PRESIDENT WILLIAM H. TAFT - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 12/22/1914 - HFSID 5127

WILLIAM H.TAFT
While teaching law at Yale, he sends thanks for a Christmas present he admits to having opened early.
Typed Letter signed: "Wm H Taft", 7x9¼. New Haven, Connecticut, 1914 December 22. On personal letterhead to Mr. W. M. Ramsdell, Buffalo, N.Y. In full: "I have your kind note of December 17th, which I find on my return from a considerable trip to the West. I thank you for correcting the error in the Sun report. You have sent me a very useful pocket memorandum book which contains a lot of valuable information, and is so arranged that it is most useful to me. I beg of you to know that I have opened it before Christmas, but am none the less grateful to you for sending it. Sincerely yours". Fold creases not at signature. Fine condition. Included is front panel of mailing envelope, 7x4¾. Irregular edges. Lightly soiled at blank margins. Otherwise, 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. After leaving the Presidency, Taft taught at Yale Law School for 8 years until his appointment as Chief Justice. Two items.