New-York tribune., 1911-12-03
Constant Reader Tells What
He Missed in Last
Weeks Papers.

81 saw by tho newspaper headlines" said
Busy Man. as he met Constant Reader last
evening. that President Taft gave out
very frank review of his administration.
but I did not get time to read it, Can YOU
recall the principal points?"
''It came out in the shape of an inter
view with Francis Il. Leupp former Indian
Commissioner was the reply. Right at
the start the interviewer asked him this:
Speaking of the tariff issue. Mr.. Presi-
dent, If YOU could begin your administra-
\ tion again. would you repeat your Winona
speech tomorrow" To which Mr.. TAFT
replied In phraseology. no; in effect yes.
Had | known as much as | do now,
should have realized that there are some
things one cannot leave 20 be taken for
granted. l dictated that speech TO a ste
nographer on the cars between two sta
tions. and glanced through it only enough
to straighten its grammar: 1t was sent out
by the press with correspondingly little
ceremony, so that papers received IL in all
sorts Of shapes. II I had prepared 1t two
or three weeks before and revised it dehD-
erately. as / ought to have done, l should
have clarified several passages. And. par
ticularly. ] should have changed the SEN
the best ever passed. The comparative
would have been better description than
the superlative for. whatever its shortcom-
ings the act still contains less to be criti-
cised than its predecessors. and it did, as
whole, revise the existing schedules down
ward
"'Supposing your Tariff Board should
bring I'm report hostile to any change in
the wool schedule. would YOU be governed
by that conclusion, regardless of the posi-
ton you took on the popgun wool and
woollen biH?' was next asked, and Mr.. Taft
answered: The contingency is remote. l
think that even the inner circle of protec-
tionists concede that the wool and woouen
tariff needs trimming down, the only ques-
tion being as to the amount and method
What do you purpose treating as your
calendar OF unfinished business" for the
rest of your term?' In the domestic field, l
suppose reductions in the woolen and cot
ton schedules. and possibly in the metal
schedule. of the tariff will go TO the top of
the calendar. These will be founded. as
far a. my recommendations are concerned
on the report of the Tariff Board.
The trust question. it was announced
will be the exclusive topic of the annual
message which the President will transmit
10 Congress next Tuesday. II Will be brIel'
consisting of less than six thousand words
and will merely refer TO subjects that VIII
be covered by special messages to be sent
i'm later. Although details of the trust
message were not made public. it was an
dcIstood that federal Incorporation, as out
lined 10y Mr. Taft two years ago. will be
suggested again as a method for solution
of the problem There will be eight OF the
special messages. on the following topics:
The tariff and the report of the Tarih
Board ON wool. the report of the Tariff
Board on cotton. conservation and Alaska
foreign affairs and arbitration, the eXecu-
tive departments. the report of the Eih-
cheney and Economy Commission, the re-
rort Of the Stock and Bond Commission
and the report Of the Postal Commission
What else have our politicians and
statesmen been doing?" asked Busy Man,