Arizona republican., 1910-09-18
PHOENIX, ARIZ., SEPT. IS, 1910.
The steadfastness of Mr.. Taft.

BY what mental process our demo-
cratic friends find in the dispatch
from Beverly stating that the presi-
dent will treat regulars and insur-
gents alike in the distribution of fed
eral patronage, that the president is
abandoning any principle, we cannot
understand.
In withholding patronage from the
republican congressman who opposed
his policies in the last session of con-
gress the president followed prece-
dent which had been pretty generally
observed by his predecessors when
such situations arose But, by the
way such situations have been COM
paratively rare. That is, il is not
often that there has been an organ
lied movement within a presidents
own party against any vital or i'm
portant policy of his
One such uprising occurred within
Mr.. Roosevelt's last administration,
when a group of twenty-siX repub-
lican congressman gloried, for the
first time, we believe, in the title of
insurgent They were in opposition
to the joint statehood bill. Patronage
was withheld from them during that
session, but the ban was removed at
the next session. The war was over.
So it is in this case; the president
and the insurgents have had their
fight and Mr. Taft has succeeded in
having more important policies adopt
ed than did any man that ever pre-
ceded him in the White House.
There are other things the president
wants done. Much as he secured in
the last Ncongress, his program was
not completed. None of the so-called
insurgent leaders have expressed a
purpose to oppose any of his remain
ing policies If they should do so
they would doubtless find themselves
in the same position they were in the
last session.
Mr.. Taft has surrendered nothing
Everybody knows that the Payne-Al-
drich bill did not fully meet his ideas
Senator Beveridge, an insurgent only
so far as that bill was concerned, said
that the president was no better
pleased with it than he himself was
The only difference of opinion be-
tween them was whether better Law
have been forced from congress. The
could not have been forced from con-
gress. The president believed he haC
obtained every possible concession.
Much has been made of his state
ment a year ago that the Payne-Al-
drich law was the best ever enacted
That statement, though a red rag il
strong insurgent districts, has never
been disputed by any informed man
A similar statement was made by
Roosevelt less than month ago, anC
he added that it was as good law
bad as it might be, as could be en-
acted under the log rolling system
under which tariff legislation has al
ways been enacted.
But the Payne-Aldrich law contain!
provision-made, by the way, a
the suggestion of the president in the
course of his campaign two year:
ago for a change of the system-fol
tariff legislation based on a scientific
ascertainment of the need of it. So
now we have the tariff commission
and an arrangement for the correction
of such schedules as need correction
without the disturbance of the cOun-
try by sweeping and blind revision
The president has seen no new
light, and he has not in the slightes
degree altered his position or depart
ed from the course laid out for hin
in the last national platform, or from
the even straighter course he laid on
for himself in his speech of accept
ance, which has since been regarded
as a part of the platform.