1) What problems did President Taft have with progressives on tariff issues?
A: President Taft had several problems with progressives on tariff issues. One issue was the struggle with progressives over Speaker of the House Joseph G. Cannon. Progressives wanted to unseat Cannon because he often blocked their legislation. Taft disagreed with the effort to unseat Cannon, pressuring progressive Republicans into stopping their campaign against Cannon. In exchange, Cannon quickly pushed a new tariff bill through the House of Representatives. Taft's compromise angered many progressives. The following year, they defied the president by joining with House Democrats and removing Cannon from power. Taft further alienated progressives when the tariff bill went to the Senate. The result was the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, which cut tariffs hardly at all and actually raised them on some goods. After much discussion, Taft decided to accept the new tariff. Progressives felt betrayed and outraged by Taft's decision.
2) How did President Taft's accomplishments regarding conservation ad trustbusting compare to President Roosevelt's?
A: Although Roosevlt was nicknamed the "trustbuster," Taft was a strong supporter of competition and actually brought twice as many antitrust cases in four yeats as his predecessor had in seven. In other areas, too, Taft was at least as strong a progressive as Roosevelt. Taft established the Children's Bureau, a federal agency similar to Roosevelt's Bureau of Corporations. Taft also supported the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, which increased the regulatory powers of the ICC. The Ballinger-Pinchot controversy aside, Taft was aslo a dedicated conservationist. His contributions in this area actually equaled or surpassed those of Roosevelt. Taft set up the Bureau of Mines to monitor the activities of mining companies, expanded the national forests, and protected waterpower sites from private development.
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