Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-30
TAFT in MASSACHUSETTS.
Continued from Page one.)

House investigating committee,
please give them to Mrs. Taft,
said the little maid with shy bow.
s.I certainly WILL" said the Presi-
dent, as he turned them over TO one
of his party to take back to his car
1t was at Lawrence the President
came closest to the eolonels trail He
stepped into the band stand on the
common Just a few hours after Mr..
Roosevelt had left it.
The President sounded a new note
at Hayerhill In replying to Mr.. Roose-
vclt's charge that he only came out
against Senator Lorimer of Illinois
after he lost out in the primaries in
that state. MIR. Roosevelt says that
/ did not go back on Lorimer until
L0rimer was not successful in carry
ing Illinois for me- Well, my letter
TO him about Isorimer was written a
year before l knew that the coloners
hat was in the ring at all.
(voice: Take it out of the ring.o
Fl aay that Mr.. Roosevelt had no
right under any circumstances to mis-
represent me in that regard
For the most part Mr.. Taft's speech
es were much alike Here in part, is
aetypical one. delivered in Brockton:
II should not be here, and | am very
sorry / have to be here. l depreeate
the intervention of the President of
the United Stats in a political contro-
versy like this that requires him to
come upon the stump in order that he
may defend himself against misrepre-
sentation. / could stand misrepresen-
tation nyse.f-three years in the
White House has somewhat thickened
my skin-and I could trust to the fu-
ture to vindicate. so far as | ought to
be vindicated. my character and my
reputation, but the truth is that there
Is some other thing involved in this
present crisis than my reputation, my
character or its vindlcation.
II represent a cause. and that cause
is the wise progress of all the people
in their pursuit of happiness under
the restrictions of our present wonder
full constitution. We cannot afford to
curse tho bridge that has carried us
over. For 125 years the restriction of
that wonderful instrument the insti-
tutions that it provides. and the guar
antces that it gives of life. liberty and
prosperity and the pursuit of happi-
to depart in the slightest degree from
those restrictions and that constitn-
ton unless it Is brought home to us
IN some more convincing way than
has yet been shown that that consh-
tuition is not good.
Now 1t would seem as if a man
Who was III favor of present consti-
tuition was to be charged with distrust
of the people. Well. don't see why
the use of Abraham Lincoln's name
and example should be appropriated by
any one particular person, and Abra-
ham Lincoln thought, with the excep-
tion OF slavery, that that was the
grandest constitution and the greatest
charter of liberty that a man ever
saw. Now, we have eliminated slavery
1T is said that l distrust the people.
that distrust popular government. Any
man who says SO Is talking through his
hat. Every fibre In my body Is instinct
With love of popular government. | got
II from my father and my grandfather.
II was put into me in such way that it
could not be taken out of me with dyna-
mite. To be represented as an aristocrat
hurts. One of the first things / learned
when began to play ball or play any
thing was that the man who was a poor
loser was not a good man to play with,
and that poor loser was not to be an
apostle of the square deal.
II said in my Toledo speech in point
ing out the necessity for constitutional
government that this was in a general
sense of a government of the people, but
that speaking exactly, IL was govern
ment Of. the people for the people, by a
representative part of the people, and IN
the context Of what / said | showed what
meant by it. / said this is q govern
ment of all the people because it belongs
to ali OF us--men, women and children.
We are American citizens and we are
all entitled TO rights under the consttu-
ton. each man, woman and child. and
therefore II is a government for all the
people. for the benefit of each one. the
totfering old woman, the adult male, the
child at the breast. Each one is an
American citizen and entitled to be pro-
tected under the constitutional guaran-
ties. Therefore it is government for