The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-07-26
Defends the New Tariff Act,
Which He Holds Has Been
MiSrepreSented and Mis-
understood SIS High Cost
Of Living.

| JuueOn Harmon mas spent nearly TWO
score years Of his more than three
score years in looking at pubic ques-
tions from the railroad and corpora
tion standpoint. The people will not
forget this when they come TO cast
their ballots
Says Taft Has Made Good.
An Ohio man, lawyer, too, is
president OF the United States. How
different has been the use Of his
legal talents. They have nt been
employed In the service Of the rail
roads and corporations, but In the
service Of the people. Like his great
predecessor, he sees the peoples side
first In his administration corpora
tions get a square deal, but they get
no more than that.
Whatever the people NAV have
thought few weeks ago there is no
Taft has made good. Few men realize
what fixity OF purpose, what strength,
sagacity. good humor and patience
were required to bring order out OF
chaos that existed during the closing
weeks Of this session OF congress.
Some people mistook his good humor
for weakness, his patience for plia.
bility: events have proved how sadly
mistaken they were. Today thore are
few who do not know that the Taft
smile Is but a mask for logged de-
termination and an iron will.
Seldom has I fallen to the lot OF
any man to surmount greater obsta-
cles in carrying our his promises
than to the president. Beset en- all
sides by violent and unjust criticism,
harassed by factional disputes. he re.
mained serenely confident to tie end,
and the end was triumph. He had
determined from the beginning that
formed. Today these pledges are the
laws OF the land.
Included In his legislation are the
revision OF the tariff, the railroad
bill, the establishment of postal saw
ings banks, the creation of tariff
commission, the provision for the in
vestigation OF railway accidents and
for monthly reports thereof; the Gre
alton of a bureau of mines, the ex-
tension of laws requiring safety ap-
pliances on common carriers, sup
preston Of the white slave traffic.
the conservation bills, campaign
publicity bill, and the admission OF
Arizona and New Mexico to statehood.
Progressive Legislation.
No such program of constructive
and progressive legislation has ever
been enacted at any session of con-
gress in American history. It is a
record Of magnificent achievement
and the glory belongs first to the
president of the United States.
The principal conservation bill
gives to the president power TO With.
draw all lands In the public domain
subject to settlement by the operation
OF the law and to hold them for any
public purpose. Since the passage Of
that bill the president has withdrawn
more than 100000 acres Of land
water.sites, coal, phosphate and oil,
and 1t is now to be considered what
are the best methods for their proper
disposition.
The railroad bill is a great forward
step in the policy inaugurated by the
Roosevelt administration in the drec-
tion of more complete regulation by
the government of the operation OF
the railroads. One of its new feat.
ures is the creation OF commerce
court for the determination OF the le-
gality of the orders made by the in
terstate commerce commission. This
court will be composed OF Judges es.
pecially versed in the principles OF
the interstate commerce law.
This bill gives full power to the
commission of it's own motion to In.
vestigate the reasonableness OF rates,
and IL found unreasonable to Ak what
would be a reasonable rate. It gives
to the commission the power to read
Just classiications.
The railroad bill was amended by
both the so-called regulars and the
so-called insurgents. and in my judg.
ment is an Improvement over the bill
as originally introduced.
The postal savings bank bill was
made exactly as II stands today in
o three.night session of the RepUbli-
can caucus by regulars and insur-
gents alike, both sides yielding in
many instances to the views of the
other. SO excellently drawn did this
bill prove TO be that II was accepted
without any amendment whatever by
the senate.
These bills we're not made by reac-
tionaries or by radicals; they were
made by Republicans. They are Re-
publican measures. as such they were
signed by Republican president, and
as such we stand for them.
Let me give you two examples OF
insurgents. One In the house and
one in the senate. In the framing
Of the postal savings bank bill, for ex-
ample, believe that my good friend
Victor Murdock helped to make the
hill better than II would otherwise
have been and thereby did good ser
vice to the Republican party Victor
Murdoch 10 described as one of the
most radical OF all the insurgents.
However that may be. he is in the Re
publican party and hope he win
never leave t.
In a neighboring state there is be-
ing waged o fierce contest for a SEN