The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-23
Admits He Is Poor Politi- clan and Says He Has
 Made Mistakes
SHORT SPEECH IS MOST SIGNIFICANT
Iowa Political Leaders Vie With Each Other in Hedging Their Support and Predict That He Will
 Be Reelected

Peoria, H.. September 22.-Presldent Taft had heart 10 heart talk here to- day with the leaders of the different re- publican factors in Illinois, defined his status as to progressiveness, pleaded guilty to being very poor politician, acknowledged again his ambition7ha lain in the direction of the office of chief justice rather than the presidency, ad- mltted he undoubtedly had made many mistakes, but asserted as President he had tried to do what he thought to be right What the future held for him he did not know; he would go ahead do- ing the best he could.
 MT. Taft declared he was not allied with either conservatives or progressiyes, but had tried to take a place in the middle ground between the two. But we middle of the road people be- lieve we are the real prSgressives," said | the President because do make progress in great strides; you make It step by step"
 The President was in a serious mood. He declared that while it might not be so for time, the people in the end would distinguish between fact and fustisn'' and would recognize the diff ference between substance in progress and platform declarations written for campaign purposes only.
 The speech made by the President vas the most significant and interesting of his trip thus far He still was down. Il cast by the defeat of the reciprocity agreement in Canada, but his onlysrefer- ehce to that subject had come earlier in the day, when he addressed the work ing men in local manufacturing es- tablishment, where farming implements are made
 Taft on Reciprocity
 T was sorry to hear that in Canada they do not care to have closer con- mel cial relations with us,' he said. .'lf
 reciprocity had been adopted we could
 have got our agricultural implements ! into Canada at substantial decrease.
 But |. guess gt car get along ]; The Presidents political speech fol- ! lowed luncheon given in his honor by
 the republican Ntate central committee, attended by the party leaders from all . over the state, including Senator Shelby
 NJ Cullom and Lieutenant Governor og- lesby Governor Deneen could not be II present because Ul HIS DiphSn ites iHc I.orlmer faction was not represented.
 Leaders Vied with each other in pledg- ing their support to President Taft anu predicted amid enthusiastic applause. that he not only would be renominated, but would be reelected.
 Senator Culom gave a more or less in- innate talk of his association and love for President Taft He said that with the Chicago convention not six weeks away
 In 19OS MT. Taft had told him that II Chief Justice Fuller could be induced 10 resign he would prefer that honor to all | others.
 , MT. Taft pleaded guilty to the indict- ment often laid against him that he knew
 nothing of politics and was very poor | | politician But the truth is,' he con , tinued that my politics were limited to : very early stage of my career. Knew Something of Politics [ .Three or four years after came to the , bar I was pretty active so that knew , something of ward politics Since that time my fate has been such as to carry l me out of politics, onto the bench, or .ooo miles away from any American pontics. , But as my dear friend. Senator Cullom,
 says, my ambition lay in an entirely dif-
 ferent direction and was not gratifed
 T am not giving you to understand l that I ran away from the nomination for the presidency, but the fact IS that
 it was not in the line which had mark
 ed out but being nominated and getting
 into the fight did the best l could ana.
 being elected, I took up the discharge or
 the presidency with certain tendencies,
 perhaps I ought to call them. that l had
 gathered from judicial experience
 sOf course. I made a great many mis-
 takes. I shall continue during thls term | to make tnen. That is hardly to De avoided. But there are certain things. | hof rather easy 10 < follow. One is that when you have { made A promise it is your obligation to < keep it.
 About the Vetoes s Now. something about the vetoes. 1 r considered with reference 10 those plns : that I was as much under an obligation to veto every one of them as II hao said, when was on the platform, running . for the presidency, that l would Note inst those bills for the reason that the
 v,hole republican party had taken the
 nc sition that it was necessary to nam 5 tein the industries of this country by pro- | | lection sufficient to give them living method of competing with foreign man : ;;racturers and the whole party had also said If YOU could trust the resolutions os the convention. even in Iowa and Kansas and Wisconsin, that they ap- rroved finding out the facts by tariff hoard before we passed legislation that . r1ighf strike down our lHuustFieS
 would have vetoed those bills under any \ conditions. even if it would have cost me
 my life I say that with all the earn
 estness possible, because what I did was
 the result of conviction as deep seated
 as any principle ever had"
 |. ''So far as the veto of the Arizona
 statehood bill is concerned l just vetoed I that because | could not do anything ielse [ wrote my heart into that veto.
 My friends, ] have tried to follow
 what l thought to be right in the ad- ! ministration of my office. There has , been Il division in the party and have , been charged with not being progressive. , therefore, to be condemned
 What one man does as a progressive another thinks he Is a ietrograde. There lar, however. two great schools One be- leves that the present is not perfect. r perhaps, but that changes from it would
 be dangerous. They are the strictly con- : servative and perhaps are known as the
 reactlonarles. Then there Is another 0 class at the other end which is ultra i, jextreme in it's view and believe the whole . pr esent condition Is worng and there must p be radical changes if we can live It , all . Nov, think. perhans am wrong shout I it." he contlnuedx but think l am rt ><~~<Sr~~~~~<>~>>>>- ->~A-~-
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