The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-09-23
TAFT is WALKING
. IN MIDDLE GROUND
Says He IS Not Allied
With Extremists
of Party.
PEORIA ADDRESS
Is SIGNIFICANT
In Heart-to-Heart Talk, Presi-
dent Admits Being Poor Poll !
tician and Acknowledges
Again That His Ambition
Was Toward Chief
Justiceship.

Peoria, Ill, September 22.-President
Iaft had a heart to-heart talk here
to-day with the leaders OF the dif,er.
ent Republican factions in Illinois. do.
ihed his status as to progressiveness.
pleaded guilty to being a very poor
politician acknowledged again that
his ambition had lain in the direction
Oh the office of chief justice rather
than the presidency, admitted that he
undoubtedly had made many mistakes.
but asserted that as President he had
tried to do what he thought to be
right What the future held for hin,
ne did not know; he would go ahead
doing the best he could
Mr.. Taft declared he was not allied
with the extremists OF his party, either
Conservatives or Progressives, but had
tried to take a middle ground between
the two.
But We middle of -the-road people
believe we are the real Progressives,"
said the President. because you do
not make progress in great strides,
you make 1t step by step"
The President was in a serious
mood. He declared that while 1t might
not be SO for a time, the people In
the end would distinguish between
fact and fustian" and. would recog-
nize the difference between suhstanc.
In progress and platform declarations
written for campaign purposes only.
Still Is Downcast.
The speech made by the President
was the most significant and Interest,"
ing of his trip thus far. He still was
downcast by the defeat of the reel
procity agreement in Canada, but his ,
rafa thnk
made earlier in the day when he ad.
dressed the workingmen in local
manufacturing establishment where
farming implements are made. iy-sa
II was sorry to hear that In Canada
they do not care to have closer COM
mercial relations with us." ha said
IF reciprocity had been adopted. we
could have gotten our agricultural
implements into Canada OF substan-
tial decrease. But guess we can get
along"
The Presidents political speech fol-
lowed luncheon given In his honor
by the Republican State Central Com
mittee. attended by State party leaders,
including Senator Cullom and Lieu
tenant Governor oglesby. Governor
Deaeen was unable to be present be-
cause of his broken leg.
The leaders present We'd with each
President and predicted that he would
be eenominated and re-elected. Charles
H. Williamson. of Quincy. q prominent
member of the State Central Commit
tee, said he had taken a poll on train
few days ago en- route from Keokuk
to Quincy. and that OF sixty-two vot-
ers interviewed fifty eight had declared
for Taft, three for Colonel Roosevelt
and one for Senator La Toilette. He
L l. T.
rately represented the Views OF ILL.,
nois Republicans.
Senator Cullom gave more or less
intimate talk of his association with
and love for President Taft. He said
that with the Chicago convention not
six weeks away in 1905. Mr.. Taft had
told him that IL Chief Justice Fuller
could be induced to resign he would
prefer that honor to all others
A Poor Politician.
Mr. Taft then pleaded guilty to the
Indictment often laid against him that
he knew nothing of politics and was a
very poor politician But" said the
President, las my dear friend, Senator
Cullom. says. my ambition lay in an
entirely different direction and was
not gratified"
IT am not giving you to understand
that l ran away from the nomination
for the presidency. but the fact Is that
II was not in the line which I had
marked out; but being nominated and
getting into the fight. I did the best I
could. and, being elected, l took up the
discharge OF the presidency with cer-
tain tendencies that l had gathered
from judicial experience
"Of course. I made q great many mis-
tages. l shall continue during this
term TO make them. That is hardly to
be avoided. But there are certain
things. certain rules, that II is rather
easy to follow. One Is that when you
have made promise 1t is your obliSs-
ton to keep IT."
In this connection the President OK
planned his veto of certain measures in
Congress and declared that he was as
much under an obligation to veto them
as If he had said. when he was on the
platform running for the presidency.
that he would veto just those bills, for
the reason that the whole Republican /
party had taken the position that Is
was necessary TO maintain the indus.
tries of this country by projections,
He would have vetoed those bills under
any conditions. even II IL would have
cost his life. II say that with all the
earnestness possible" he continued,
because what | did was the result OF
conviction as deep-seated as any prin.
ciple I ever had
so far as the veto of the Arizona
bill is concerned, I Just vetoed thst
because l could not do anything else. IS
wrote my heart Into that veto.
Tries To Do Right.
My friends, have tried to follow 3
what ! thought to be right in the adj
ministration OF my Office. There has
been division in the party. and have
BEEN charged with not being progYea.