the nation had been becoming more and more a
source of anxiety to the thinking men of the land. Our economic
development had taken place so rapidly that the great aggregations of
capital and the great corporations had gotten beyond control and had
shown dangerous tendencies toward lawlessness and political corruption.
The feeling that the great corporations were not only beyond the control
of law but even controlled the government in the interests of a few, led
to a belief that the government was passing out of the hands of the
people, and that the function of our republican government was being
arrested. The radical and the agitator were getting the ear of the
nation, for the faith of the nation was shaken. Then came President
Roosevelt to take up a task of greatest difficulty, and for nearly eight
years, amidst the applause of the plain people, he administered the
affairs of the nation firmly, honestly, and with efficiency. The
Republican convention in Chicago by its nomination of Mr. Taft had put
the stamp of its approval upon the Roosevelt administration, and turned
to appeal to the voters.

[Illustration: Crowd surrounding a large house.]
Copyright, 1908, by Young & Carl, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr. Taft formally accepting the Republican nomination for the
Presidency, on the veranda of the residence of his brother, Mr. Charles
P. Taft, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

In round numbers Taft received 7,680,000 votes and Bryan 6,410,000. The
electoral vote stood 321 for the Republican candidate and 162 for the
Democratic candidate. Thirty States elected Republican presidential
electors; eighteen elected Democratic electors. With the exception of
Nebraska, Nevada, and Colorado, which together contributed sixteen
electoral votes, all the States carried by the Democratic nominee were
Southern States. The nation had approved the Roosevelt policy, but the
great popular vote for Mr. Bryan showed clearly the loyalty of millions
of voters. These men believed that their leader stood for the plain
people--for the unprivileged. There were many who had feared Mr. Bryan's
policies in 1896, who voted for him in 1908 because they believed that
twelve years of public life and the study of national problems had
changed and bettered his ideals.

Some Republican writers professed to believe that the popular vote
indicated that a majority of people adhered to the policy of protection.
To others it appeared that the voters were willing to accept t