Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-13

"If the enforcement of the law is not
consistent with the present method of
carrying on business, then it does not
speak well for the present methods of
conducting business and they must be
changed to conform to the law"
This was President Taft's answer to
Wall street and its cry of 'panic." 1t
was made to the cheering audience of
who gathered tonight at the annual
Lincoln day dinner of the Republican
club at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Mr. Taft adhered to his purpose of
discussing platform pledges and how
they should be kept. 1t was at the con-
clusion of a detailed argument as to
how the Republican party is redeeming
its pledges that he came to a discus
sion of the antitrust law and Wall
street, on which his utterances had
been awaited with great interest.
The president declared the adminis-
tration would not foolishly run amuck
in business and destroy values just for
the pleasure of doing So"
mo one,'' he continued, has the mo-
tive as strong as the administration in
power to cultivate and strengthen busi-
ness confidence and prosperity. But
there was no promise on the part of the
Republican party to change the anti
trust law except to strengthen it. OF
course the government at Washington
can be counted on to enforce the law in
the best way calculated to prevent
destruction of public confidence in bus
mess, but that it must enforce the law
goes without saying"
Discusses Attacks
President Taft did not hesitate to dis
cuss the attacks that have been made
upon the administration and the party,
or danger to future success in the in
surgent movement and other dissen-
sionS.
Republicans who feared defeat at the
polls in November, he declared, how
ever, should take courage from the de-
moralization of their opponents, the
Democrats.
TT was Grant," said the president,
"who banfshed his own fear in battle
by thinking how much more afraid the
enemy was"
Mr.. Taft again came to the defense
of the Payne-Aldrich tariff bill. He did
not hesitate, he said, to repeat that it
substantially complied with the party
pledge for tariff regulation, and that
through the bill the party had "set
itself strongly in the right direction
toward lower tariffs"
Reviewing the party platform, the
banks, amendments to the interstate
commerce law, the anti-injunction
plank, statehood for Arizona and New
Mexico and the conservation of natural
resources, bills to carry on all of which
promises into effect, were pending in
congress, and he believed would be
passed.
Presidents Speech
President Taft said:
Mr. President, gentlemen of the Re-
publican club and fellow guests:
The birthday of the man whose
memory we celebrate tonight in an APP
propriate occasion for renewing our
expressions of respect and affection for
the Republican party and our pledges
to keep the part which it plays in the
history of this country as high and as
useful as it was during the administra-
tion OF Abraham Lincoln.
The trials which he had to undergo
as president. the political storms which
the party had to weather duping the
Civil War, the divisions in the party
itself between the radical anti-slavery
element and those who We're most con-
servative in observing the constitu-
tional limitations, are most interesting
reading and serve to dwarf and min
imize the trials through which the Re-
publican party is now passing and re-
store a sense of proportion to those
who allow themselves to be daunted
and discouraged in the face of loss
of popular confidence thought to be in
dicated by the tone of the press.
In what respect has the Republican
party failed in it's conduct of the gov
ernment and the enactment of laws to
perform it's duty?
1t was returned to power year ago
last November by a very large major
ity after a campaign in which it made
many promises i'm its platform, and
those promises it has either substan
TALLY complied with or it is about to
perform within the present session of
congress. Let us take up these prom
ises in order:
In the Republican platform of last
year on which the campaign was made