PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 02/25/1907 - HFSID 291703

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Signed on official letterhead as Secretary of War, promising to mention someone's name at a Cabinet meeting
Typed Letter signed: "Wm H Taft", 1 page, 5½x9. War Department, Washington, D.C., 1907 February 25. To A. L. Lawshe, Wabash, Indiana. In full: "I have your letter of the 19th of February. The fourth of March is near at hand, and Cortelyou doubtless is making plans. We shall have some Cabinet meetings this week, and I shall call your name to his attention, although I do not think it at all necessary. Very sincerely yours". 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. Taft's decisions, reflecting the conservative rather than progressive Republican platform, led to a parting with Roosevelt, and Taft lost his bid for a second term, finishing third 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. George Cortelyou (1862-1940) held three Cabinet posts under Theodore Roosevelt: Commerce and Labor, Postmaster General, and Treasury. He became Secretary of the Treasury on March 4, 1907, so Taft was probably responding to a man seeking an appointment. Cortelyou was already attending Cabinet meetings as Postmaster General. The Political Graveyard identifies A. L. Lawshe as an Indiana Republican who had been a national convention delegate in 1896. Mailing fold through center. Corners lightly worn. Otherwise, fine condition.