New-York tribune., 1910-02-16
"rHr TIlLEs,. iNn The PRESIDkNI.

4 HE IIHES mi M
We called attention yesterday 10 'ii
astonishing charges of lnslhcel's
MISREPRESENTATION which Ihe Ne"
York Times has seen fit TO orl"s
against President Taft ouI ioi NC
neirbhor accused the President-Who'e
candor and honesty of purpose no QUIZ
critic has ever questioned-ol dslhS
..trnmperv figures. exposed in all thelr
falseness long ago ana many uih'9'
in order 10 deceive the pubic III resa,"
10 the effects of the Iayne tarlh Jaw -
remarked. with studied disregard Oh Ni'
Tafts honorable reputation for pldlu
king and fair dealing, mat II Nouiu
avail him little Ito repeat MS leeoie'
faltering defence at Ninona' MILL
last summer of q ''diShonoraDic decep-
ton" for the reason that Fifteen miii-
lion voters cannot be lied TO and moi
lind it out
The Times" contends that IL haS
raised IAN issue of common morality
with the President 1t fatty accuses him
of deception and 10 its original charge
Of Monday ii added yesterday this sup
elemental one in an article comparing
lis speech at the Lincoln Day dinner
with the speech of Governor Hughes:
AIr. Taft was timid apologetic. shfty
and embarrassed. His arguments were
ingenious rather than acute, were
touched in places by the spirit OF the
pleader and had but a remote ana un-
interesting relation to facts
We pointed out yesterday that The
Times's" own past record as critic OF
the PAYNE law was full of fnconsis-
toncics and misiudgments and failed
scandalouS 10 qualify it 10 act as
censor of opinions regarding the work
ings of that law expressed by other au-
thoritieS Moreover. we cannot lind
very solid basis for IFS moral indigna-
ton at what it calls the Presidents at
tempts to mislead the public With
'Trumpery'' statistics and arguments
which have "but a remote and uninter-
eSting relation TO facts. Is The
Times's" CONVICTION of the falsity of the
Presidents methods of argument so
profound and its confidence that the is
sue between it and the President is 'one
Of common morality so absolute that
it feels compelled 10 sacrifice all ordl
nary considerations of comfy and cour-
tesy on the altar of inexorable truth:
The public may he pardoned for
doubling the extreme devotion OF The
Times" TO the service Of naked and ab-
solute truth when it finds a newspaper
in a nearby city closely affiliated with
The Times and controlled hy practi-
cally the same interests failing COM
pletely 10 share the moral indignation
which Mr.. Taft's utterances created in
the neighborhood of Seventh avenue
and 42d street While our former neigh
Dor was denouncing the President as a
iucgler and falsifier The Philadelphia
Ledger" was gently commencing him
for employing facts and figures of re-
cent origin to support his assertion that
the Payne law was q decided improve
ment upon the Dingley law. Here Is
what The Ledger" said on Monday:
To his former defence of the Payne
AldriCh tariff as substantial fulfilment
OF campaign pledges he is now able to
add the support Of experience, quoting
statistics To show that while the pro
portion of inportations entered free has
increased about l. per cent, the per-
dutiable list has distinctly diminished
about the same entage-evidence OF
downward revision.
There iS nothing in the foregoing
about lying 10 fifteen millions of voters.
There is no suggestion that the Presi-
dent is trying to abuse the confidence OF
the country with ''doctored' statistics.
Why this disparity in moral sensitive
ness and judgment? Is moral indignG-
ton such as The Times displays
conditioned by latitude and longitude:
Is il carefully localized: Can ii be adj
yantageously INDUCED in New York,
where assaults on the protective tariff
system are more or less popular. while
pTudehtly suppressed in Philadelphia,
where assaults on the protective system
are not considered tactful and advis-
able? Are the interests controlling The
Times" here and The Ledger in Phila-
delphia in the habit of talking. like
Orator Puff. with two yoices-one wild
ly throbbing with moral indignation
and the other entirely innocent of any
tremolos due 10 that sort of excitement?
Before accusing President Taft Of in
sincerity and duplicity The Times"
p11ubT a SrrgioIstaD aIlt own record