HENRY CABOT LODGE SR. - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/19/1903 - HFSID 277680

HENRY CABOT LODGE
His signed, handwritten letter as US Senator (1903), thanking his correspondent for praise and assuring him that Lodge has spoken to the President on his behalf
Autograph Letter signed: "H.C. Lodge" as US Senator, 2 pages (integral leaf), 6¼x7¼. Washington, D.C., 1903 November 19. To "Moody", in full: "I suppose that it is common to men of our race & blood but when I feel most I can say least & seem most indifferent. That was the case when you read me the letter to Mr. Reed [?] this morning. I am doubly grateful not only for the letter but for what you say & for your opinion of my public service. [phrase illegible] I trust you will believe that they mean a great deal. I nearly forgot to tell you that I spoke to the President [Theodore Roosevelt] on the lines you desired. He understood perfectly & will no doubt talk to you himself in time. Faithfully yours". Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924) represented Massachusetts in the US House (1887-1893) and Senate (1893-1924). As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Republican Lodge led the fight against US membership in the League of Nations. Lodge was not an isolationist like some League opponents. Instead, he argued that the US must be free to pursue its own interests without needing the consent of an international organization. (An additional motive was his ardent dislike of President Wilson.) A scholar as well as a politician, Lodge was Harvard's first PhD in history. His grandson, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. (1902-1985), was a US Senator, Ambassador to the United Nations and to South Vietnam, and the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 1960. Fold, not at signature. Lightly soiled at margins. Otherwise, fine condition.