Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1912-10-25

Recall of Judges Menace to !nde'
pendence of udiciary-Declares
That Attacks on the Integrity OF
His Nomination Are Baseless and
Vicious.
President Taft discusses the issues
of the present campaign in the Sat
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
or. 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 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, It provided the
machinery by which alone, in his opin-
ion, just and intelligent revision of
the tariff could be effected; because it
gave the executive power through
maximum and minimum rates to get
proper treatment for American prod
ucts from foreign nations; because it.
imposed tax on corporations and
paved the way for government insight
into their operations; because it pro-
vided a means of collecting revenue
quickly in case of emergency; because
it granted a larger measure of justice
to the Filipinos, and finally because ct
did provide for material reduction
in tariff rates, not so much of q re-
duction as 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 because he saw in
them a menace to the American work
man.
Coming to those measures of his al
DdSSeu
in the interests of social justice, the
president sets down first the railway
rate bill, which he describes as 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
telegraph, telephone and cable lines.
1t authorized the institution of investi-
cations of rates before formal COM
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 off
those business interests which he
knew it would arouse He points out
that forty-fcur 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 Iwn administration
twenty-five civil suits and forty-fve
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 demagogic or
fatuous reformers," he says, "let us
not forget that votes are not bread,
constitutional amendments are not
work, referendums do not pay rent CT
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 will promote equal
1ty of opportunity ana ameiorate
hardships we listen in vain"
AS to the Chicago convention, the
President declares that 10 considera-
ton of party veal or personal ambi-
tion would tempt him to stand as a
presidential candidate did he not
know that the attacks upon the integ-
rity OF his nomination are as baseless
as they are vicious