din
ner OF the alumni presided over a meet