The Mena weekly star., 1913-01-09
TAFT PRES|DES AT
 HIS OWN NWAKE'
Republicans Did Not Fight in Vain, for Country Was Saved From ROOSeVelt"-D
 plOres Changing Order.

| NEW 1Ofk, Jdu. O.-Sp6dhlllS D6- fore 1,500 Republicans of nation wide prominence, probably the largest assembly of the G. o. P. ever gathered at banquet, Presi- dent Taft last night sang the swan song of the administration and uttered a prophecy for the bright future that he saw in store for the Republican party.
 Tt is not very usual" commenced the president, for the deceased to participate in the wake, but 1 think that a few remarks about the character of his disease and the manner of his taking off may not be amiss."
 The president then summed up the achievements of his adminis- tration; defending his stand in the tariff legislation fight and refer ring to the corporation tax as the best form of income tax ever de- vised.' He championed the com merce court, the postal savings bank, the white slave act, the em- ployers' liability act, the recipro- city agreement with Canada and the arbitration treaties with Eng land and France. He called atten- tion to the fact that it was the Re- publican party that cut down the expenditures of the government and contributed to the peace of the world by ending revolutions and preventing wars in South America.
 We were beaten in the last cleo tion. We ran third in the race. Why is it that we gather here with so much spirit and with so little of the disappointment and humilia- ton supposed to accompany polit- ical disaster?
 Saved Country From Roosevelt.
 "Is it not that, in spite of the defeat, recorded at the election in November we were still victorious in saving our country from an ad- ministration whose policy involved the sapping of the foundation of democratic, constitutional repre- sentative government, whose ap- peals to the people were calculated to arouse class hatred?
 The result of the Chicago con- ventiOn was triumph for the per manence of Republican institutions, the importance of which cannot be exaggerated, and 1 wish to empha- size this in order that it may be known that we meet in no spirit of despair, but rather to rejoice in a victory for law and order and the institutions handed down to us by our fathers. It is true that we were defeated at the polls by our old time opponent, the Democratic party. It is true that they are now going to work out again the prob lem of eating your cake and hav- ing it too, by showing how it is possible to change from a system of protection for manufacturing in- dustries to one of tariff for reve- nue only, without affecting the in dustries to their detriment and without halting production or low ering wages.
 Tt is true that we are to witness change of office holders from Re- publicans to Democrats and we are to see how economical the new ad- ministration is to be as compared with the old. We have been through this before It may be that, this time, they can do what they have not succeeded in doing here tOfore. and if they do, and then can maintain the prosperity of the country at it's present record level, then we can be American before we are Republicans and rejoice at their success.
 We are not bitter; we are not cast down; we are not vengeful. If the people of the United States can stand a Democratic administration for one, or two, or even more terms, we shall certainly not object to their capacity for endurance in this regard; but what we wish to assure ourselves of is that neither through Democratic radicalism nor through Progressive radicalism shall the pillars of our noble state be pulled down and the real cause of the people be sacrificed to dreams of demagogues and theor- ists.
 Let us then buckle on our armor again for the battle for humanity and the common people that must be fought.
 Let us invite those Republicans who left us under an impulse that calmer consideration shows to have been unwise to return and stand again shoulder to shoulder with us in this critical time in our coun- trys history.
 Another Crack at T. R.
 Let us invite from the ranks of our opponents the Democrats, the many who love the constitution and the the many blessings it has conferred on our people, to unite with us in this defense. It must be a campaign of education among the common people for the benefit of the common people against the ap- peal of class hatred, the fanaticism of unbalanced enthusiasts, the so- phistry of demagogic promise and the wiles of false friends of hu- manity."