The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-10-29
TAFT Defends
HIS POLICIES
His Trust Attitude Firm, Con-
sistent and Effective.
SCORES POLITICAL NOsTRUMs

Recall Of Judges a Menace to indie
pendenee Of Judlolary-Declares
That Attacks on the Integrity Of
His Nomination Are Baseless and
Vicious.
President Taft discusses the issues
urday Evening Post" He takes his
stand sQuarely on the issue that with
him rested the responsibility of main
tanning the high standard set up in the
records of his party and of carrying
out those policies Of his predecessors
which he declares have made good
government and Republicanism syn
onymous.
The greater part of his argument,
which is the first of three to be writ
ten by the chief candidates for the
presidency, is devoted to a review Of
tariff legislation during his admins
tration and to the reasons for oppos-
ing the bills set before him for a re-
duction of schedules before they had
been investigated by the tariff board.
He says he signed the Payne tariff
bill because, above all, 1t provided the
machinery by which alone, in his opin-
ion. just and intelligent revision of
the tariff could be effected; because 1t
gave the executive power through
maximum and minimum rates to get
proper treatment for American prod
ucts from foreign nations; because It
imposed q tax on corporations and
paved the way for government insight
into their operations; because 1t pro-
vided a means Of collecting revenue
quickly In case Of emergency; because
1t granted larger measure of Justice
to the Filipinos. and finally because it
did provide for a material reduction
in tariff rates, not so much of a re-
duction ae he would have liked to get.
but as much as he believed it was pos
sible to obtain without the machinery
of the tariff board which the law Gre
ated. He disapproved of the tariff
bills since passed becaune he saw in
them menace to the American work
man.
Coming to those measures of his ad-
ministration which have been passed
In the interests Of social justice, the
president sets down first the railway
rate bill, which he describes az the
logical development of the policy EN-
bodied In the Hepburn act. 1t gave
authority to the interstate commerce
commission in many details that had
been lacking and added powers of
supervision over express companies.
telegraph, telephone and cable lines,
1t authorized the institution OF investi-
cations of rates before formal CON-
plant had been made the protection
OF water lines from unfair competi-
ton, and enacted long and short
haul clause that has proved valuable
to many communities.
President Taft asserts that his trust
policy has been firm, consistent and
effective in spite of the enmity of
those business interests which he
knew 1t would arouse. He points out
that forty-four cases against trusts
were instituted during the seven and
one-half years that Mr.. Roosevelt was
President, while during the less than
four years of his cwn administration
twenty-five civil suits and forty-fiys
criminal indictments have been
brought
To what he styles the nostrums of
the recall of judges and of judicial
opinions the President is firmly op-
posed, holding them a menace to the
independence of the judiciary.
"As we listen to the demagoEic or
fatuous reformers." he says, 'let us
not forget that votes are not bread.
constitutional amendments are not
work, referendums do not pay rent or
furnish homes, recalls do not provide
clothing, initiatives do not supply en-
ployment or relieve inequality of con-
dition or opportunity. For any def
mite plans from those who advocate
innovations which win promote equal
ity Of opportunity and ameliorate
hardships we listen in vain"
AS to the Chicago convention, the
President declares that no considera-
ton Of party veal or personal ambi-
ton would tempt him to stand as a
presidential candidate did he not
know that the attacks upon the intsg-
rity Of his nomination are as baseless
as they are vicious.