The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-26
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS
The Taft chuckle.

The Taft chuckle.
 Did you hear it? If not you missed a lot for it was the most contagious laugh producer that's ever struck Bir- mingham.
 I went to the luncheon given him at the Tutwiler by the Chamber of Com merce expecting to sit in at tragic feast, with war clouds hanging low and gloom spread thick.
 But it opened very differently. Oscar Wells in his presentation of the distin- guished guest made a hit by saying he was advised to make it brief and clever. He is one man who can take advice, for his remarks were short and snappy.
 Then rose the ex-President and when he rises it's some rise. Later I said: MT. Taft when Secretary of War Baker vis- ited Birmingham I asked him what his fighting weight was and he replied 12s pounds. May I be so bold as to put the same question to you?" Laughingly he answered: Mine is 265 pounds
 Now, this does not mean that the man who is going around the country deliver ing addresses in the interest of the League to Enforce Peace is twice as anxious for war as Secretary Baker, but it does mean that if he goes to the front he stands twice the chance of getting hit
 Having read some of Judge Tafts ju- dicial opinions, studied some of his state papers and reviewed some of his works touching on some trends in our Amer lean government, I was prepared to get quite dose of high brow stuff.
 But he hadn't been talking long be- fore every one was on tiptoe to catch his good natured sallies and eager not to miss any of his quips.
 I have heard many of the famous after dinner speakers, but never better speech than the one made by MT. Taft on Saturday.
 I sat nearby where I could see the changing expressions on his mobile face. It was fascinating to watch his coun- tenance begin to light up as his big brain began to record thought that he was getting ready to spring.
 The birth of thought was a regular sur burst. You could almost see him think and as joke began to get hold of him there started in some subterranean pas sageway of his great body slight rip pie that grew and grew until finally it broke out in a great chuckle that rocked the roof.
 It was a great gathering, probably the greatest of it's kind ever staged at a lunch in this city. It was more than a tribute to Judge Taft; 1t was patriotic coming together of the makers of Bir- mingham to let him and the country ident
 The galleries of the great ballroom were filed with women prominent in the social. religious and charitable life of Birming- hahn. They were present to show their sympathy with the message he was bringing
 The first 15 minutes of his talk was a riot of fun persiflage and abounding good cheer. His reference to himself as "an itinerant philosopher and lecturer made the crowd shout with glee. Ills statement that he "has taken an active part in one presidential campaign and was an interested spectator in another'' showed that his sense of humor was very keen and still alive.
 
 The application of Bourse Cochran's s famous get-off on Grover Cleveland to himself evidenced the fact that he could see joke even at his own expense. You may remember that the famous Irish orator said on 1884 days in the year Cleveland was the most popular man in America" MT. Taft said he greatly en- joyed being popular, but regretted that on election day he seemed to lose his popularity"
 He struck a popular chord in urging the need of an auditorium He said that the idea of most local committees was to exhibit their visiting celebrities to the public gaze rather than to give them 2 chance to speak to them. It made it hard on the speakers throat and still harder on those who had to listen while standing or uncomfortably crowded. He seemed to be amused in getting into the lecture field in company with such noted chautauqua stars as William Jen- nings Bryan, Thomas Marshall Champ Clark, ct als
 Don't think his whole address was light-hearted. His statements about the Red Cross and it's need brought war very close home to his hearers. His brief summary of the origin the present status and the future of the League to Enforce Peace was illuminat- ing and won for 1t place in the minds of thoughtful men who want to make future wars improbable if not impossible.
 
 The following declaration was cheered | to the echo; We are now about to enter war. There are worse things than war | horrible though that be, and one oi them is the dishonorable yielding by . nation of tho violation of it's rights and the killing of its people because they feai war"
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