Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-09-15
PRESIDENT OFF
ON LONG TRIP
Starts on Swing Around the
Circuit Today.

Beverly, Mass, Sept. 15.-Every-
thing Is in readiness for President
Taft's long trip through the west. He
VIII start this afternoon and when he
returns will have covered 1900 miles.
White house servants and stenog-
rapheFs have been hurrying to- and fro
for the last few days attending to all
the details that are involved when
the chief executive Of the country goes
speechmaking. Personal baggage, doc
uments and drafts Of speeches have
been taken to Boston and are ready
for their long jaunt. The program
before the president has beer dill
gently arranged, the many local com
mittees that will have charge of Mr..
Iafts person have been drilled In their
duties as his hosts, and all that Is
necessary is the signal to start.
Today Is Mr.. Taft's ffty-fourth birth
day. 1t Is also the second anniversary
of the start Of the first / 5000 mile trip
which the president made around the
big circle. The territory to be covered
Is generally the same, though in this
tN&P tHS Ooh "a DtSu eliminated.
Then, as now, the tariff was the all
important issue before the country.
Then the Payne-Aidrich law had just
been placed upon the statute books.
Insurgency in the middle west was
rampant. Mr.. Taft defended the Payne
law on his last trip as the best tariff
law which had ever been enacted. His
Winona speech, In which that indorse-
ment to the Payne law was given, was,
from a political standpoint, the most
important of the first trip.
Now Mr.. Taft Is going before the
same section of the country on the
same issue. He has said that he in
tends to make this trip nonpolitical as
far as possible. He has arranged his
set speeches with this idea in mind.
But he will discuss the tariff in two of
his set speeches and in Eany of the
other less important ones, and the i'm
portance of the issue will thrust it to
the fore as the pivotal issue Of this
trip, as it vas of the last one. On this
trip his tariff talks will be offensive
rather than defensive. as on the last
trip. He will explain his vetoes Of the
tariff bills Of last session In one speech,
but his defense will not go beyond
that. On the other hand, he has a hard
program Of aggressive tariff discussion
before him to gain support for his
tariff board plan for a scientific re-
vision of the tariff. 1t will mean six
weeks of tiptoe apprehension for the
politicians of the country as they fol
low each stage of the presidents trip
and sum up the warmth of his recep-
ton across the continent. Mr.. Taft
leaves Beverly In ttptop physical con
dition. He is an experienced traveller,
and everything is done on this trip to
EAnp his- nanditinn- I'M To tho ~-~.~A
The Taft special Is a little more
sumptuous this trip than last. There
are five cars in all-the presidents car,
two compartment cars for members of
the party, a dining car and a baggage
car. The president motored into Bos-
ton and took the train there. Mrs.
Taft, Miss Helen Taft and Charlie
went with him to Boston.
Mrs, Taft, with Miss Helen, is to re-
main at Beverly through October.
The president plans to go with her to
Hot Springs, Va, after the trip for a
two weeks Test.