Arizona republican., 1910-05-23

powers of the federal government 1,
 tiOn following his to make these per
 manent in the form of law"
 It is his judgment that there was a
 definite program of legislation de-
 manded by the country and promised
 by the republican platform The
 most important matters in it, he tells
 us. were a new tariff bill, new meas
 ures for controlling corporations, and
 new laws for the conservation of
 the national resources i'll the public
 domain. The policy to be pursued
 in the various laws in this program
 was very clear; I thoroughly believed in it; and I began, even before my in lauguration to organize my adminis- tration to do the work it was pledged
 to do" It was, of course, necessary for him to work with and through
 the leaders of the majority party in congress. to secure legislation. With engaging frankness he tells how he
 was willing to throw a scare" into | Speaker Cannon.
 | T believed. and had said repeatedly,
 that. properly carried out, the tariff | plank of the republican platform ! would result in a downward revision | on many schedules in the Dingley tariff. Not long after l was elected. MT. Cannon, speaker of the house. was reported by the newspapers as denying that the republican party had been pledged by its platform to revision downward Immediately after that the papers announced that I was opposing the reelection of NIT. Cannon as speaker. Believing that
 MT Cannon had been correctly quoted. l was not unwilling that this should appear, although I was perfectly aware that he could not be defeated. Later. I had a meeting with MT. Can non at which he showed me a full copy of his speech, and convinced me that he had been wrongly quoted"
 NIT. Cannon protested that he was full of sympathy with the presidents views. and convinced Mir. Taft of the fact. There was no question. however, of the attitude of Mir. Al drich. He had publicly stated that he did not believe q downward re- vision had been promised; but he pledged himself and the other leaders in the senate to the general program of progressive legislation outlined in my inaugural address" Mir. Taft has thus made it clear to all fair minded citizens that he was fully justified in working with" Aldrich and Can non.
 As to the results. it is still MT. | Taft's opinion that the tariff law was. on the whole. a satisfactory l compliance with the party pledge. As he says, and has said before. and as everybody knows. a tariff law is al i ways a matter of compromise Mir. l Taft wanted free hides. free iron ore. i free coal free lumber. and free pc" troleum. He was against the raising | of the rate on the cheaper cotton | goods and he insisted on cutting out duties proposed on gloves. and urged | reductions in other duties, including shoes and other manufactures oi leather" But
 "Tbe democratic south. with the northern numbering states. prevented
 h ina the same sections made impossible the lowering of the much crltlclzed cotton schedules As has always been the case in making tariffs Tn uliS country. certain combinations of sec tional interests in conSresS-iormed irrespective of parties, upon purely m dustrial lines-had majorities when were q matter of fact and must be recognized as such.
 Il finally signed the bill. not be- cause it was perfect tariff; ideal tar ifs are an impossibility under the method of tariff legislation we have employed. I signed it because 1t was the best we could secure under the because 1t represented q considerable downward revision from the DingIey tariff; and because, all things considered. l did not believe myself justified in holding mp the bust ness of the country for months longer by vetoing the bill. on the chance of getting q better one The bill gave free hides and free ore: it reduced the duty on iron ore 75 per cent: on coal 33 31-2 per cent: on lumber 3I 1-2 per cent; on all classes of iron and steel manufactures, very greatly; and. speaking, made large cuts in the rates on the necessities of life; while. to offset this. it made large raises on luXurieS.'
 Mir Taft was under no miSappre- 1ension as to the effect his approval If the bill would have upon his pop Ilarity. He knew that sensation 'l veto would make him very popular at least-but he was only with the welfare Of he country.
 Tt was perfectly clear to me al the time, that I could achieve temporary personal popularity by vetoing thls tariff bill It was just as clear that If did so l would cause such split with my party in congress that the