The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-06-16
NEVER BEFORE HAS
APRES|OENT MADE
SUCH A CAMPAIGN
Taft Breaks All Precedents
in Taking Stump for
His denomination
SEVERE CRITICISM
HEARD EVERYWHERE
Even When Grover Cleveland
Was Target for Abuse He
Contented Himself
With Statement
BY aoDERick CLIFFORD.

WASHINGTON. June l5.-Ne1 or
before In the political hist.,rF nf the
nation has president engaged HIM
self In ouch strenuous campaign iof
a denomination. as that thrust Ipth
President Taft by the eleventh hopf
fight upon mis- administration ana
principals made by ex-PrealeGnt
Roosevelt.
Even when Grover Cleveland was
target FOR all kinds " poiitiea.
satire and abuse, While IA candidate
to succeed himself, circumstances per
United him To issue one statement, and
only one, and then to sit quietly hath
aud await the Judgment u the leo
pie.
Taft Sets precedsn..
/ William Howard Taft, hofNcTet has
acted differently. He has fought .cr
the cause | represent-tae cause II
the wise progress of the people, un-
der constitutional government" And
SO, William Howard Taft beca11'e
practically the first pres.9eat 10 tane
the stump.
Whatever may be said To- or against
his course OF action--and there arc
those who blame hts campaign nam
ayers fcr e.44ag him into the held
one fact remains. There ms never
president VINO has done what TAFT mas
DONE entailing not only a departure
from custom, but thg. extreme of rer~
sonai discomfort, ifT the heat IF
political aght.
Since President TAFT opened lis
Ohio campaign. little more than
month ago, ne has travelled many
thousands Of miles. The second ONO
campaign trip covered nearly three
thousand miles within the borders q
i'that satate alone and that before ne
had spent five days within its borGtfs.
| The New Jersey trip took five fud
DAYS travelling most OF the time.
| Tafts daily life on ono - These
| trips. IL with full Difference to r r.
who adapted the word to his own use
strenuous
There were few nights during the
entire campaign when the president
retired much before midnight. or rose
many minutes after o'cloaS. ana he
rose earlier most Of the time.
one morning at Roseville, O,
little town Of a few Thousand at best,
the president was whisked down from
eandnsky in order 70 keep an en-
eagenent there at 6 A. NJ. The presi-
dent had experienced "A hard day be-
fore that When he retired the night
/ before, his voice was In wretched
| condition. and when he mounted the
] flag decorated porch OF the most pre-
tentious house in Rossviiie his ut
terarces could scarcely be understood
AT all For ten minutes, TAFT suffered
from painful efforts at enunciation.
He had come twenty miles in the early
morning In order to grasp the OPP
portunity Of using his voice, even
though ii WAS painful He probably
got ten votes by the entire proceed
ing. for his audience on this occasion
was made UP chiefly If school chill
dren. who chartered necessarily, and
their mothers.
Because of such early trips, the
president was compelled many times
to shut himself up in his stateroom
during the day for maps between stops.
Delays were frequent, in order 70
allow the president to rest. and often
Mr.. Taft, with an engagement for 8
o'clock In big town. would not ar
TO find that the long wait had not
improved the attitude Of his au-
dience.
The president was often obliged TO
go into structures, which. ut first
glance al least appeared most unsafe.
In Sandusky he was taken To large
frame structure approached through
long ramshnckle passage. which was
thronged to tho doors with working
men The lights had gone out ana
makeshift kerosene lamps blazed
about the walls. For thirty min
utcs surrounded almost by gloom. In
this unprepossessing place, the pres~
dent of the United states addressed
an audience Of at least ten thous-
ind.