Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 October 1909 — WILL BEAR WATCHING. [ARTICLE]

WILL BEAR WATCHING.

A writer in the Indianapolis News says: “Never before in history has a president felt called on to stump the country, within six months after his inaguration, and defend his policy and decry the opposition.” And never before did any president do it at public expense. Mr. Taft continues to travel over the country, at the public expense, making Republican speeches. On his present trip he will spend the larger part of ?20,000 appropriated by congress for the president’s traveling expenses. As part of this money—at least half of it —was paid into the treasury by Democrats and other persons who are not Republicans, it is very bad taste on the part of the president to use it in financing a partisan journey. Speaking with reference to President Taft’s indorsement of Aldrich and his new financial scheme, the New York World says: “Does Mr. Taft know ot any method by which a central bank of issue could be kept free from Wall street influences or from political manipulation? When the United States treasury can not be kept free from such influences what hope is there in a certain bank of issue witn power to contract or expand the currency at will? If the currency system can be reformed only by substituting a greater evil for a lesser evil, it had better be left unregenerated.”

Having fixed the tariff schedules as the special interests want them, Mr. Aldrich now proposes a new financial scheme, involving a great central bank, whereby such persons as Morgan and Rockefeller, with their steel trusts and Standard Oil monopolies, can control the money of the country even more absolutely than they do- now. And Mr. Taft is going up and down the country giving Aldrich a certificate of good character in order that his power in the senate may be greater than ever. Mr. Taft, it may be added, is doing all this at the public's expense. A fine spectacle, indeed. ..THE INFId’EN'TIAL SMOOT... A Salt Lake dispatch says that it had been arranged that the president review the children of Salt Lake City Sunday morning, and then speak at the Mormon Tabernacle there. Tile Ministerial Association of the Gentile churches protested and made such representations that Mr- Taft at Montrose cancelled the Tabernacle speech. Afterward, however, when Senator Smoot's party boarded the train the original program was restored and carried out. The only change was that after appearing at the tabernacle the president attended services at the 1 nitarian church. At the tabernacle Mr. Taft spoke from the pulpit and Smoot was master of ceremonies. From this it appears that Senator Smoot (Mormon apostle), who helped Aldrich frame up the how tariff law which Mr. Taft likes so well, was more influential with the latter than all the Gentile preachers in Salt Lake. By the way, it was Mr. Beveridge of Indiana (and the Maine woods) who, as chairman of a senate committee, recommended that Smoot bb allowed to keep hip seat jn that body. ,

It Is a long time before the next state campaign will open in full blast, but it is not too early to put a meditative eye upon the doings of men or organizations who have it in mind to deliver the next legislature to Albert J. Beveridge or J. Frank Hanley through some sort of a “nonpartisan" dodge in the legislative • districts or elsewhere- The methods pursued by these same persons and organizations during the last campaign, whereby they attempted to disrupt the Democratic party and defeat its candidates, from governor down, are not yet forgotten. Democratic control in Indiana is necessary to the general welfare. The Democratic party stands against extravagance and graft in this state. If it secures control of the legislature in both branches and of the

state offices it can accomplish much that the people want to see done. Every Democrat should resent the effprt now being made to so ’arrange things that the legislature and the state offices will be under the Joint management of the Republican state committee and the officers of the Anti-Saloon League.