The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-14
TAFTs GREAT sPEECH.

President Taft's speech in New York
city on Saturday night at the Lincoln
Day celebration of the New York Re
| publican club ought to strike most fair
minded people as being an adequate
answer to his carping critics. AS he
detailed his stewardship of the presl-
Dental office. and his story is in keep
ing with the exact facts, he has done
everything that a man possibly could do
in his position to redeem the pledges he
and his party made during the last ma
! tional campaign; and the accomplish
ments have been material. Many of
these are untitled as yet but that is be-
cause they have not taken definite
form for congressional action. The in
dications are, though, that the many
important matters on which the Repub-
lican party promised legislation, includ-
ing the enactment into law of most of
the Roosevelt policies will be acted
upon favorably by congress and in line
with the exceedingly excellent sugges-
tions as to details which have been
made by Mr.. Taft.
On the question of the much-mooted
tariff revision President Taft stated his
ideas in a convincing and emphatic
manner. Unfortunately they do not
gree with the opinions in the premises
of that self-constituted arbiter of all pub
lie and political questions that develop
in Kansas and every other section of the
United States-the Topeka Daily Capt.
tai. In it's issue of Sunday last the
Capital referred to this revision as "the
tariff bunco' and that piece Of party
treachery."
In his New York speech Mr.. Taft
points out that the revision of the tariff
promised by the Republican party was
not conceived with the idea of doing
away entirely with the protective sys-
tenn of tariff, nor that the tariff should
be revised downward on everything i'm
ported into this country including the
luxuries of life. The promise was made
for a generally downward revision Of
the tariff on necessities and as Mr.. Taft
shows, that promise has been kept Mr..
Taft does not insist that the tariff is d
perfect measure. He reiterateS his
former statements that the wooden
schedule, in which no reductions were
made, is anything but satisfactory. But
he does believe it is the best tariff law
ever passed and says SO in these words:
81 therefore venture to repeat that
the present customs law is the best law
that has ever been passed, and it IS
most significant in this, that it in
dictates on the part of the Republican
party the adoption of a policy to change
from an increase in duties to a reduc-
ton Of them and to effect an increase
Of revenues at the same time"
That is the whole truth and nothing
but the truth, regardless of other opin-
ions on the subject. The Republican
party, for the first time in it's life.
promised the people a revision of the
tariff downward on articles of large
and common consumption. Mr.. Taft
demonstrated with facts and figures in
his New York speech that that is just
what the new tariff law does. 1t may
not go quite far enough in all particu-
lars, but it certainly is the right kind
of a start in the right direction.
Taken from whatever angle or detail
Mr. Taft's speech is looked at, on the
tariff and all other matters, it is a
fearless and courageous expression of
opinion from a strong and virile ex-
ecutive, who believes that party prom
ises are made to be redeemed and who
intends to lend his great power as the
nations chief executive to their re-
demption. His reply to trust magnates,
and the stock gamblers and manipula-
tors of Wall street, who think they see
a ruination of the business of the
country in the attitude of the admin
istration on the questions of railroad
and corporation control and the en-
forcement of the antitrust law,
was all that it should have
been. IF the enforcement of the law"
said the president, lis not consistent
with the present method of carrying
| on business. then it does not speak we'll
for the present methods of conducting
business and they must be changed to
conform to the law"