The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-09
TAFT IS GUEST OF NEWSPAPER MEN Attends Banquet at Louis
 vile, Ky. SPEAKS ON LINCOLN President Taft Throws New Light on Lincoln's Character-Refers
 to Judicial Tem-
 perament


 into Kentucky the day after the state was overwhelmingly returned to the dem-
 ocratic ranks and meeting crowds en
 route celebrating the victory of ballots, President Taft was greeted apparently the same as if results of yesterdays election had been the reverse. At Frankfort, the capital, the Presi-
 dent dedicated statue to Abraham Lin coin and tonight in Louisville he made
 a brief talk on peace at the armory and
 was entertained by the Louisville Press club at banquet.
 The banquet was the feature of the visit to Louisville, and unique in presi- dential visits in that MT. Taft divided honors with his military aide, Maj. Archi-
 bald w. Butt.
 Major Butt formerly was a Louisville | newspaper man and as the President him. self saw service as a reporter in Cip- cinnati the affair was given on the basis
 of one newspaper man to another. Early in the night Henry Watterson
 suggested every one stop calling him MT. President or even MT. Tafts successor
 and say just Bill" This was adopted | to some extent.
 MT. Taft arrived here at o'clock from Frankfort and was taken to the armory, where he made the brief peace address scheduled along lines following his poli- cies. The armory left MT. Taft went to | his hotel to prepare for the banquet | MT. Taft leaves tomorrow for Hodgens- yile Ky, where he will dedicate the l Lincoln memorial hail. the function prin- ! cipally for which he came to Kentucky. Henry Watterson, editor of the Louisville Courier Journal, was one of the principal speakers at the banquet
 given by the newspaper men of Louis villn in honor of President Taft ana l Mai Archibald w. Butt, the Presidents | military aide, the latter at one time
 Louisville newspaper reporter. | Directing his remarks to the prin- l cipal guest of the evening, MT. Waiter son said:
 |. If there be anything that I do know | all about, as the washwoman observed | of her 'bluein' 1t Is Presidents" | He said he had known all of them personally with the exception of the 1 first five and the ninth, and added
 he did not know but that he would like to be president himself. What I do want to say, especially to you young gentlemen of the press, continued MT. Watterson, lis this-that there is no one of you who may not be
 headed for the White House. Look at Archie Butt; yes, I know. You need not shake your heads in solemn warn | ing. Archie was not a common report CT. He was born a swell. Good clothes and good looks and good manner came natural to him. He has been great
 CT than president, then guide, phil osopher and friend of pair of Pres | idents. He once told me they were good pair to draw to; and maybe tcl, lrn nf lri 1 his gentle influences which kept Theo- core Roosevelt from declaring himself | a dictator. It is said William How ard Taft considers him his mascot and looks to him to insure his reelection. When I reach the White House I shall expect to find him there to welcome me and I shall say to him, Archie, when you were a poor young man I was your friend-you'll not desert me now.'
 "Gentlemen, my motto has always been, Never say de.' It is not yet too late for me.
 Don't think it; and-and-when am President I'll show you a thing or two. In the first place, loving my ease and meaning to choose my own com pany. I shall put q stop to the all
 around the circle handshaking busi
 ness. No more perpatetic speech
 making-shooting arrows into the air.
 
 levees, aping royalty, they call them at Washington. No more office seeking rushes in mine.
 Access to the executive mansion may be
 obtaine only by card or countersigned ep- pointment. I shall at once abrogate the civil service law, abolish the civil service commission and give General Black and his interesting colleagues "A hours to get out of town. Then I will reinstate the of | ficial fabric in my own likeness and fill | the places of honor and trust and profit to suit myself according to the merit sys- | tenn of my personal preference and re- gards. Let them call it 'favoritsm' as much as they please None but friends tried and true will be allowed to hang a bout the premises. The letters that spell | the word 'nepotsm shall be dropped from the alphabet. I will dissolve both parties. No mans coat-no party label-shall stand betwixt me and any good fellow. Being devotee to peace and in favor of arbitration and the two Taft treaties with
 England and France, will take MT. Turk and MT Dago each by the scruff of his neck and pitch them into the Mediter-
 ranean sea and hoist the stars and stripes over Trpoli.
 .I will readjust our loose currency. No
 more poverty. I will emasculate the trusts. U. Pierpont' and John D.. shall rear so gently that even William Jen- ningS Bryan snail say Let them roar again. Every man shall have his pock- cts crammed with treasury certificates, my system of fiscal reform; as simple and as dead easy as falling off a log; putting Aldrich and his monetary cons
 mission to blush-will be to estimate the
 actual value of all the gold and silver on the earth and issue legal tender notes for the full amount; saving the expense
 of mining, minting and transportation;
 saving argument, time and trouble. ,n short I will make Teddy green with envy ano old Taft to turn over in his sleep
 and murnur, Lord, why did not think of it. ."
 But MT. Watterson didn't believe that
 everything was forgotten by the Presi-
 dent and declared if asked pointblank what he really thought of him he would
 say, "as old as the old lady at the mourn
 CTS bench said when asked if she did not
 love the Lord It's mighty comfortin' to
 have Him around" /"
 "All of us are proud and happy to have him with us, none theyless those of
 us who may not always agree with his
 conclusions. never doubting his inten-
 tions. This night at least let us know no
 parties and no distinctions Let it- for a