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Show I Bryan or Taft for President? The greatest topic in America, as it is bound to be in the world for some months yet, is as to who will be president William Howard Taft or William Jennings Bryan? Whichever wins, the White House will have as its master a William. Whether it will be a Taft or a Bryan remains to be seen. To those interested in conning signs for the purpose of prophesying, a study of Am rican pres- P idential history in relation to the use of the alphabet in the selection of names will prove interesting. We have had one "3" in the j person of Buchanan. Of the "A's" there were John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Chester A. Arthur. "C" was represented by one Cleveland. "D" and "E" were passed by but Fillmore represented the "F's". Grant and Garfield furnished the "G's" and W. H. Harrison, R. B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison supplied the "H's". "I" was passed, but Jefferson, Jackson and Johnson gave immor- J tality to the letter "J". "K" is not known to presidential history but "L" furnished a martyr in Lincoln. Madison and Monroe fitting- i ly satisfied "M" while the simple "Mc" was honored in McKinley. "O" gave no response on this scroll of fame, but "P" responded with Polk and Pierce. "Q" is eloquently silent while "R" is resplendent and luminous with "Our Roosevelt." "S" remains in the background, back-ground, while "T" gave Tyler and Taylor. "U" has not yet been called upon, but "V" gave Van Buren. "The father of his country" supplied W, with X, Y, and Z remaining silent. I So there has been one "B" and two "T's" so far in the White House. Will next November see the addition of a B, making a duet, or of a T making a trio? i A comparison of the two men, viewed merely as the world views them, is more than interesting it is edifying. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. Mr. Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 15, 1857. He H graduated from Yale College in 1878 and from the Law School of Cincinnati in 1880. Admitted to the bar in 1881 he started the prac-Hlj prac-Hlj ticc of his profession. In 1882 he was appointed as collector of in- HJi tcrnal revenue for the district of Ohio. From 1883 to 1887 he again Jj practiced his profession but was made Judge of the Superior Court H of Ohio in the latter year, serving on the bench until 1890. He was HJ appointed Professor of Law in the University of Cincinnati, serving H in this capacity from 1896 to 1900. In 1900 he was appointed Prcsi- Hj' dent of the United States Phillipine Commission, and on June 1, j 1901, he became the first civil governor of the Phillipine Islands. Since that time Mr. Taft has been an active worker in the field of politics. He has served as diplomatic emissary for President I) Roosevelt on a number of occasions, and in 1907 was appointed Sec- Hi retary of War, retaining that office until June 30th, last, when he re- signed to take active part in his present campaign. Hi To Mr. Taft's diplomacy and skill there belongs probably more Hi credit than to any other one American. Working hand and heart Hj with the president; understanding in the fullest degree the latter's Hf aims and purposes, he has been faithful and efficient. In his diplo- Hi matic relationship with the rest of the world he has displayed the H acumen and aplomb of a Disrcali, and has, in fact, been the main- HJ (Continued on pace 11) flHKAVAVHHHj I William Howard Taft. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN. William Jennings Bryan is a native of the state of Illinois, having been born in Salem in that state, March 19, 1860. He is therefore two years six months and four days younger than Mr. Taft. He graduated from Illinois College in 1881 and later prepared for the bar at Union College, Chicago. In 1887 he removed to Lincoln, Lin-coln, Neb., making that state his home since that time. He was elected to Congress from Nebraska in 1890 and again in 1892. From 1892 on for a number of years he became a strong advocate of the free coinage of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1 and it was as advocate advo-cate of a plank in the Democratic national platform in 1896 calling for free coinage that he made his famous speech which gave him the nomination for the presidency. He was defeated in this campaign by William McKinley. Instead of dropping back into the simple life Mr. Bryan continued his advocacy of the proposed silver measure. He became such an authority on the matter that the world took cognizance of his ability in this direction. He was called into several sev-eral important conferences bearing on monetary matters and in each case was so forcible and so well fortified with facts and figures that he became recognized by merit of his greatness in this one thing. But Mr. Bryan, aptly termed "America's greatest private citizen," has for years been before the public eye. A man of dominating ap- (Contlnued on pace 11) William Jennings Bryan. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT stay of President Roosevelt in those matters in which the president was vitally interested. It is a conceded fact that Mr. Taft stands today as the rcprc-sentative rcprc-sentative of Theodore Roosevelt, in fact he might properly be termed Jl his shadow, inasmuch that it was owing more to the personal popularity popular-ity of Mr. Roosevelt and his desire to have Mr. Taft named that the latter received the nomination. But Republicans maintain the naming of Mr. Taft is in accord with their will. Having brought to bear every influence and persuasion per-suasion to have the president make the race again, his friends and adherents ad-herents and loyal Republicans finding him adamant in his refusal, were not averse to having his choice named, realizing that in the naming of some person so directly in accord with the desires of the president the policies of President Roosevelt would accordingly be carried out. It cannot be said that Mr. Taft is all-Rooseveltian. On the con- trary he possesses considerable personality, tact and diplomatic skill. In addition to these first-required attributes his many missions have eminently qualified him to assume those arduous burdens required re-quired in the executive of a great nation. Tempering his zeal with moderation and judgment he is a man his friends and political adherents adhe-rents claim they can tie to; a man who, they claim, will fill every requirement exacted. Every member of his party, every one of his closest friends maintain main-tain that. Mr. Taft is strong and honest in his convictions, that he stands upon a platform of honesty and conviction, and that while he will aim to pursue the policies of his predecessor on the ticket, it will be found that he never departs from those honest convictions he has stood for all his life. WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN pearance, of unqualified and immeasurable ability, he has gone on his way, unchecked by the adverse criticisms and contention in his own party, and so strongly did his personality impress itself upon the i people of his party that again in 1900 he was nominated for president, presi-dent, but this time on a plank of free coinage of silver, opposition to trusts and anti-imperialism. In 1904 Judge Alton B. Parker of New York was nominated for '. president. True to his principles and his party, Mr. Bryan became an active partizan in support of Judge Parker's campaign, this in spite of the fact that the latter was making a gold standard campaign. Though Judge Parker was defeated, Mr. Bryan saw no defeat for his party. Desiring to familiarize himself with every phase of the economic i question, he made a trip through Europe studying economic and i financial conditions. Through the medium of his paper "The Com- moner," Mr. Bryan impressed the greatest financial men of the nation na-tion with the soundness of his logic on the financial and banking system. He made a study of those matters to such a degree that he is today generally recognized as a world's authority on matters pertaining per-taining to the national banking system. In his manner Mr. Bryan possesses a remarkable personality. He is a brilliant speaker, whether on the rostrum, or within a friendly circle and has a wide grasp on all public affairs. He has been moderately successful in a financial way, but does not enjoy the great wealth he is generally credited with having. That he is a great man is evidenced in the fact that he has made more history in America than any private citizen. Aiming always for peace and moderation, he has not merely kept himself before the public, but has done what no other American ever has done, by sheer force of personality, backed with a marvelous eloquence he has been thrice named as a presidential nominee. |