The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-08-28
President Taft in a Speech
Makes Bitter Attack on
Faction of the Party which
Opposes Him.
WILL CARRY FIGHT
TO HOSTILE STATES
Broadside of President Lets
Down the Bars and Lafol-
lette Will Make His Reply
on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28.-President
Taft in his speech Saturday before the
Essex County Republican Club. at
Beverly, Mass, opened the Presiden-
tial campaign of 1912.
In a speech that breathed defiance,
Taft scored the "insurgent" members
of the Republican party in Congress
and the Democrats who combined to
revise several schedules of the present
tariff at the special session of Con-
gress just closed,
He singled out Senator La Toilette,
of Wisconsin, Speaker Clark and
Chairman Underwood, of the House
Ways and Means Committee, as lead
ers of the attempted revision and gave
them special mention.
Several times he referred to Mr. La
Toilette and mentioned the other in
surgent Senators merely as the latter's
associates"
The Woolen Bill.
The President said in part:
mo tariff bill within any ones rec
objection has ever been passed with
SO little care. They declined to wait
80 days to hear report of full inves-
tigation on Schedule X. which the pre-
vious Congress, by a united vote of
the Democrats and Republicans includ-
ing the insurgents, had directed to be
made on the 1st of December.
1T is true that this statutory direc-
tion was specifically made to Tariff
Board, created under a bill which ul-
timately failed Of passage. although
supported by, all the gentlemen who
were prominent In the passage OF this
WOODEN bill. Still that same Congress
gave me money enough to create a
board to do the same work.
"It is a board of exactly the same
personnel as that which the Tariff
Commission would have had, for on it
have put three Republicans and two
Democrats and made it non-partisan in
the sense that the Tariff Commission
bill required
"It Is a board that In every respect
is the same as the statutory Tariff
Commission, except that it is not per-
manent and has not the power to sum-
mon witnesses, and this it finds un-
necessary because it can secure all the
information it needs without doing so.
1t is the same board which Messrs.
Clark and Underwood and Senator La
Toilette and his associates are deman.
ding.
Attacks Insurgents.
II submit that the congressional his
tory of this legislation taken with the
previous inconsistent position of Mr..
Underwood and Mr.. Clark. Mr.. La Fol-
lette and his associates, is enough to
show why the wool bill ought not to
have been signed and is enough to
convince the people of this common
wealth that the party in power in the
Lower House and the combination
which is temporarily in power In the
Upper House, ought not to receive
from them vote of confidence.
Protection is Doomed.
81 am here to speak the truth as
nearly as can. l recognize the gener-
al demand throughout the country for
reduction of duties as far as that can
be made consistent with the mainte.
nance of measure of protection that
shall enable the industries Of the coun.
try to live.
"The time of the Chinese wall and
duties exceeding the difference be
tween the cost of production here and
the cost of production abroad has
passed and we of the Republican par.
ty are under an obligation as soon as
opportunity comes to advocate and
carry through a revision of the tarin
which shall meet the present popular
demand and to which we are reany
pledged.
Therefore, when the tariff board
| shall make it's report in December on
wool and cotton expect to submit
to Congress recommendations based
on their report for a revision of both
schedules.
Il have already expressed my opin
ion that the wooden schedule is toe
high. that it has prevailed for so many
years that it ought to b revised. and
is the subject of complaint, not only
| to consumer, but also by those who
are engaged in the industries effect
| ed.
$50 far as l can help it. however
no such revision will take place unless
/ it is made with full knowledge of the
facts as found by an impartial investi
cation.
| The public will have ample time
calmly to consider and decide whether
they desire to put into power gentle
lmen leading party who. while pro
Tossing a wish for facts and informa
tion so as to make tariff legislation a,
just as possible. no sooner have the op
portunity than they adopt measure,