Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 224
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3
William Taft Takes Roosevelt's Advice and Tells of the Conflict that Ultimately Leads to the Formation of the Progressive Party
William Taft Takes Roosevelt's Advice and Tells of the Conflict that Ultimately Leads to the Formation of the Progressive Party
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3
Description:

Taft William

William Taft Takes Roosevelt’s Advice and Tells of the Conflict that Ultimately Leads to the Formation of the Progressive Party

“I think I can clear up the whole matter when I get back to Washington.”

In this letter, President William Howard Taft writes to Lawrence F. Abbott, president of the company that published The Outlook weekly magazine about conflicts within his new administration. Despite the confidence he expressed at the end of this letter, the conflict erupted into an open controversy over the following months that led to a split between Taft and former president Theodore Roosevelt. Three years later, Roosevet as candidate of the Progressive Party challenged Taft for the presidency, dividing the Republicans and giving the election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, Typed Letter Signed, on White House letterhead, to Lawrence F. Abbott, August 31, 1909, Beverly, Massachusetts, marked “Personal.” 2 pp., 7" x 8.75".  Paste residue at top of second page, not affecting text.

Excerpts

“There is some antagonism between Pinchot and Ballinger. I think Pinchot thinks it is a difference in principle, and possibly Ballinger does. My own judgment, after having talked to both of them, is that there is no substantial difference between them except the matter of methods. Pinchot is a fine officer; but he is a fanatic, as President Roosevelt once told me, and he is very suspicious of people that oppose him. He has made some charges against the Interior Department which I am now having looked into; but I have found that in his own bureau there is something like a publicity machine, and that a good many of his supporters are very reckless in their statements, made for the purpose of impeaching Ballinger’s administration of the Interior Department.”

“Between the Interior Departmetn and Pinchot’s bureau there is a bitter feeling of jealousy growing out of the fact that Pinchot had a great deal of influence, and exercised it, with Mr. Rossevelt, in directing matters in the Interior Department. This makes bad discipline, and creates a friction that is almost impossible to avoid. It prevents a smooth cooperation, and furnishes an opportunity for those who are prone to charge corrupt influence, to do so, although the obstruction which they encounter arises rather from a natural jealosy than from any connivance with fraud or dishonesty. I think I can clear up the whole matter when I get back to Washington.”

Historical Background

When William Howard Taft succeeded his former boss Theodore Roosevelt as President in March 1909, he made some changes in the Interior Department. As a committed conservationist, President Roosevelt had appointed James R. Garfield (1865-1950) of Ohio (son of the former president) as Secretary of the Interior and Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) of Pennsylvania as Chief of the United States Forest Service. President Taft agreed in general with conservation but preferred that it be accomplished by legislation rather than executive order. He replaced Garfield with Richard A. Ballinger (1858-1922) of Washington as Secretary of the Interior.

In 1902, Clarence Cunningham made mining claims to coal deposits in Alaska on land that Roosevelt had withdrawn from the public domain. Special agent for the General Land Office Louis Glavis investigated the Cunningham claims, and when Secretary Ballinger approved them in 1909, Glavis turned to Pinchot for assistance. In September 1909, around the time of this letter, Glavis made his allegations public in a magazine article, revealing that Ballinger had acted as attorney for Cunningham between the period Ballinger was head of the General Land Office (1907-1908) and his becoming Secretary of the Interior.

On September 13, Taft dismissed Glavis from government service at the recommendation of Attorney General George W. Wickersham, and Pinchot tried to dramatize the issue by forcing his own dismissal. Taft initially tried to avoid it, fearing a break with Roosevelt, who was out of the country. Pinchot forced the issue in January 1910 by appealing to a U.S. Senator, and Taft dismissed Pinchot.

Pinchot sailed to Europe to lay his case before Roosevelt, and although a Congressional investigation cleared Ballinger by majority vote, the entire affair embarrassed the administration, especially when Glavis’s attorney Louis D. Brandeis forced Taft to admit that the Wickersham report had been backdated. The Ballinger–Pinchot affair caused a split between progressives who supported Roosevelt’s agenda and those who supported Taft’s administration.

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated from Yale College in 1878. He received a bachelor of laws degree in 1880 from Cincinnati Law School. After gaining admission to the bar, Taft worked on the Cincinnati Commercial newspaper full time, covering local courts. After a brief stint as an assistant prosecutor, Taft was appointed to the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1887. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him as Solicitor General of the United States, a position he held until Harrison appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals, where he served from 1892 to 1900. He was Governor-General of the Philippines from 1901 to 1903, then Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1904 to 1908. In 1908, he was elected President of the United States as a Republican over Democrat William Jennings Bryan. After his defeat in the three-way election of 1912, Taft joined the faculty of the Yale Law School, until President Warren G. Harding appointed him as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1921, a position he held until his death nine years later.

Lawrence F. Abbott (1859-1933) was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Congregationalist theologian and author Lyman Abbott. The younger Abbott graduated from Amherst College in 1881, and became president of the Christian Union Company in 1891, which became the Outlook Company in 1893. It published The Outlook, one of the leading weekly magazines of news and opinion, from 1893 to 1928. Abbott was a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt for more than two decades and served as Roosevelt’s secretary on tours of Europe and Africa in 1909-1910. He later wrote the article on Roosevelt for Encyclopaedia Britannica and published Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt in 1919.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item.Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000