Evening star., 1909-06-10
Taft as Captain.
The New York American:

whatever may he said about Col.
Roosevelt-whatevert the opinions may be
about his public servfces-whether his
work was good or bad in its infiuence-the
fact always stood out that he was the
captain And 1t is the man who Is un-
auestionably the captain that Is looked to
by the people. Mr.. Taft in this tar1ff
matter is not even the first mate.
ITO be sure. it does not follow that
strength of leadership is for the best. 1t
may be directed entirely to the bad.
I'VE do not approve of the course OF
Senator Aldrich. We believe that his
leadership is not good. Nevertheless. he
is the captain, and he is regarded by
the country. and Mr.. Taft is in the posi-
tion of a man who has resigned the mas
tery-resigned the captaincy OF a cause
peculiarly his own"
Yes. indeed. If MFR. Roosevelt were
now in the :White House he would prob
ably he in .the thick Of this tariff fray,
sending for senators and representatives.
and giving his views in extenso. He
would probably ,complicate the whole COM
plicated business. making bad worse. and
the worse appalling. His captaincy would
cost his party, and maybe the country,
dearly.
Judge Taft hasipursued the very oppo-
site. and the onlytproper. course. He has
resigned nothing. 1t was his duty to call
Congress together and make a recon-
mendation That he did. His message was
to the point, and there he has rested.
Then the duty of Congress began. The
President was not expected to present
bill and did not One had been prepared
under the auspices Of the ways and means
committee of the previous House. and this
was promptly introduced when the pres
ent House met. All done since has had
that measure for text. The House made
changes In it. and the Senate has made
many more, with others still to come.
It is absurd. therefore, to represent
Judge Taft as resigning his place, or Mr..
AGrich as usurping the captaincy. Inc
Rhode Island senator is In charge OF the
bill in the Senate by virtue OF his ONCE
as chairman Of the finance committee.
He has his part to play. and'presumably
is playing 1t according to his best lights
and convictions. He occupies the center
of the stage today with as much right as
the President will a little later.
The President Is not to be expected to
wait until the bill is laid on his table
before speaking again. 1t Is altogether
likely that when the two houses go Into
conference he will be consulted about
the situation. and will give an opinion
about the splitting of differences. Com
promises will be necessary. and will have
to be made with skill.
The President has the last word. He
wants a tariff bill that the party can
champion before the country, as q meas
ure good In itself. and at the same time
as conscientious redemption Of the plat
form upon which he was elected. And
his party is vitality interested In pre-
senting him such a measure. Any other
result-a veto. or half-hearted assent
by him-would arm the opposition with
a powerful weapon for next years cam
paigns. and 1t might imperil the chances.
which now seem to be good. for his re-
election in 1912 Captaincy at the right
time is the best thing in the world. but
seized at the wrong time Is often the
most disastrous for both the seized and
the seizer.