WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT and WALTER L. FISHER
As President and Secretary of the Interior, they sign the re-appointment of Frank M. Foote as Receiver of Public Moneys at Evanston, Wyoming
Civil Appointment signed: "Wm H Taft" as President, "Walter L. Fisher" as Secretary of the Interior, 18x14½. Washington, D.C., 1912 July 13. Re-appointment of Frank M. Foote as Receiver of Public Moneys at Evanston, Wyoming. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (1857-1930), the only man to serve as both U.S. President (1909-1913) and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1921-1930), was handpicked by Theodore Roosevelt to be his successor. Unhappy in the White House, Roosevelt's former Secretary of War nevertheless proved to be a better "trust buster" than his mentor. Taft attempted to reduce Republican-supported tariffs and empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission to end railroad abuses. He started the process leading to a federal budget, sponsored a bill requiring candidates to reveal campaign expenses and initiated the postal savings system. While these measures sound progressive to a modern reader, they disappointed Roosevelt, who challenged Taft for re-nomination and then ran as the Progressive Party candidate. Taft finished third in 1912 behind Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson and Roosevelt. Reaching the pinnacle of his career as Chief Justice, Taft supported the Judiciary Act of 1925, which gave the overburdened Court greater ability to determine the number and type of cases it would hear. He was also instrumental in obtaining congressional funds for a new Supreme Court building. WALTER L. FISHER (1862-1935), a liberal Republican, became president of the Municipal Voters League of Chicago (1906). The group's campaign against corruption was effective enough that candidates scrambled to sign the League's pledge of commitment to honest government. Fisher was also a founder of the National Conservation Association, an involvement which prompted President Taft to appoint him Secretary of the Interior (1911-1913). Fisher helped organize Taft's unsuccessful re-election campaign of 1912. Soiled. Creased. Otherwise, fine condition.