The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-11-02
TAFT EXCORiATES
HIS SUCCESSOR
Asserts the Democratic Party
and Its Candidate Are Seek
ing a Vote to Power by
DiSingenuouS and
UnSound Pleas.
LEFT CLEAN SLATE FOR
WRITING MEXICAN POLICY

Former President Declares That the
Passage Under Duress of the Adam
son Bill Was One Of the Greatest
National Humiliations to Which Our
Country Has Ever Been Subjected.
Declaring that the campaign of 1915
Is as important as the campaign of
1896 and resembles that campaign In
that the Democratic party and its can
ddate are seeking a vote of power for
disingeuuous. unsOund. but alluring rea.
sons, William II, Taft. former President
of the United States. delivered the
opening address of the New Jersey Re
publican state campaign at Trenton.
Mr.. Taft said, in part:
The great public advantage In or
ganization and combination Of cap.
ital and of wage -earners we all recOg,
nize. The power they acquire may
however, become 50 great as to tempt
to serious abuse and public injury,
and they have done so. Hence, we
have had the antitrust law and the
Interstate commerce law. directed
chiefly against combinations Of cap
ita! but effecting in some measure
combinations of labor. Labor leaders
have sought exemption from such laws
as privileged class, and in some cases
they have been successful. While Mr..
Wilson In one of his memorandums at
tached to an appropriation bill avOwed
his opposition to such class legislation
he united with the Democratic Con.
gress in passing, Mt the demand Of the
unions, the Clayton Act. which, the Ia
Dor leaders claim. takes unions out OF
the limitations of the Trust Act
Unwise subservienCy to the demands
of leaders of organized labor finds its
crOwning instance. however, in Mr.
Wilson's dealing with the threatened
strike of the Railway Orders OF con
ductors, engineers, trainmen and switch.
men. The Orders claim to control 400.
600 men, who run the freight and pas.
senger trains of the country, which
constitute the arterial circulation of
commerce, and are necessary not only
to the business but to the health and
life Of the people. Were these men
able to tie up the railways Of the
country, as they said they could and
would, 1t would mean enormous loss
in business, and great deprivation and
suffering to the public 1t would mean
that many millions of other workmen
would be thrown out of employment
and lose the high wages they are now
receiving, because without commerce
local industries cannot proceed The
Railway unions said to the railway
president: I'VE wish an eight hour day
with ten hours pay, and if we work
more than eight hours. we demand 80
per cent. more an hour for the extra
hours. If you do not give us this, we
will not only injure you, but We will
bring disaster to the country" The
railway managers refused the demand,
but offered to submit it to arbitration.
They said it would increase their cost
Of operation $6O,OOO,O0O, and that this
would have to come out of the pockets
of the railway stockholders, by re
ductlon Of profits, or out Of the ship
ping public by an increase Of rates.
The labor leaders said they had had
arbitration in the past and that it was
not satisfactory, thai now unless their
demands were fully granted, no power
under heaven could prevent the strike,
with its disastrous consequences. Un.
der the duress of the threat, the Presi
dent Of the United States and Con
gress of the United States succumbed
1t was one of the greatest national hu.
Eliliations to which the people of this
country have ever been subjected. 1t
struck most blow at the principle of
arbitration for the settlement of in
dustrial disputes.
Mr.. Wilson as a publicist attacked
the enactment of federal child labor
law as an absurd extravaganza, and a
departure from constitutional limita-
ttOns, and now within the last sixty
days he has personally visited Con-
gress to urge the adoption of exactly
such measure.
For the purpose Of evading RESPONSE
bility for present conditions, it is ad-
vanced in behalf Of Mr.. Wilson and
the Democratic Administration that
the conditions in Mexico were an in.
heritance from the last Administration.
The last Administration did nothing
to complicate Mr.. Wilson's problems
Huerta had been twelve days in pow-
er when Mr.. Wilson came in. Up to
that time nothing had been done com
mitting the government to one policy
or another. Had the Republican Ad-
ministratiOn been continued, Huerta
would have been recognized, but with
only twelve days before the coming
IN Of a new Administration it would
have been entirely improper and In
cCnsiderate for the outgoing Admins
tratiOn to commit the incoming to any
policy on the subject. Mr.. Wilson can
not shift the blame for his blunders
In Mexico. He had clean slate upon
which to write han he rnmA in