William Howard Taft h.'05, President of the United States, addressed the Harvard Taft Club from the porch of the Hotel Somerset yesterday afternoon.

Before the arrival of Mr. Taft, Mr. Samuel J. Elder spoke on the recall of judges and of judicial decisions.

When the President came he said although he had heard the Harvard cheer on many previous occasions, it had never sounded quite so welcome to him before. The enthusiasm which had greeted him would remain a source of pride and pleasure, which no adverse circumstance could ever take away.

As a lawyer, the President admitted that perhaps he might lay too much stress upon observance of the Constitution as a sacred and unimpeachable document. But he believed that the instrument which had been tried and found good for so many years, as the foundation of our government, should not lightly be cast aside. Only when the people, after mature deliberation, have decided that a change is necessary and wise, should the Constitution be altered. We will never go far astray if we adhere strictly to the fundamentals of that work which Gladstone rightly called the greatest single document ever struck from the brain of man. "Obsta principiis" was President Taft's watch-word.

Whether he and the principles he stands for, meet victory or defeat, the President will always remember the reception accorded him by Harvard men sufficiently interested in him and his candidacy, to organize in his support.

After his address, the President shook hands with the members of the club.