St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-09-22
Pres. Taft'S Speeches.

President Taft, who is now on a a 49,
600 mile trip over the country has been
taking the people into his confidence in a
very satisfactory way in the speeches he
has delivered In his opening speech in
Boston he declared that our banking
and monetary system is patched up
affair which satisfies nobody and that
change is necessary, endorsed the idea of
central bank, condemned sectionaisin
and made the following statement:
"The hum of prosperity and the
ecstasy of great profits are likely to dull
our interests in these reforms and to lead
us back again to the old abuses, unless
we insist upon legislation which shall
clinch and enforce those standards by
positive law Nothing revolutionary,
nothing disturbing to legitimate bust
ness is needed; but we must set the
marks clear in the statute by which the
lines can be drawn and the proper legiti-
mate paths be laid down upon which all
business shall proceed, and must have it
understood by means of prompt prose
cution and punishment that the law is
for all and is to be enforced even against
the most powerful. >"
Speaking at Chicago the President
boldly attacked the laws delay denounc-
ing it as disgrace to American civiliza-
ton, and indicated that he should ask
Congress to appoint a commission to
devise some scheme by which justice
might be more quickly and economically
administered. He also promised the
labor element to try to secure change
so no injunction or restraining order
should be issued without notice except
where irreparable injury would result
from delay, in which case a speedy hear
ing should be granted,
At Winona, Mimi, hot bed of tariff
instruction, the President asserted that
the insurgents who voted against the
Payne tariff bill had abandoned the re.
publican party. He defended the bill
itself as the best Congress could do and
the best tariff bill the people have ever
known. He frankly admitted that the
duties in the wooden schedule are toe
high but they could not be reduced with
out killing the whole bill. He showed
that while the duties had been increased
on articles whose yearly consumption il
this country amounts to 1851 100000
lot which 1919 100000 are luxuries and
$272,000, 900 are necessities, there had
been reduction on articles consumed al
an annual value OF $5,0O0,OO0, 900. Ii
other words the increase on necessities o
life is represented by $272 100000 anc
the decrease by $5,0O0,000,
In these frank statements the Ameri
can people see fearless, honest mar
with a vivid realization of his duty t
the country and candid pledge that HI
will give his best effort towards the &C
complishment OF these reforms. Som
criticize the new tariff bill but whei
Pres. TAFT says it is the best the party
could do at this time people will believ
him. They will also admit the correct
ness of his statement that "To max,
party government effective the members
OF that party should surrender their per
sonal predictions as of Comparatively
less Importance. His promise to at
tend to the matter OF injunctions shows
that he was not using his statements
simply for campaign purposes but was
speaking his convictions. In that worl
we shall look for a sane solution Of thu
problem which will protect organized
labor from abuse and properly guart
property interests. In his continued ef
forts to secure a reform in the admins
tration of justice Pres Taft is perform
ing a great service.
The purpose Of his trip is to get these
principles before the people and tc
awaken their interest in and support o
them. In this work the whole American