The New York herald., 1921-05-01
TAFT SEES PASSING
OF OLD TIME BOSSES
Corporations, Too, Have Lost
Political Influence. He
Marks.

Corporations and bosses have lost
most OF the influence they formerly
welded in government, ex-Presdent
Taft said last night in the Town Hail.
where he gave the opening James
Stokes lecture on politics of New York
University.
1T is too much to say that the infIu-
ence of money In politics has been
eliminated he said, "but certainly
great Improvement is evident. Corpora
tions who have been the chief offenders
have been driven out Of political activity
| not only by law forbidding contributions
to campaign funds, but more effectively
! by public opinion and watchfulness
Nothing now SO surely defeats one with
political aspirations as to be known as
having corporate support"
| The boss, Mr.. Taft pointed out, was
created by the supposed needs Of cor
porations. which wished to avoid strikes
and blackman by councilmen and legis-
| lators and to obtain special and sinister
privileges from them.
THE position of the boss" the
Speaker said. was made lucrative by
this corporation association. We hear
but little evidence Of the prevalence Of
| the old time boss system in politics
| now. The term is often used to charac-
terfze and dfsparage political opponents.
| and some old bosses do survive, but they
do not Flourish. Their power for corpo-
rate evil in legislation has largely de-
| parted. and one OF the chief reasons
for this is the fear which has been put
into the heart of corporate managers of
expending money in political manipula-
| ton. They have found 1t far wiser to
| appeal to the public on the justice of
| their case and to spend the money In
securing publicity for their arguments"
| Mr.. Taft said that representative gov
ernment is not as much respected as 1t
was century ago anywhere in the
world. but that criticism of it is un-
| Just. He felt that the modern legis-
lator, assuming he is not controlled by
does his best to represent the views of
his constituency. and. indeed, Is often
more responsive to what 1t seems to de-
sire than he should be.
| He felt that the Socialist party Is
seeking to create a class war, and in
this relation he remarked: ''The danger
to the body polite in these days is the
attempt Of a class to use the Govern
ment for itself and to ignore altogether
the rights and benefits of the rest Of
society" Threats of general strikes by
organized labor in essential activities
| like transportation or coal mining ne
| termed "the selfish and bolshevstic N
of a combination OF a minority to COM
pei majority to yield to its demands"
He added:
NO man is able to deliver the labor
vote in an election. and the labor leaders
have been wise enough, therefore, not to
encourage the organization of labor
party. They know too well that an eff
fort OF that sort would disclose In the
ballot only comparatively small num-
Der OF workingrnen who wish to subordi
nate their political activity as americans
to the narrow class policy Of a labor
party"
or the Non-Partisan League in the
Northwest Mr. Taft said: That Is not
patriotic American party. They
have made lamentable economic fall
ure. Their leaders are real Socialists,
and seek, in disguised ways. to have the
State acquire all the land. while this Is
the last thing which farmers who con-
stitute the party favor. So, too, their
attempted union with !. w. W. and ex-
treme Laborites is mixing oil and water.
Their power is waning, the old parties
are returning to control. They have been
a tyrannical class party whom 1t Is
greatly in the public interest to have
disappear"