The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-09-19
ISSUES Def y
TO HIS CRITICS
TaftWantS Proof OfSincerity
Of Their Attacks.
MAKES SEVERAL SPEECHES

Recent Trust Decisions Of the United
States Supreme Court the Theme
Of the President Before Business
Men = Challenges Those Who
Charge Him With Misuse Of Pat.
ronaue In Another Address-lncI-
dents Of Trip Through Michigan
Bay City. Mich, Sept. 10. - Presi-
dent Taft twice challenged his critics
to prove the soundness and sincerity
OF their attack upon him and the pol
icies of his administration. He struck
out into political issues and his
listeners applauded.
In the first important political
speech of the trip, made before the
Detroit board of commerce, he deflcd
William ]. Bryan and the critics OF
the recent antitrust decisions of the
supreme court to bring forth a case
of trade restraint which should be
suppressed which could not be
proven a violation of the law under
those decisions.
Later, in an address before con-
vention Of internal revenue officers,
he challenged the men WAC had
charged him with q misuse of patron.
age to meet him in his proposal to
place every local federal officer un.
der civil service and so wipe out pat
ronage and its evils from the govern.
ment service. "They won't DO it," be
cried, "at least not now"
In his trust speech he invited his
critics to so to the limits Of their
legal imagination to formulate a case
of harmful trade restraint which was
not a violation of the Sherman law
as interpreted by the supreme court
in the Standard Oil and tobacco trust
cases. lie said that If anyone advo-
Gated amendment of the law he must
come out with concrete case and
give facts that could be weighed and
considered and not content himself
with mere rhetoric and defamation.
He declared that the law should not
be amended, as it was too valuable
a government asset TO be imperled
by experiments.
1t excluded no case where the mo-
nopoly OF a market was the object OF
the combination. It simply held the
law to the correction of the evil
which was sought to be reached
when the law was passed
The president said that when the
law became understood by the busi-
ness men Of the country they would
realize the necessity OF admitting
that free competition was still possi-
BILE. Said he: 1--WE did get along
with competition; we can get along
with IL; we did get along without
monopoly; we can get along without
t.; and the business men of this
country must square themselves to
that necessity. Either that or we
must proceed to state socialism and
vest the government with power to
run every business"
Mr.. Taft concluded:
ut is said that the supreme court
has read something into the statute
that was not there before; that It
has inserted the word reasonable
before restrains of trade. This is
not fair TO the court. The court said
that it must give the statute rea-
'sonable construction and pct one
leading to absurd or ridiculous re-
suits.
"The decision of the supreme court
as it grows to be understood in the
near future will be a signal for the
voluntary breaking up of all combi-
nations in restraint of trade within
the inhibition of the statute"
At Saginaw the president stopped
off to say word about peace and
arbitration. In Bay City he talked Of
the national militia. He said "The
Lord looks after children and drunk.
en- men and the United States. We
have ourselves in that helpless cate.
CORY in the past in regard 10 what
We have done with our national de.
fense. Let Us not keep our window
open at night and our silverware ex-
posed just because we favor the abo.
lition of burglary. | favor a policy OF
common sense"