Show LETTER HUNG ON ONA ONA A MONTANA MAN Roosevelt Comes to the Rescue of Taft With a Long LongWinded LongWinded LongWinded Winded Epistle SPECIAL APPEAL TO LABOR REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE MAN MANFOR rAN FOR SONS ONS OF TOIL Following Is the long expected letter bt bf f President Roosevelt endorsing Judge Taft TaCt as ad his successor It Is addressed to Conrad Kohrs of ot Helena Mont and purports to be a reply to an Inquiry of that individual as to the Republican candidate Sagamore Hill Oyster Oster Bay Ba X N Y T Sept 9 1908 My Dear Mr Kohrs J I have re received received received your our letter about the candidacy of Mr Taft the man who I feel Is In an especial sense the representative of or all nil that in which I most believe In political life II Every good citizen should desire to see both prosperity and justice prosperity and fair and righteous dealing as between man and man obtain permanently In this great groat republic As a people jve ve e are re Justly proud of or our business Industry of or our energy und and Intelligence In our work and It is entirely right that we should ask ourselves as to any given course of or con duct Will It be profitable But It is also no less emphatically true that the bulk of ot our people the plain people who found In Abraham Lincoln their especial champion and spokesman regard the question Is this morally right as even more Important than the question la Is lathis this profitable when applied to any given given given en course of or conduct Indeed in the long longrun longrun run our people arc are sure to find that In all alt dealings alike In the business and the political world what Is really profitable Is Ia that which Is mora ly right The last few years ears have seen a great awakening of oC the public conscience and the growth of a stern determination to do away awa with corruption and unfair dealing political economic social Reform Should Go On OnIt OnIt It lt Is urgently necessary that this great reform movement should go on But no reform movement Is healthy If It It goes on onby onby onby by spasms If It It Is marked by periods of ot frenzied advance followed as such periods of frenzied advance musT must always be e fol followed followed followed lowed by equally equall violent periods of or re reaction reaction reaction action The Thc revolutionary and the re reactionary reactionary really play Into one hands to the extent that each by b his ex excesses excesses excesses necessarily tends to arouse such disgust such a feeling of or revolt In the minds of at quiet people as temporarily to tores restore res ore the other ther to power To permit the direction of or our public affairs to fall al alternately alternate alternately ternate Into the hands of or revolutionaries ies les and reactionaries of or the extreme rad radicals radIcals radicals of unrest and of or the bigoted conser conservatives conservatives who recognize reco no wrongs to rem remedy remedy remedy edy would merely merel mean that the nation had embarked on a feverish course of oC vio violent violent yb lent oscillation which would be fraught with great temporary trouble and would produce no adequate good In the th end en The true friend of ot reform the true foe toe of at abuses Is the man who steadily perse perseveres perseveres veres eres In righting wrongs in warring against abuses but bu whose character anSI anil training are such that he never promises what hat he be cannot perform that he always more than makes good what he does promise and that while white steadily ad advancing advancing he never permits himself to be led into foolish excesses which would damage the very Yen cause he champions Taft a Second Solomon In Mr Ir Taft Tart we have hae a man who com corn combines bines all of or these qualities to a degree which no other man In our public life since the civil war has surpassed To a flaming hatred of injustice to a scorn of or orall all that is base and mean to a hearty heart sympathy with the oppressed he unites entire disinterestedness I courage both moral and physical of ot the very verr highest type and a kindly kind generosity of ot nature which makes him feel that all of his men are In very ver truth his hili friends and brothers that their Interests are his and that all ali his great qualities are to be spent with lavish freedom In their thelt ser service service service vice The honest man of ot means the hon honest honest est eat and business man can feel safe In his hands because of ot the very ver fact that the dishonest of or great wealth the man who swindles or robs his fellows would not so much as dare to defend his evildoing In Mr Ir Tafts presence The honest the honest laboring man the honest farmer the honest me mechanic mechanic mechanic or small trader or man of oC small means can feel Ceel that In a peculiar sense Mr Ir Taft Tatt will wll be his representative be because because cause cUse of ot the very en fact that he has the same scorn for the demagogue that he has for the and that he would front threats of persona violence from a mob with the and lofty I Indifference with which he lie would front the bitter anger of oC the wealthiest and most powerful corporations corporation Broad though his sympathies are there Is In him not the slightest tinge of ot weakness No con consideration consideration of or personal Interest any an more than of fear tear for his personal safety safet could make him swerve a hairs breadth from the course which he regards as right and andIn andIn andIn In the Interest of ot the whole people Policies Are Alike I have naturally a ap peculiar cullar Interest In Inthe Inthe Inthe the success of Mr Ir Taft and In seeing I him backed by a majority m In both houses of or congress which will heartily support his Ills policies For the last ten years ears while I have been governor of ot New York and president I have been thrown Into the closest closet Intimacy with him and he and anti I have on every ever essential point stood In heartiest st agreement shoulder to shoulder We e have the same views as to what Is de demanded demanded demanded by b the national Interest and hon honor honor honor or both within our own borders and as regards the relations of ot this nation with other nations There Is no fight for de decency decency and fair Calr dealing which I have waged In which I have not had his heart Continued on Page 2 LETTER HUNG ON UN UNA ONA ONA A MONTANA IMP MAN Continued Cont from Page 1 lest and most effective sympathy and support and the policies for which I 1 stand are his policies as much as mine It Is not possible In the space of this letter to discuss all tho the many and infinite ly varied questions of ot moment with which Mr Taft as president would have to deal let him be judged by what ho has him himself himself himself self done and I by what the administration tion in ln n which ho has played so conspicuous ous a part has done But to illustrate Just what his attitude Is let me touch on two matters now prominent in the public mind Justice Railroads Mr Taft can be trusted to exact jus tice from ie e railroads for the very rea reason reason reason son that Ie e C can be bo trusted to do justice to the railroads ds The railroads are the chief Instruments of at Interstate commerce in the country and they can neither be held heid to a proper accountability on the theone theono theone one ono hand nor given proper protection on tho the other save savu by the affirmative action of the federal government The law as laid down by the federal courts clearly shows that the tho states have not and can cannot pot not devise deise laws adequate to meet tho problems caused by the great growth gr of the railroads doing an interstate com corn commerce merce business for tor more than of the business of 01 the railroads is inter interstate Interstate interState state and under the constitution of ot the united States only the federal govern government government ment can cnn exercise control It Is absolutely necessary that this control should be affirmative and md thorough thoroughgoing thoroughgoing thoroughgoing going going All interstate business carried on ly by tho the great corporations should in the Interest of the whole people be far more closely J than at present by the national government but this Is especial ly ti ne of at tho the railroads h cannot ex ox 1st at nt all save save by the exercise se of powers granted them on behalf of the t e people and which therefore should be held to a pe peculiar peculiar culiar accountability to the people It is in the interest of the people that they not be permitted to do injustice and it is no less les to the interest Inter st of ot the tho pea pe pepie pie that they the should not suffer sutter Injustice Their prime purpose is to carry the com corn commodities commodities of the farmers and the business businessmen men they could not be built save for the money contributed TO o 0 them by b their share holders they could not be run r n at all save for tor the money paid out In wages to the railroad and nd finally they the could not be run judiciously or profitably to anyone were it not for tor the employment b by them of some masterful guiding intel whether of one man or of ot a group of ot men There are therefore t sev several several severa eral era sets s ts of ot interests to be b considered Each must mut receive proper consideration and when apy spy one of ot them selfishly de do demands demands mands exclusive consideration the de tie demand demand mand must be refused Along certain lines all of ot these groups have the same Interests It is to the interest of ot shipper farmer business man hon honest honest est eat shareholder and honest manager alike that there should be economy hon han honesty esty elty intelligence and fair fal treatment of all What Should Be Done To put an effective stop to stock wa watering watering Watering would be a benefit to everybody except the swindlers who profit by stock watering it would benefit the honest shareholder because honest investments would not be brought Into competition with mere paper it would benefit the i because when the money earned does not have to go to paying in Interest interest terest erest on watered capital more of at it Is left eft out of which to pay wages it would benefit the shipper because when only honest lonest stockholders have to be paid in interest Interest interest terest rates need not be Improperly raised It would benefit the public because there here would be ample money with which to o give efficient service Similarly the prevention of favoritism as among ship peas pers ers does no damage to anyone who is honest onest and confers great good upon the tho smaller business man and the farmer whom it relieves of oppression Again such supervision of accounts and manage management management management ment as will prevent crookedness and op oppression oppression cession works good directly or Indirect indirectly ly h y to all honest people Therefore every everything thing that can be done along all these lines ines should hould be e done do and nd no mans m s mate interest would thereby be ne hurt But after this point has been reached great care must be exercised not to work in InJustice injustice Justice to one class In the effort to show favor avor to another class and each class naturally tends to remember only its own needs The stockholders must receive an ample return on their investments or orthe orthe the he railroads cannot be built and suc sue success cess fUll maintained and the rates to shippers and the wages to from the he highest to the lowest must all be conditioned upon this fact On the other hand land in public service corporation we have lave no right to allow such excessive profits as will necessitate rates being un Unduly duly uly duh high and wages unduly low Again while in all proper ways be kept low 10 we must always remember that we have no right and no justification to reduce educe them when the result is the reduction reduction tion lon of ot the wages of at the great army of railroad ail road men A fair working arrange arrangement arrangement arrangement ment must be devised according to the needs eeds of o the several cases so that profits wages and rates shall each be reasonable with reference to the other two and In wages I include the properly large mounts amounts I which should always be paid to those whose masterful ability Is required for or the successful direction of at great en enterprises enterprises Combinations which favor such an n equitable arrangement should them themselves themselves selves elves be favored and not forbidden by byaw b blaw bylaw law aw they should be strictly supervised by the government through the tho he Interstate commerce commission which should have tho the power of passing summarily upon not only onh the tho question of the he reduction but the raising of ot rates Railroad Problem This railroad problem is itself one of the he phases of one of the greatest and most intricate problems of ot our civilization tion lon for Its proper solution we need not merely honesty and courage but judg judgment judgment ment mont good oo l sense and entire ness ess Demagogy in such a matter is as ascertain ascertain certain to work evil as corruption Itself The he man who promises to raise the wages of If railroad s to the high highest highest est point and at the same time to reduce rates ta to the lowest point is promising what neither he nor anyone an one else can cn per form and if It the thee effort tort to perform it were attempted disaster would result to both botn shipper and er and ruin to the business interests orthe of Ithe country Tho The Thoman Themar mar man to trust in such a matter as this la the man who like Judge Taft Tatt does not promise too much but who could not be swayed from the paths of duty by any ny ar at argument by b any consideration who will wage relentless war on tho the successful wrongdoer among railroad men as among all other men 7 who will do all 11 that can be done to secure legitimately low rates to shippers and absolute evenness ev among the rates thus secured but who wilt will neither promise nor at attempt to secure rates so low that the would lose his earnings and the shareholder whose money mone built the road his Is profits He will not favor a ruinous experiment like government ownership of ot railways he will stand against a any kind of ot conns confiscation cation of at honestly hon acquired but buthe buthe buthe he will work effectively for the most ef efficient efficient type of government supervision and control of ot railways s so as to secure Just and md nd fair treatment of the people as asa asa asa a whole Taft and the Trusts What hat Is here said as to his attitude on the railway question qu applies to the whole question of at the trusts He will sill promise nothing on this thil subject unless he firmly firm believes he can make m ke his promise good goodHe goodHe goodHe He will go Into no chimerical movement to destroy all great business combinations combinations for tor this can cun only be b done by de do destroying all modern business but he will willIn willIn willin In practical fashion do everything possible poSsible possible ble to secure such efficient control on behalf of the people as a whole over these great combinations a deprive them of the thc power to work evil Mr 11 Tafts decision in the pipe line case while on the bench is proof By lh deeds not by words 1 of the farsighted wisdom with which he serves tho the Inter Interests Interests ests eats of at the whole people even cven when those hose of ot the powerful corporations are hostile thereto i Friend of Laboring Man ManIt If It there Is bodY of ot men more than another whose support I 1 feel tee I 1 have h e a aright aright aright right to challenge on behalf of Secre Secretary Secretary Secretary tary Taft Tart it Is the body of ot of ot the |