PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 10/24/1916 - HFSID 251317

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Signed typed letter identifying a favorite poem, matted with a color, book photo to 17x13
Typed Letter signed in ink: "Wm H Taft", 1 page, 6¾x7½. New Haven, Connecticut, 1916 October 24. On personal letterhead to L. C. Wilstead, Principal, O'Fallon High School, O'Fallon, Missouri. In full: "I have your letter of October 19th. One of my favorite poems recently published is 'If,' by Kipling. Sincerely yours". Lightly toned at blank edges. Matted with book photograph of Taft (color, 6¼x9½) Fine condition. Also affixed is a printed signature (3½x1). Fine condition. Matted to overall of 16¾x12¾. Fine condition. 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. Three items.