PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/14/1906 - HFSID 33095

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
William H. Taft sends a typed letter saying that he has made recommendations to congress about Constitution Island.
Typed Letter Signed: "Wm H Taft" as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of War, 1p, 5½x9. Washington, D.C., 1905 April 14. On letterhead of the War Department to Mr. Henry Fairfield Osborn, American Museum of Natural History, New York, N.Y. Begins: "My dear Mr. Osborn". In full: "I beg to acknowledge your note of April 10th. I have made recommendations to Congress in respect to Constitution Island, but I do not know what will be done in the matter." Constitution Island, which is most famous for the chain placed across the Hudson River during the American Revolution, is today part of West Point, the U.S. Military Academy. At the time of this letter, Constitution Island was home to the Warner family, including Anna Warner, who is best known for writing the words to the hymn, "Jesus Loves Me" (Anna and her sister, Susan, the author of The Wide, Wide World, taught Bible classes to West Point cadets for 40 years). In 1916, the year after Anna's death, the Constitution Island Association was formed to preserve the heritage of the island. HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN (1857-1935), a noted American paleontologist and geologist, had taught at Princeton (1883-1890) and Columbia (1891-1910) before becoming associated with the American Museum of Natural History in 1891. In 1908, three years after this letter was written, Osborn became President of the Museum. During his tenure (1908-1933), he assembled one of the world's foremost collections of vertebrate fossils. Osborn also wrote more than 500 technical papers as well as works on evolution. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT (1857-1930) served as Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of War from 1904-1908, and was Roosevelt's handpicked successor for the presidency. Elected as the 27th U.S. President in 1908, he served until 1913, having been defeated in a three-way race in 1912 (Roosevelt, dissatisfied with Taft's policies, had ran for the office on the Progressive Party ticket and came in second behind victorious Democrat Woodrow Wilson). Taft, who had previously served as Governor of the Philippine Islands (1900-1904), realized his lifelong dream in 1921, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1921-1930). Lightly creased with folds, not at signature. "Haloing" of type (all legible), transference of type on integral leaf. Overall, fine condition.