Show I William Howard Taft will wil be e much more kind kina to William I HISTORY Howard Howart Taft than his contemporaries have haver r I I been for history will deal dispa dispassionately with I the achievements chi of or hi his administration Considering the tIla tasks task Mr r. r Taft Taft- accomplished and Iud the problems he solved viewing thorn thom against t the he background of the years the American of the future will give Mr l b I Taft aft his proper place among among- the great men this country lias has produced The stirrings of unrest the I world wide discontent that is manifested in every I nation naHon on tho lie earth grew to amazing proportions during during- the four years years of Mr tr Taft Taft-'s raft tenure T That ho hot t suffered in pu public estimation because of this is no noless noless less true trite than that he lie contributed to it by In no acts acts- of hit his own He retires from office to today day after aCter man many J years ealS of public service and nud we do not believe he be finds in a a. scrutiny of or hi his career any deed for which he should blush an fin any mistake for which he lie nee need t apo apologize 1 i i The Tho record of the lost last four years shows the C continued con tinned progress and development of the United l States and nor hor people and much space could be he ocI occupied oc oc- oc- oc I in rehearsing what has been done during that thin period and aud still stilt leave the story of Mr Tafts Taft's t achievements incomplete Even Een during the storm imd stress Tess of lost last years year's national onal campaign when h he het heI t I was pursued by perhaps the most vindictive enemy I an aa American President ever had no word wora of scandal was urged against against- him no definite act of his wa was exposed n as being otherwise than just and beneficial His opponents searched with mth malevolent care every line of hie private and official history to io find lind material materia J suitable for their slanderous use But thc they found fount nothing Tho The Sl supreme preme achievement of Mr 1 Tafts Taft's g tenure f undoubtedly ealy was the establishment of the principle I f that there is one law for the rich and the poor th thi the i high and the tho low The Thc Sherman trust anti not lot had hac hadi i been for many years in full force of operation bu hut butt t was s n a mere la lay figure until Mr 11 Taft laft vitalized it I breathed d into its nostrils the breath of life and amI in ind injected int in- in t d into its veins the virus of energy He made mode madeI I it applicable to e every erv corporation whether large o or I small The small criminal who violated a federal federa statute was pursued with no more unremitting care eare 1 t than the captain coptain of industry who ha had run afoul o othe of t the trust anti-trust act lct That the rich as well as the poor I are amenable to law JaW enforcement is a principle that tha I t had to be he fully fully- established in this country and and Mr Taft did dia it it il That claim upon the gratitude of the people will wil f compete in n the years to come for eminence with Mr lr Tafts Taft's efforts in the cause of international pc pence peace Not only has lie he shown a desire to hasten the clay aay when the nations will win disarm never ne again to face 1 each other with weapons in their hands and anger auger in iii their hearts but hut he lie has proven pro by his tolerance in ir the thc face of provocation that he lie makes the tho deed decd J 1 square with the word A President ent less earnest earnest- earnestin in he the cause causa of peace than thon is iS Mr 11 Taft would have long longI I t ago yielded to public clamor and would have hae provoked pro- pro I Me Mexico ico i into to open defiance to afford j justification I thou tion for armed interference in their affairs He adhered adhered ad ad- hered however to tho the course he had marked out for himself and aud the loudest of the jingoes already concede concede con con- cede the wisdom he lie displayed display d Mr r. r Tafts Taft's bearing in the closing hours of his administration is abundant evidence that he leaves office without rancor or bitterness His heart is filled with gratitude to tho the American people for the I f honors they have lavished upon him and his conI conscience conscience con con- I science assures him that he has always discharged I his trust to the best of his ability Those who can cansay cansay say 83 as much nee need have no fear of df l history's storys verdict verdict- t or the re of of their declining years |