| Show DEATH TAKES MR republican deseret news and salt lake telegram the nation can ill afford at this time the loss of such men as robert A taft veteran and brilliant senator from ohio whose death friday from cancer ended a career unique in american public life son of our president bob himself aspired three times to the presidency without success but in his failure he proved himself a gentleman a statesman and patriot of the first rank only the peculiar temper of the times thwarted his admitted ambition to return to the white house where he had lived as a child it was his fate to stand for semi conservatism in times of radical political change twice the republican part of which he was later to become the very personification and symbol thrust him aside for candidates outside the regular limits in 1940 the convention chose willkie a recent democrat wall street lawyer prid and in preference to the bespectacled scholarly ohioan they wanted glamour to oppose the personable franklin D roosevelt in 1944 taft stepped aside for his fellow ohioan john IV briker bricker lost the nomination to thomas E dewey but gained second place on what was to prove the most disappointing ticket in the history of the grand old party dewey again won the nomination from taft in 1948 and again lost the election tafts year was to be 1952 but into the scene swept the colorful general eisenhower Elsen hower whose latest voting registration had been as an independent and with dewey bitterly opposing him taft failed in his third attempt it providential that he did for evain even at that time the dread malady which was to strike him down had started its assault on his system though neither he nor anyone else knew it it was after chicago just over a year ago that taft rose to his greatest stature determined that the republican party must win and be successful in its first chance at leadership in 20 years he plunged into the campaign and stumped the country for eisenhower Elsen hower in the past year there has developed between the tow men a mutual respect a golf course camaraderie comara derie and finally a warm personal friendship the president above all others will miss his keen political judgment his wise counsel and his consummate legislative skill courage loyalty and honesty were the distinguishing characteristics te of tafts public career he was never known to back down from a fight or to abandon a principle for expediency no matter what the cost he bitterly assailed roosevelt and the new deal when it was dangerous to do so and became the chief opposition of democratic rule convinced the nation must choose between liberty and socialism he took a stand on every issue stated his beliefs and defended them exhaustively he deliberately chose to head the senate labor committee in 1947 when he could have had the powerful and popular finance committee simply because he felt the wagner labor act was at that moment the greatest menace to the welfare of the nation out of that choice came the taft hart ley act which labor has long denounced but which has never lacked a majority in congress to sustain it there was something refreshing about tafts absolute candor he admitted he was tactless in fact he orice once said that to be tactful is to be dishonest he often refe referred ired to the immorality of the truman administration yet he was a friend of harry truman he had no hesitancy in criticizing specific acts of 0 his own part either he labeled Elsen Eisen howers choice of martin durkin for labor secretary as incredible and considerably upset the administration with his go it alone statement on korea with his bartys councils taft was a leavening influence and a peacemaker his own dominant character acting as a unifay ing force between the liberal and conservative elements in the political arena he was a fearless fighter a lion lionhearted hearted champion of old fashioned personal liberty there were many who disagreed with him did not admire him for his integrity and ability there can be no doubt of his position as one of the truly great statesmen america has produced |
