The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-02-18
PRESIDENT GIVES WARNING
TO THOSE WHO THINK
OTHERWISE
No Hope of Favoritism Held Out
to Illegal Combinations in New
York Speech Payne Tariff Bill
Praised and Postal Savings Law
Promised.


trushts is held out by President Taft,
who in his speech at The New York
Republican Clubs Lincoln Day dinner
tonight, declared that eff the enforce
ment of the law is not consistent with
the present method Of carrying on bus
mess then the business methods must
be changed to conform with the law.
A ringing eulogy of the Payne AL,
drich tariff law and detailed defense
of the present administration occupied
a great part of the long speech. The
president went over the Republican
party platform of 1908 plank by plank
and pointed out how, step by step, the
administration was working toward a
fulfllment of it's pledges. He took the
stand that the Payne bill contained a
substantial revision of the tariff and
quoted statistics to prove that since the
law went into effect there has been a
considerable decrease in duties.
Sees Next Campaign Issue
But the president admitted that the
tariff bill is going to be blamed by the
Democrats for the high cost of living,
which will be, he admits, a vital issue
in the congressional campaign next
fall. ''And we must not be blind to
the weight of such an argument. he
told the Republicans. After long
argument intended to prove that the
Payne Adrich measure was the best
tariff law ever inaugurated in the
United States, he proceeded to the in
dividual pledges of the platform of
1908. Then without mincinR words he
took up Wall Street and the trusts.
The speaker undertook to answer the
flood of questions and criticisms which
have been deluging the country rela-
tive to the success of the Taft admin
istration. On the Wall Street subject
Mr.. Taft said:
''From time to time attacks are
made upon the administration on the
ground that it's policy tends to create q
panic in Wall Street and disturb bust
ness. All have to say on this subject
is: That certainy no one respon ye
for government like ours would fool
troy values and confidence just for the
pleasure of so doing:
Must Enforce the Law
''No one has a motive as strong as
vate and strengthen business confidence
and prosperity. But it does rest with
the national administration to enforce
the law, and if the enforcement of the
law is not consistent with the present
methods Of doing business then it does
not speak we'll for the present methods
of conducting business and they should
be changed to conform to the law.
''There was no promise on the part
of the Republican party to change the
antitrust law except to strengthen it,
or to authorize a monopoly and sup
preston of competition and the control
of prices, and those who look forward
to such a change cannot visit the res
possibility for their mistake on an in
nocent person. Of course, the govern
ment at Washington can be depended
on to enforce the law in the best way
calculated to prevent destruction of
public confidence in business, but that
it must enforce the law goes without
saying"
Governor Hughes Praised
Further on the president praised
Governor Hughes, who was present,
characterizing him as the greatest
asset of the Republican party in New
York state. -
The postal savings bank and the
party pledge on that subject led the
president into discussion of the bill
now before congress He said those
who are endeavoring to amend the bill
to allow the money deposited to be
kept as savings in banks under trustee
who shall have no power to use the
funds and to allow the funds to be de-
posted in state and national banks in
discriminatory are prejudicing their
party integrity. 'These," he said,
twill put the party in the position
where it cannot hope to escape the
charge that it is not in good faith seek
ing the passage of a postal savings
bank bill and is not seeking therefore
to comply with the promises of the
Republican platform in that regard.
Payne Tariff Law Upheld
Speaking of tariff revision, Mr.. Taft
said: 1--WE did revise the tariff. Moth
ing was expressly said in the platform
that this revision was to be downward
revision. The implication that it was
to be generally downward, however,
was fairly given by the fact that those
who uphold the tariff system defend it
by the claim that after an industry
has been established by shutting off
foreign competition the domestic COM
petition will lead to the reduction in
price so as to make the original high
tariff unnecessary
In the new tariff there were 654
decreases, 900 increases and 1,15O
items of the dutiable list unchanged.
but this did not represent the fair pro-
portion in most of the reductions ond