The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-05
AT LAST, A POOR WORD.

D AT last Mr.. Roosevelt has spoken q
9 word for President Taft. It is y quail
. fed word; very limited, Taft Is com
, mcnded, with reservations, for mis- in
sistence on having tariff commission
tariff concessions with foreign coun
tries. Only that and nothing more.
There is silence which amounts to
condemnation of President Taft on ac.
count OF his conservation policies,
There is n silence which amounts to
condemnation of President Taft on ac-
count of his attitude toward the peo.
pie as between the popular interests
and the interests of the trusts and mo-
nopolles. There is silence which
amounts to condemnation Of President
Taft because Taft does not Join with
Roosevelt in condemning the courts
There is silence which amounts to
condemnation of President Taft be.
cause Taft does not Join with Roosevelt
IN demanding Congressional regulation,
the Roosevelt way, of the railroads and
transportation companies, even when
there is no National incorporation of
such companies. And so all along the
list The Roosevelt silence upon the
Taft administration is conspicuous on
everything relating to internal affairs
of the United States.
The extremely limited endorsement
of President Taft's administration
given by Mr. Roosevelt in his Sioux
Falls speech, as referred to above. calls
special and pointed attention to the
differences between President Roose-
welt and President Taft in the manner
OF administering the Office of Chief Ex-
ccutlve. In so far as Mr. Roosevelt
does not approve, he must necessarily
condemn, since he undertakes judg- |
meut. The amount that he finds TO
approve Is so very small compared with |
the amount that he necessarily con
demns, that his word is made the more |
conspicuous; and it is the more promi- |
nent by the attention that is thereby |
attracted TO the long silence which Mr.. !
Roosevelt has preserved toward the
Taft administration.
And now, since he finds himself able
to endorse such very small part of
what President Taft has done. and
since by hs omission he necessarily
condemns nearly everything done in the
Taft administration, the public under
stands more clearly than ever before,
The dlsgruntlcd state of his mind to.
ward President Taft. The antagonism
the two men in their methods ,
II operation is one of character and of
7ltal principle. President Taft is a
nan of law. He has n judicial mind
lie does not believe that the Executive
las powers Independent from those con
erred upon him by law either to ere {
tie legislation or to ignore legislation
President Taft wants law for what he
loes. Mr., Roosevelt as President in
lsted on doing what he wanted to do, ;
aw or no law. If there was no law ;
'ermitting him to do it he would do /;
anyway, creating precedent which
e held to be as good as statute. If !
here was law against it he calmly >
roceeded in his own way. ignoring or
citing aside that Jaw And President
aft revolts at all such work.
The difference, therefore. between the
wo men and their methods of proceed
re is the difference between law and 8
awlessness. 1t is radical and irrecon-
llably In conflict. And that is why,
ftcr so many weeks of silence. MI
has been able to find 80 little
, endorse in the Taft administration. y