The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-09-02

on crookedness of every kind in the
man of small means as well as the
man of large means. Let us judge
each man by his conduct. and not by
his social or financial condition"
Toast to Taft.
AS the guest. of honor of the Kan
sas City Commercial club, Col Roose-
welt drank toast to the president,
was himself toasted as the first citi-
zen of the U. s. and listened to a
rollicking song to the tune of I'm the
Good Old Summer Time" which ran
as follows:
'-At next election time,
''At next election time,
Roaming round the woolly west,
Getting things in line
For we like him and he likes us.
And that's a very good sign,
That he will be our president at
next election time
The colonel responded heartily to
the toast to the president, but looked
on statuesquelv as the references to
himself were made.
Another song, ending with the re-
frain, For he's insurgent through and
through he said, could have bsen
improved "in technical accuracy if the
word progressive had been substituted
for the word .nsurgent."
Don't get the bride off, said the
colonel, amid cheers
Three hundred men attended the
luncheon and gave Colonel Roosevelt
a noisy welcome.
Before the guests were seated, for
mer Representative VIM. s. Cowherd,
who was POSTMASTER, said:
1T is always the custom of the
Commercial club to drink the first
toast to the president of the United
States"
Every one Joined in drinking the
toast.
Among the guests were Governor
Hadley of Missouri: Governor Stubs
of Kansas; Clifford Pinchot; James r.
Garfield; Col. w. r. Nelson, proprietor
of the Kansas City Star; Senator Bris-
tow. and Representative Madison of
Kansas.
Col. Roosevelt complimented the
people of Kansas City upon the ex-
pensive improvements that have been
made to their waterworks system. He
expressed his interest in the improve
ment of the waterways, especially of
the Missouri river.
His Fight on Rebates
when 1 began as president. the
movement against rebates that were
universally demanded and given. the
practice was so general that the fact
of giving them and asking for them
mad become a purely conventional
crime" said Colonel Roosevelt
mo one spoke of the giving of rebates
as a crime, and as that practice was free
ly INDUCED in by the great mass of PEG
pie, others were driven to commit the
crime, having the alternative of being
ruined by their competitors if they did
not get them.
The shippers demanded rebates of the
railroads and the railroads granted re-
bates to certain shippers until they got
in network of preferences from which
they were unable to extricate themselves
by any individual action on their part.
After some difficulty, accompanied by
the usual statement that I was running
the business interest of the country we
got the rebate practice definitely stopped,
'Of course no great change of that kind
has ever been made without incidental
hardship being suffered by many good
people. you cannot make a change and
not suffer from the disIocation Some
good people and some communities did
suffer. and I think that Kansas CITY was
the community that for the time being
suffered considerably. Kansas CITY had
rebates that / think at times were as
high as IS per cent, and / was quite pre-
pared for an outburst of dissatisfa ction
from Kansas City. But it is Immensely
to your credit that I received unanimous
approval. Your people. said that this
change was right, that the thing ought to
be done and that they were for 1t.
Il think 1t was as fine an exemplifi-
cation as one could desire of the willing
mes of your, people to squarely face a
moral issue"