The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1910-02-17
MUST OBEY LAW
DECLARES TAFT
The President Gives Answer
to Wall Street.
HIS DUTY TO E"FORCE LAW
Declares Administration VIII Not Wan
tonly Destroy Values, But Business
Methods kiust Be Changed to Con-
form to Statutes.

New York, Feb. lift the enforce
ment 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 conduct
ing business, and they must be chang
ed to conform to the law"
This was President Taft's answer to
Wall street and it's cry OF panic" 1t
was made tG a cheering audience of
hundreds OF prominent Republicans
gathered at the annual Lincoln day
dinner of the Republican club of this
city, at the Waldorf-Astoria. Governor
Hughes shared the honors of the even.
ing with him.
The president adhered to his pur-
pose of discussing platform pledges
and how they should be kept. 1t was at
the conclusion of detailed argument
as to how he believed the Republican
party was redeeming its pledges that
he came to a discussion OF the anti
trust law and Wall street, on which
his utterances had been awaited with
the greatest interest
The president declared that the ad-
ministration would not "foolishly run
amuck in business and destroy values
and confidence just for the pleasure
of doing So" No one" he continued
has a motive as strong as the ad.
ministration in power to cultivate and
strengthen business confidence and
prosperity.
But there was no promise on the
part of the Republican party tC
change the antitrust law except tc
strengthen it," he said. "Of course
the government at Washington can be
counted on to enforce the law in the
way best calculated to prevent a de
struction of public confidence in bust
ness, but that it must enforce the Law
goes without saying"
President Taft did not hesitate tC
discuss the attacks that have beer
made upon the administration and the
party or the danger to future success
i'll the insurgent movement and Other
dissensiOns. Republicans who feared
defeat at the polls in November he
declared. however, should take cour
age from the demoralized condition oi
their opponents. the Democrats.
'It was Grant" said the president
amid a whirlwind of laughter. "whC
banished his own fear in battle by
thinking how much more afraid the
enemy was"
In coming to the defense of the
Payle-Aldrich tariff bill he did not
hesitate, he said. to repeat that II sub.
stantially complied with the party
pledge for tariff revision and that
through this bill, the party had "set
itself strongly in the right direction
toward lower tariffs"
The president brought statistics into
his argument to demonstrate that, dur.
ing the first six months OF the new
per cent reduction in the percentago
ad valorem duties have paid on i'm
ports and a II per cent increase In
the per cent Of imports admitted free
Time and wider knowledge, he
thought. would serve to justify the
bill
Reviewing the party platform, the
president spoke of postal saving
banks, amendments to the interstate
commerce law, the anti-injunction
plank. statehood for Arizona and New
Mexico and the conservation OF nat
which promises into effect were pend
ing in congress and he believed would
be passed