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If they will play fair I will play fair, but if they won’t then I reserve all my rights to do anything I find myself able to do.

William Howard Taft

The world is not going to be saved by legislation.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Liegislative Save World
The laboring man and the trade-unionist, if I understand him, asks only equality before the law. Class legislation and unequal privilege, though expressly in his favor, will in the end work no benefit to him or to society.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Equality Law Man Privilege Society Trade Understand
We can’t have a decent government unless those in power exercise self restraint.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Decent Exercise Government Power
The truth is that in my present life I don’t remember that I ever was president.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Life Myself President Remember Truth
The true Mason never hesitates to use the working tools to correct personal flaws.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Flaw Hesitation Personal Tools Work
Well, I have one consolation. No candidate was ever elected ex-president by such a large majority!
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Candidate Majority Myself President
The policy of dollar diplomacy is one that appeals alike to idealistic humanitarian sentiments, to dictates of sound policy, and strategy, and to legitimate commercial aims.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Commercial Goal Ideal Policy Sound
Too many people don’t care what happens so long as it doesn’t happen to them.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Action Care People
In the public interest, therefore, it is better that we lose the services of the exceptions who are good Judges after they are seventy and avoid the presence on the Bench of men who are not able to keep up with the work, or to perform it satisfactorily.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Better Exception Interest Lose Performance Presence Satisfaction Work
I know how irritating it is to have somebody else lay down rules for your moral uplift, but you’ve got to stand a great deal in order to make progress.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Greatness Irritation Moral Myself Order Rule Stand
Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Feeling Myself Politics Sick
The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Kind Knowledge Power Reminder Suggestion
The diplomacy of the present administration has sought to respond to the modern idea of commercial intercourse. This policy has been characterized as substituting dollars for bullets.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Administration Character Commercial Policy Present
When the history of this period is written, [William Jennings] Bryan will stand out as one of the most remarkable men of his generation and one of the biggest political men of our country.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Country History Ourselves Period Remark Stand
Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that today is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Basis Effort Enterprise Human Labor Propose Social Substitution
I am glad to be going. This is the lonesomest pace in the world?
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Happiness Lonely Myself Place World
If this humor be the safety of our race, then it is due largely to the infusion into the American people of the Irish brain.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Brain Humor People Race Safety
The Masonic system represents a stupendous and beautiful fabric, founded on universal purity, to rule and direct our passions, to have faith and love in God, and charity toward man.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Charity Faith God Love Man Purity Representation System Universal
No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Human Nature People Quite Rule Strong
If they will play fair I will play fair, but if they won’t then I reserve all my rights to do anything I find myself able to do.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Fair Myself Play Reserve Right
I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Court God Heaven Judgement Love
I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Believe Divine Subscription
I am afraid I am a constant disappointment to my party. The fact of the matter is, the longer I am President the less of a party man I seem to become.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Afraid Disappointment Man Myself Party
I think I might as well give up being a candidate. There are so many people in the country who don’t like me.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Candidate Country Myself People Thinking
Don’t worry over what the newspapers say. I don’t. Why should anyone else? I told the truth to the newspaper correspondents – but when you tell the truth to them they are at sea.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Newspaper Sea Truth Worry Yourself
The game of baseball is a clean, straight game.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Cleaning Game Sports
What I am anxious to do is to secure my legislation…. What I want to do is to get through that, and if I can point to a record of usefulness of that kind, I am entirely willing to quit office.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

Anxious Legislation Office Quit Security Willing

If they will play fair I will play fair, but if they won’t then I reserve all my rights to do anything I find myself able to do.

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If they will play fair I will play fair, but if they won’t then I reserve all my rights to do anything I find myself able to do.

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