The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-24
President Addresses the q. A. R. Veterans at
 Rochester. N Y
SIMILAR STRUGGLE
 CONFRONTS NATION
Draws Analogy Between Civil War Times and Present, Only DTf- ference Being BloodsAf
 Then, None Nov

S
 Rochester. N Y. Augus 23.--Cn the eve of his to-day swing around tAe circle" on which republican leaders ee pect him to define the issues for th' campaign of 1912. asident Taft to- night announced himself dpalterably i opposed to the "nostrums" of reform i which, he declared. "demagogues' and theoretical extremists" have advanced ! for the solution of the problem of con centrated wealth In this country. 1 The President spoke to the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic of the struggle which they went through 50 years ago and in the ono which, he said. now confronts this nation, he found striking analogy although the struggle of today would be bloodless, In the end. the President said. the peace loving straight thinking people of the country will be victorious, but the fight itself may be the longer be- cause it will be fought out to the end without bloodshed and the roar of the | battlefield. l Higher aims of the betterment of | society, these new evils growing out of the concentration of wealth and that combina tions. when properly controllec are great good in the reduction of the cost of production, have invited from the active minded of today suggestions of remedies that are so extreme thai X the medicine to many of us seems worse than the disease" said the President. Those of us who are charged with the responsibility and sobered with the difli- culties find ourselves in the middle of the road resisting the tendency to social ism on the one hand and the inertia of reacationary eontentment with present evils and ambition for great concentration of financial power on the other; but we are gradually solving the problem
 "rhe present does not bring difficulties so great as you had to meet and overcome in 61 It may be a longer fight, because it will not involve violencee or thesshed- ding of blood, but it must and VIII he solved peacefully and by the earnest eff tort of the level headed, the practical and AA aolraecolLs 9naor4s sas ard ny f,due- l ing the influence of the demagogue and | the theoretical extemists on the one hand. and the reactionary influence of oombins- lions of wealth on politics and progress 1 on the other. It's solution will be consist ent with the preservation of our ancient l institutions of personal liberty and prE vate property under the constitution. Can Trust the People "The message you bear. with your ex- perence and your success to those of us struggling now with the problem Is that. however dark at times the sun seems so long as we retain in this country God fearing, sober intelligent people we can count in the. long upon their working out safely and sanely the prob erns set before them, no matter how many mistakes in the form of 'nostrum' they may have been led into by the spe-
 Al. x<f. ress no matter how often they may have been defeated in their purpose by the temporary success of undue and corrupt influence of concentrated wealth..
 From the moment he reached Rochester, about 9 o'clock this morning, until tonight when he left for Beverly, the President was surrounded by veterans. He stood on a reviewing stand for more than two hours in the morning, while thousands of old soldiers, many of them / just tottering along by the aid of friendsf filed slowly by. Maj. Gen. Frederick ID. Grant, Mayor Edgerton and Commander in- Chief Gilman of the G. A. R. stood with the President
 Peace really was the subject of the Presidents speech to the veterans to- night. but he said he could not miss an opportunity to draw an analogy between the contests of the past and those of the present and the near future. He also dis cussed briefly the general arbitration treaties with Great Britain and France. which the Senate foreign relations com mttee sought to amend. and which part of that committee labeled ''breeders of war"
 In part the President said:
 1T don't come before you in oppoei- ton to the Senate and l don't wish to criticise the majority of the committee that has reported an amendment. l am only anxious to promote as full a public l at ~ bo r11aatjnna in respect to the confirmation of the treaties as possible because l feel con fident that a public discussion of the mat ter, followed by popular expression, will aid much in the ciarifcation of the sub feet in the Senate itself. and win leed to convincing a majority of that body. and perhaps all. Of the wisdom of tho prompt ratification of the treaties as they were signed"
 Is Not Breeder of War
 Those who have objected to the troa- ties have first suggested that the organi> zation of the joint high commission, with the power given to either party to secure a reference of a controversy to it for con- sideration for a year, makes 1t 6 breeder of war I confess myself unable to fos- low the force of such an a1nssnent- The difficulties connected with the initiation of proceedings under any treaty and the appointment of six commissioners with the expense ana worry dttenudllt upou u are all likely to prevent an invitation to a cumbersome negotiation like ths when the ordinary channels Of diplomacy arc open
 "Objection has been made to this treaty that under the first section 1t might bs cl laamed that he would be called upon to submit to arbitration of the Monroe doc- tr1pe or the question of the validity of the southern bonds issued in reconstruction days. These suggestions have nothing in them.
 Tho question of the Monroe policy is not a justifiable one. It is one of purely governmental policy which we have fol- lowed for a century and which the coun- tries of Europe have generally acquiesced | in. Certainly with respect to this very matter, Sir Edward Grey. British sec retary of state for foreign affairs, has announced publicly that the Monroe pol | lev could not be disputed by them under | this treaty and would not come within | it's terms.
 with respect to the exclusion of im- migrants: It is . principle of international | law that each country may allow those to come to- its shores when it choosed
 
 .tCONTINUED ON FACE D