The Washington times., 1912-08-01
A CONFESSION OF LIMITATIONS

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literary product That his course and conduct; have
not borne out the anticpations aroused by the ami
able quality Of his speeches, is because somethingl
much more solid than mere amiabiity is necessary
in such post as he occupies.
Mr.. Taft in this address presents one of the most
artless and ingenious pictures OF his intellectual
processes that he has submitted to public inspec-
ton It may be doubted il he quite intended to be so
frank with the people; but he did, and the glimpse
is most satisfying especially to people who have all
along believed that Mr.. Taft was well-intentioned
man, intellectually unfit for the position he has held.
1t is in his consideration of what he calls the
propaganda for the satisfaction of unrest" tnat the
President appears quite himself. After saying that
the public mind has been wrought upon by sensa-
tional journalism and unprincipled undertaking, max
ing false charges on side, and recklessy prom
ising millennium the other, the President says:
rest involves the promise Of millennium, condition
I'm which the to be made reasonably rich and
the rich reasonably by law, chasing phan
tom; holding out to those whose unrest fear
prospect and a dream, vision Of the impossible
In the ultimate analysis fear, the equal opportunity
social justice involves forced division of property and
that means socialism ''' They do not offer any def
mite legislation policy by which the happy conditions
they promise to be brought about but II their
ises mean anything they lead directly toward the ap
preparation of what belongs to one man, to another
A more naive confession of utter lack Of under
standing it would be hard to conjure up Looking
around himself upon the social and industrial cond
tons of the world the President sees nothing partic
ularly wrong. He doesn't observe any necessity for
undertaking betterment people VINO think they see
such necessity he denounces as sensational journal
lists, muckrakers, and demagogues He INDUCES this
general Characterization and then turns to his obser
walton that
THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY WHICH THOSE
SEEK WHO PROCLAIM THE COMING OF So
CALLED SOCIAL JUSTICE, INVOLVES "A
FORCED DIVISION OF PROPERTY, AND THAT
MEANS SOCIALISM IF THEIR PROM
ISES MEAN ANYTHING, THEY LEAD DIRECTLY
TOWARD THE APPROPRIATION OF WHAT BE.
LONGS TO ONE MAN, TO ANOTHER"
That is, Mr.. Taft sees no chance to do anything
for social justice that would not menace with the
equal division all around" He finds that would be
worse than the evils it is intended to cure; so he
thinks it best not to try to do anything at all.
That is the intellectual attitude of perfectly
honest well-intentioned man, utterly without magin
alton; a man who simply can see no step in social
progress, in economic evolution, ahead of the pres
ent; man who believes il would menace all prop
erty if we tried to 60 on.
That is precisely the view of the Stuarts and the
Bourbons; of the ancient regime that neither learned
nor forgot. President Taft would make no such con
fession of his limitations, unless he were doing i
Sincerely he doesn't realize that what he says IS.A
CONFESSION OF LIMITATIONS.
Between this Taft attitude of mind and the con
cepton which real progressives entertain, there is
vast gulf Each stands in the present, looking aheac
toward the future. The real progressive sees wide
! field of opportunity for work promotive of socia
justice. He sees thousand things that he believes
would make for a better civilization, truer enlight
; hetta ihItiOn of oitxy orr
happiness. None of them strikes him as revolution
ary, the sum of them impresses him as likely to i'm
prove, not to wreck, our institutions He wants thes
things done; he wants the doing to begin at once:
/ While the progressive sees so much of wor
and so wide field for it, the standpatter, peerin
into that same future, sees only the blank menacin
wall of impending socialism looming up He dare
not take step lest he run squarely into it.
I There is work for dozen generations; work tina
needs to be done, that will make for the create
good, the wider happiness, the truest civilization
before there will be the least danger of confrontin
the dire peril that Mr.. Taft looming just aheac
:, The whole question Of this time is whether tn
people with vision and Imagination, those utterl
without either to be trusted. Mr. Taft confesse
himself bereft of either. He sees only socialism, tn
equal divide all around" the ruin of our Who'll
: structure; he deems that We on the brink. Lk
a man walking in the dark, knowing that some plac
ahead he must step down, he fears every step.
In such situation, the safe leadership is thi
!. which can SEE; which fears no bogies, runs ava
from no ghosts, and has confidence that there is "
possibility OF progress for civilization 1t would
sad thing to assume that progress in world sti
so far from perfection as this, must stop for want
. confidence that there is still room for more progre
= to be made!