631601
William Howard Taft
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William Howard Taft, 1857-1930. 27th President of the United States, 1909-1913; Chief Justice of the United States, 1921-1930. Interesting Typed Letter Signed, Wm H. Taft, as Chief Justice, one page, 6½" x 4½", on engraved stationery of the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., February 19, 1929.
Supposedly aloof from politics as Chief Justice, Taft, the only person ever to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States, nevertheless can hardly refrain from taking a shot at former President Woodrow Wilson over Wilson's handling of the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations. In full: “I have had my say many times about the League of Nations. I was in favor of it when we might have entered it, if Mr. Wilson had permitted, and I am very sorry he prevented it. But I am refraining from quasi-political discussions."
Taft supported the United States' entry into the League of Nations. Although he preferred the version of the organization that the League to Enforce Peace proposed over that which Wilson proposed, he did not oppose the Treaty of Versailles. Instead, having supported Wilson's controversial decision to head the American peace delegation to Paris, he spoke publicly in favor of the treaty and even appeared on the same platform with Wilson, to whom he had lost the 1912 presidential election, and whom he found difficult, in order to urge its ratification. He defended the critical tenth article in the covenant, which detractors saw as a surrender of American sovereignty, and counseled Wilson to include in the treaty a clause concerning the Monroe Doctrine that would pacify Senate “reservationists" whose votes were essential to ratification.
At the peace conference, Wilson agreed to four changes in the covenant, including one specifying that the Monroe Doctrine was not impaired. But once the treaty was signed, Wilson butted heads with the United States Senate over ratification. Wilson ultimately agreed to interpretive reservations in a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on August 19, 1919, but that was not enough to satisfy irreconcilable Senators William E. Borah of Idaho and Hiram W. Johnson of California or Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, a strong reservationist. Wilson took his case to the people in September 1919, touring the country for 22 days and delivering 40 speeches in 29 cities—collapsing in Pueblo, Colorado, on September 25 and suffering a disabling stroke on October 2 after his return to Washington, D.C. Wilson thereafter refused to budge: “Let Lodge compromise!" he said, repeatedly urging Senate Democrats to defeat Lodge's proposed reservations and insisting that the Senate must not rewrite the treaty. Despite the efforts of a bipartisan Senate committee to resolve the stalemate, the Senate defeated ratification of the treaty, with 15 Lodge reservations, by a 49-35 vote on March 19, 1920. The next day, Congress ended World War I by a joint resolution, but Wilson vetoed it.
In this letter Taft, insisting that as a jurist he avoids “quasi-political discussions,” nevertheless criticizes Wilson's actions as having “prevented" ratification of the treaty. It is excellent political commentary from the often reticent Taft.
Taft's fountain pen signature is bold, and the letter is quite readable. The letter has overall browning and foxing and some tape residue from prior framing, however, so we have priced it accordingly, taking into account its undeniably desirable content. Overall it is in good condition.
Unframed.
This item is sold.
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