Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-09-23
President in Heart to Heart
Talk With Republicans at Pc
ora, Acknowledges Short
C0mln9S,
llLlN0lSANS PLEDGE
HIM SUPPORT IN 1912
Chief Executive During Course
of Speech Pleads Guilty to
Indictment He is Not a Poll
tiCian.
IBy Morning sournn, Special lsa.s3 wire,

my Morning journal Special lsass< wireJ
Peoria H., sept 22--presidcnt
Taft had hcart-to-heart talk hero
today with the leaders of the differ
cnt republican factions Ia Illinois, de-
fined his status as to progressiVeness,
pleaded guilty To being very poor
politician. acknowledged again that
his ambition had laid in the direction
of the office of chief Justice, rather
than the presidency, admitted that ne
had made many mistakes but assert
ed that as president he had tried TO
do what he thought To he right.
What the future held tor him he did
not know; he would go ahead doing
the best he could.
Mr., TAFT declared that he was not
allied with the extremists of his party
either conservatives or pregrcsslvos.
hut had tried to take a middle ground
between the two.
"Rut the middle OF the road people
think we are real progrossiVes." said
the president, because you do not
make progress in great strides. you
mako II step by step"
The president was IN serious
mood. He declared that while II might
not be so for u time, the people In
the end would distinguish "betwecn
fact and fiction" and would recog
nize the difference between sub
stance in progress and platform dec
larations written for campaign pur-
poses only.
The political speech made hy the
president was the most interesting on
his trip thus far. lie still was down
cast by the defeat of reciprocity in
Canada, but his only reference To the
subject had come earlier In the day
whom he addressed the workmen in
n local manufacturing plant where
farming implements were made.
II am sorry to hear that In Cam
ada they do not care to have closer
commercial relations with the Unit
ed states, he said. Jf reciprocity
had been adopted we could have
gotten our agricultural implements
into Canada at substantial de-
crease But of course, we can get
along"
The presidents political speech fol-
lowed luncheon given in his honor
attended by party leaders from all
over the state. including senator She
by NJ. Cullom, ana Lieutenant Gov
ernor Oglesby, Governor Dineen was
unable to be present because of his
broken leg. The so-caled Dineen.
Yates and Independent factions, We're
represented at the gathering at the
country club including one mcm-
ber of the Lorimer faction.
The leaders vicd with each other IN
pledging their support OF President
TAFT and predicted that he would he
renomlnated and reelected.
Charles II. Williamson, OF quincy
a prominent member of the republi-
can state committee, said he had tax
en- q poll on train, Few days ago.
enroute from keokuk to quincy. and
that Of siXty-two voters interviewed.
lifty-eight had declared for Taft,
three for Roosevelt and one for La
Toilette. lie added that there we're
no serious differences in the party In
this state SO far as President TAFT was
concerned ana he believed his poll
accurately represented the views oi
Illinois republicans.
Senator Cullom gave an intimate
talk OF his association with President
Tart. lie said that with the Chicago
convention not six weeks away in
l9oS Mr.. TAFT had told him that If
Chicf Justice Fuller could be induced
TO resign he would prefer that honor
To all others.
"lf | had not been advised other
wise, said the president with il
smile, as he arose to speak Il should
think this was u political meeting"
Mr. TAFT then pleaded guilty to the
indictment olten laid against him,
that he knew nothing OF politics and
was very poor politician.
l|ul the truth is, he continued,
that my politics We're limited to u
very early stage of my career. Three
or four years after I came to the bar
was pretty active. So that knew
something of wurd politics. Since
that time my tate had been such as
10 carry me out of politics, on the
bench, or 1000 miles away from any
American politics. but. as my dear
friend senator Cullom says. my am
hition lay in an entirely different di-
reCtion ana was not gratified.
II am not giving you to understand
that | ran away from the nomination
for the presidency, but the fact that
II was not in the line which | had
marked out. But being nominated
entered into the fight and did
the best could. and being elected
took up the discharges of the presi-
dency with certain tendencies, per-
haps | ought to call them, that had