William Taft actually said...
Under authority vested in me by law, it is ordered:That every convict who is now or who may hereafter be confined in the Canal Zone penitentiary under sentence for a definite time, and who shall have no infraction of the rules and regulations of the penitentiary or laws of the Canal Zone recorded against him, and who performs the duties assigned to him in a faithful, orderly and peaceable manner, shall be entitled to the diminution of time from his sentence as follows: For the first year, one month; for the second year, two months; for the third year, three months; for the fourth year, four months; for the fifth year, five months; for the sixth and each succeeding year, six months; and pro rata for any part of a year, where the sentence is for more or less than a year.
07/29/1909