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Show j TAFT AND HIS POSSIBILITIES. . ' A. man most prominent in the public eye during the last four weeks, and who has already been prominently mentioned as a possi- . ble candidate on the Republican ticket for the Presidency of the United States is William Howard Taft, Secretary of War. During the absence of President Roosevelt in the wilds of Colo-. Colo-. rado, Secretary Taft was the man at the helm. Kot so strenuous as out friend Theodore, he yet held the tiller of the ship of state with a steady hand, and guided it safely through at least one period of threatening wrath with a firmness not even bettered by the Chief , Executive, .. , -A . . . . V , Since entering public life William Howard Taft has rendered. ; great-service to his country. He was first called to' Washington in 1890, when President Harrison made him Solicitor-General. At that time he was but 33 years of age, a Yale graduate, and had already served in the internal revenue service, as a prosecuting attorney and assistant solicitor for his county in Ohio. In 1887 he was named as Judge of the Superior court of Cincinnati, to fill a vacancy by J. B, Foraker, then Governor of Ohio. It would be one of the ironies of fate if he were called upon to contest with Senator Foraker for the Presidential nomination three years from now. ; In 1892 he was named as Circuit Judge of the Sixth United States. Circuit court and an ex officio member of the Circuit Court of Appeals of the Sixth district. ' " " TIn March, 1900, he was asked by President McKinley to go to ' the Philippines. For some time he held off, but at last accepted and was, made president of the Philippine commission. His work , there was of the highest order. Where military officers had failed, '- this civilian stepped in and succeeded. His calm, judicial pose,hi . , executive ability and, above all, his thorough integrity, brought him the confidence and respect of both Americans and natives; and the perplexing island situation was cleared. - . Now Secretary, Taft is to build the Panama canal. His work so far has been, a most unqualified success. He is one of the men of ' the .hour, and that the canal, under his direction, will be built, and . built properly, goes without saying. His w ork is a big work, and it lies in his own power to bring himself out in such a manner that the people may demand that William Howard Taft be the successor of President Roosevelt. : ". - . ' '".' . ' V" ; ' " . : ; ' |