The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-02-18

/ ftpOFts oI the "oTk Oh tIfc Istii-
mus-Declares the Work is Being
Done Honestly and That He Pro-
poses Seeing it Carried Out i'm
Spite of "BaseIess and HurtfuI
Criticisms Americans should
Stand Behind the Workers Re-
gardless of the Efforts OF the Wind
Artists in Congress and Sensation
al Newspapers.
New Orleans, Feb 11.-President-
elect VIM. H. Taft landed here short
| ly before p. m. from Panama and
was most enthusiastically received by
the entire city whose guest he is to
be until Saturday morning.
Mr.. Taft made a brief speech this
afternoon in which he heartily ap-
proved the present lock type of canal
across the Isthmus of Panama. He
reviewed a parade of enthusiastic
citizens, miles in length, and tonight
attended one of the carnival season
balls.
Birmingham, Ala, Feb. 13.-Talk
ing through Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama, just like campaign
days, the President-elect had to-day
the qualification, which he evidently
enjoyed, of being heartily received
by large and enthusiastic crowds
who had not voted for him. He took
numerous occasions to make his ap-
probation plain, at the same time
leaving a touch of irony behind in
the form of a reminder that his pre-
campaign predictions had surely
come true and not only did the South
seem willing to accept him as their
President, but his greatest desire was
to be the President of every man,
woman and child in the nation.
There was one other burden on
the Taft mind to-day, a desire to
show his utter contempt for what he
termed the baseless and hurtful
criticisms of the work being done on
the Panama Canal.
The geniality Of the Taft smile
may be seen in this sentence, which
went home to the people of Hatties-
burg, Miss:
'tI am delighted to look into your
faces; delighted to say to you that
I am your President and you cannot
help it, and If ever an opportunity
comes again to show, it will crafty
me to come down here to Hatties-
burg, named after, | doubt not, a
beautiful woman, and say to the peo-
pie of Hattiesburg, Come up to
Washington and we will give you the
right hand of fellowship, and will
show you that you own just as much
of the White House and have as much
right to call on the President, and
indeed on the woman who occupies
it and runs it-as any"
The CANAL remarks of Mr.. Taft
were delivered with unusual manifes-
tations of aggressiveness.
Hot Air Don't Stop Work.
The Panama Canal is going to be
built" he declared, "and what I want
you to do, and what I want every
American citizen to do, is to stand
| by the men who are building it.
| (Voices: I'VE will do it.") Don't
set fire in the rear, don't distrust
the men that are giving up their
strength and energy and enterprise
to put that great work through.
When you have agents who are doing
your work, you stand behind them.
II you don't, you cannot get your
work done. The men who do your
work are entitled to your help and
confidence and you ought net to al
low yourselves to be led astray by
buncombe speeches on the floor of
the House of Representatives or by
headlines in sensational newspapers
and go back on the men that are do
ing your work.
81 don't care whether you are
Democrats or Republicans, you want
the work done and when the army
engineers who are doing this work
are giving all their time to the car
rying out of this work, you are moi
men to go back on them and to be-
lieve every idle story that comes
from the mouth of some politician
who is seeking to make himself prom
inent or to give himself the adver
tisement of a little, unfounded sen
sational statement.
THAT work is being done honest
ly. | know what l am talking about
1t will be built and all the wind op
position that comes merely from :
desire to exalt and exploit the mai
who makes himself responsible won
obstruct it.
81 know what the people of tn,
United States want in that regar,
: and in so far as I have power, as tn
Executive of this country, I am goinl
to stand behind the men who are do
ing it. And now, gentlemen, yo'
have gotten me into more heat tha
1 expected, but I thank you yer
much for your welcome"
4 Presented "Billy 'Possum."
d There was a cordial leave-takin
I at New Orleans this morning whe
: the Taft party departed. Stidell, La
e turned out the first crowd to gree
|. the President-elect, and from tha
time on he was almost constantly O