PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/11/1917 - HFSID 27554

WILLIAM H. TAFT
William H. Taft signs a typed letter saying that he may be able to visit the home but needs to make sure with the doctor when would be a good time.
Typed Letter signed: "Wm H Taft", 1p, 7x9¼. On personal letterhead but written from Augusta, Georgia, 1917 April 11. To Governor Joseph S. Smith ("My dear Governor Smith"), National Soldier's Home, Virginia. In full: "I have yours of April 7th. Possibly during my visit to Hampton, I shall be able to come to your Home and say a few words to the old soldiers. You ought to arrange with Dr. Frissell as to when it would be most convenient. Sincerely yours" William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was Governor of the Philippines (1901-1904), Secretary of War (1904-1909), 27th of the United States (1909-1913) and Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (1921-1930). His bruising convention battle with former ally and patron Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 split the Republican Party, allowing the election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Taft as President was caught in the middle between progressives and conservatives and constrained by a more limited view of Presidential powers than TR had possessed, but historians tend to view his term of office more positively than did most of his contemporaries. His skills as Chief Justice are widely recognized. In the years between his Presidency and his appointment as chief justice, Taft taught at Yale Law School. Fold crease not at signature. Tape on verso (no show through). Soiled and mounting remnants on verso light show through.