“parklike lawns” . . . the Essex Club: Mabel T. Boardman, “The Summer Capital,” Outlook, Sept. 25, 1909, pp. 176–78.
“take quite a time”: WHT to Mabel Boardman, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
“two months of entire rest”: WHT to Frances Taft Edwards, June 25, 1909, WHTP.
“in seclusion . . . intruders away”: NYT, July 7, 1909.
“The great tug will begin”: WHT to HHT, July 7, 1909, WHTP.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: A Self-Inflicted Wound
Protectionism had become a central tenet: Jonathan Lurie, William Howard Taft: The Travails of a Progressive Conservative (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 103.
While Theodore Roosevelt had sympathized . . . inflated prices: RSB, Notebook, Nov. 17, 1907, RSB Papers.
During the final years . . . agrarian region: Stanley D. Solvick, “William Howard Taft and Cannonism,” Wisconsin Magazine of History (Autumn 1964), pp. 51–52.
“equal the difference”: WHT, “Address Accepting the Republican Nomination for President, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 28, 1908,” WHTP.
When excessive duties were built . . . prices for consumers: Ibid.; WHT, Presidential Addresses and State Papers, pp. 55–56; WHT to Horace Taft, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
“unequivocally . . . special session of Congress”: RNC and Blumenberg, Official Report of the Proceedings of the Fourteenth Republican National Convention, p. 117.
“uprising and demonstration . . . cataclysm”: Waterloo [IA] Times-Tribune, Mar. 16, 1909.
“the greatest issue” . . . to “humanize”: Washington Times, June 24, 1910.
“this or that duty . . . less covering”: IMT, “Where Every Penny Counts,” The American Magazine (March 1909), pp. 437–38.
“vital importance” of shoes: Atlanta Constitution, April 25, 1909.
“It was hard enough . . . and in methods”: IMT, “Where Every Penny Counts,” The American Magazine (March 1909), p. 440.
For years, legislators had acquiesced: IMT, “Juggling with the Tariff: A Sidelight on the Most Lively Question Now Before Congress,” The American Magazine (April 1909), p. 578.
“At a time when . . . getting ahead”: IMT, “Where Every Penny Counts,” The American Magazine (March 1909), p. 439.
“I never knew”: IMT, All in the Day’s Work, p. 273.
“Cannonism” had become . . . convened in mid-March 1909: Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, pp. 402–3; Solvick, “William Howard Taft and Cannonism,” Wisconsin Magazine of History (Autumn 1964), pp. 52–53.
Taft seriously considered backing: WHT to WAW, Mar. 12, 1909, White Papers.
“never liked” the Speaker: AB to Clara, April 5, 1911, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 2, p. 609.
“all legislation of a progressive character”: WHT to TR, Oct. 9, 1908, TRP.
“If by helping it”: WHT to TR, Nov. 7, 1908, TRP.
“I do not believe”: TR to WHT, Nov. 10, 1908, TRP.
“it would be very unfortunate”: Elihu Root to WHT, Nov. 23, 1908, in Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 405.
“very much disposed to fight”: WHT to William N. Cromwell, Nov. 22, 1908, WHTP.
“In our anxiety”: Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 18, 1908.
“cynical references . . . with people squarely”: WHT to Elihu Root, Nov. 25, 1908, WHTP.
To better gauge the odds: WHT to J. N. Dolley, Nov. 23, 1908, and WHT to Frank L. Dingley, Nov. 23, 1908, WHTP.
“A new irrepressible . . . Taft administration”: NYT, Nov. 24, 1908.
“urgent telegrams and letters”: WHT to Horace Taft, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
“very anxious . . . of the facts”: TR to WHT, Nov. 28, 1908, in LTR, Vol. 6, p. 1389.
“support genuine tariff . . . carrying forward”: Waterloo [IA] Daily Courier, Dec. 2, 1908.
“entirely different impression”: Washington Post, Dec. 11, 1908.
“a hundred days . . . perfect”: Waterloo [IA] Times-Tribune, Nov. 18, 1908.
“the best revenue law”: Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 403.
“hammer and tongs . . . Republican minority”: WHT to Joseph L. Bristow, Dec. 5, 1908, WHTP.
the mistake that would haunt his presidency: Waterloo [IA] Daily Courier, Dec. 2, 1908.
“sent a chill of”: Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 407.
“to prepare an honest”: Washington Post, Dec. 11, 1908.
All hope of unseating . . . won reelection: NYT, Mar. 16, 1909.
“the most sophisticated”: Sullivan, Our Times, Vol. 4, p. 374.
“page after page”: Decatur [IL] Daily Review, Mar. 16, 1909.
“The Senate and House”: Robert M. La Follette, La Follette’s Autobiography: A Personal Narrative of Political Experiences (Madison, WI: Robert M. La Follette Co., 1919), p. 438.
“statesmen almost fell”: Washington Times, Mar. 17, 1909.
expected to be “historic”: Claude Gernade Bowers, Beveridge and the Progressive Era (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932), p. 334.
Taft had composed the entire text: Decatur Daily Review, Mar. 18, 1909.
“no clarion call”: Bowers, Beveridge and the Progressive Era, p. 340.
“no allusion”: New York Tribune, Mar. 16, 1909.
“give immediate consideration . . . should proceed”: WHT, “Message to Congress, March 16, 1909,” in WHT, Presidential Addresses and State Papers, Vol. 1, p. 69.
“flair for . . . days in office”: Stanley D. Solvick, “William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review (December 1963), p. 428.
“no loud noises”: Current Literature (June 1909), p. 579.
“the facts and reasons . . . derelict”: WHT, “Personal Aspects of the Presidency,” Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 28, 1914.
The weekly press conferences: F. B. Marbut, News from the Capital; The Story of Washington Reporting (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1971), p. 171.
“There was none”: J. Frederick Essary, “Thirty-two Years as a Washington Correspondent,” Editor and Publisher, May 31, 1941, p. 13.
“When the judgment . . . to help me”: WHT, “Personal Aspects of the Presidency,” Saturday Evening Post, Feb. 28, 1914.
“If ever at any time”: WAW to WHT [n.d.], 1909, White Papers.
“I am not constituted”: WHT to WAW, Mar. 20, 1909, White Papers.
“I knew what a hard”: RSB, American Chronicle, p. 254.
“Although the tariff storm”: RSB, “Theodore Roosevelt,” unpublished MSS, 1910, RSB Papers.
“remain . . . not without significance”: RSB, “The Measure of Taft,” The American Magazine (July 1910), p. 363.
“the legal mind . . . dislike for publicity”: RSB, “Taft—So Far,” The American Magazine (July 1909), p. 312.
“impressed . . . could do it”: RSB, “The Measure of Taft,” The American Magazine (July 1910), pp. 363–64.
“Fifty years ago . . . will have been taken”: IMT, “Juggling with the Tariff,” The American Magazine (April 1909), pp. 578–79, 586.
“one of the most . . . taking the place”: IMT, “William Howard Taft,” unpublished MSS [n.d.], IMTC.
“to keep his distance”: Lurie, William Howard Taft, p. 104.
If adjustments were necessary: Solvick, “William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review (December 1963), pp. 431–33.
“I have got to regard”: WHT to WAW, Mar. 12, 1909, White Papers.
“no matter what tariff bill”: William Dudley Foulke to WHT, Mar. 10, 1909, WHTP.
“I am here to get”: WHT to William Dudley Foulke, Mar. 12, 1909, WHTP.
“a genuine effort . . . inappropriate”: WHT to Horace Taft, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
“a more enlightened . . . given a thought”: Cited in Current Literature (May 1909), p. 468.
“would be satisfactory . . . this early stage”: NYT, April 21, 1909.
“up to the Senate . . . remakes it”: Current Literature (May 19
09), p. 465.
Taft had reason . . . from the Philippines: WHT to TR, Jan. 27, 1903, TRP.
“I fear Aldrich is ready”: AB to Clara, April 4, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 41.
“Where did we ever”: Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 429.
This was the time: Ibid., p. 430.
“There is no use”: AB to Clara, Dec. 19, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 236.
While Taft hesitated . . . against the Senate leader: Mowry, The Era of Theodore Roosevelt, pp. 244–45.
Aware that Aldrich . . . tackled lead and sugar: Bowers, Beveridge and the Progressive Era, p. 339.
“It has been tariff”: HCL to TR, June 21, 1909, in TR and HCL, Selections from the Correspondence, Vol. 2, pp. 337–38.
It was often past midnight . . . discussing strategy: Bowers, Beveridge and the Progressive Era, pp. 346–48.
to “go ahead . . . I will veto it”: La Follette, La Follette’s Autobiography, p. 440.
“bewildered by the intricacies”: NYT, June 9, 1909.
“more technical knowledge”: WHT to HHT, July 8, 1909, WHTP.
“reactionary tools”: Mowry, The Era of Theodore Roosevelt, p. 245.
“The Senator will not turn”: Kenneth W. Hechler, Insurgency: Personalities and Politics of the Taft Era (New York: Russell & Russell, 1964), p. 121.
Taft worried . . . becoming “irresponsible”: Bowers, Beveridge and the Progressive Era, p. 343.
to “confer . . . the Roosevelt policies”: WHT to Horace Taft, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
“Mr. Taft is not proving . . . pirate-infested seas”: Current Literature (June 1909), p. 580.
“to form definite . . . Mr. Roosevelt’s own”: Ibid.
his “hands off” approach: NYT, June 15, 1909.
“on the ground that”: WHT to Horace Taft, June 27, 1909, WHTP.
refuse to “reverse itself”: NYT, June 20, 1909.
“already at a low ebb”: NYT, June 16, 1909.
“some pretty shrewd . . . separately”: AB to Clara, June 20, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, pp. 124–25.
“go a great way . . . illegitimate schemes”: George Kibbe Turner, “How Taft Views His Own Administration: An Interview with the President,” McClure’s (June 1910), p. 214.
“Just when they thought”: AB to Clara, June 20, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 125.
These dissenting votes revealed: Current Literature (August 1909), pp. 3–5.
“Congress has had”: Literary Digest, July 24, 1909.
“to make good . . . he became President”: Ibid.
“used the White House”: AB to Clara, Aug. 17, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 178.
He invited Payne to dinner . . . after midnight: WHT to HHT, July 18, 1909, WHTP.
“at the disposal”: WHT to HHT, July 17, 1909, in William Howard Taft and Lewis L. Gould, My Dearest Nellie: The Letters of William Howard Taft to Helen Herron Taft, 1909–1912 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2011), pp. 46–47.
“longing” for her company: WHT to HHT, Aug. 3, 1909, WHTP.
“delighted . . . changes you seek”: WHT to HHT, July 11, 1909, WHTP.
progress would come “by jerks”: WHT to HHT, July 18, 1909, WHTP.
“Last night was as hot”: WHT to HHT, July 13, 1909, in WHT and Gould, My Dearest Nellie, p. 39.
“the Senate bill . . . has been taken”: WHT to HHT, July 11, 1909, WHTP.
“he was committed . . . broader point of view”: Decatur [IL] Daily Review, July 17, 1909.
“jubilant . . . of the progressives”: Fort Wayne [IN] News, July 17, 1909.
Congratulatory messages flooded: New York Tribune, July 26, 1909.
“the Taft tariff bill”: NYT, July 18, 1909.
“I see today you made”: HHT to WHT, July 17, 1909, WHTP.
“a good deal more of a muddle”: WHT to Horace Taft, July 21, 1909, WHTP.
Despite repeated promises . . . “in writing”: WHT to HHT, July 11, 1909, WHTP.
“an expert and acute . . . be deceived”: Solvick, “William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff,” Mississippi Valley Historical Review (December 1963), p. 437.
“Aldrich insists that”: WHT to HHT, July 22, 1909, WHTP.
“owed his victory . . . personal matter with him”: AB to Clara, July 23, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 154.
“It is the greatest exhibition”: WHT to HHT, July 26, 1909, WHTP.
“They have my last . . . in his fight”: AB to Clara, July 23, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, pp. 163–65.
a “cut away suit . . . fairly radiant”: Washington Post, Aug. 6, 1909.
“Do you think . . . certainly do not”: Eau Claire [WI] Leader, Aug. 6, 1909.
“could make . . . injure the party”: AB to Clara, July 16, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 144.
“A broad smile”: Eau Claire [WI] Leader, Aug. 6, 1909.
“a terrific thunderstorm”: AB to Clara, Aug. 6, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 170.
“Heavy black clouds”: Washington Post, Aug. 6, 1909.
the “storm of protest”: AB to Clara, Aug. 6, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 170.
“perfect . . . branches of Congress”: NYT, Aug. 6, 1909.
“its long and stormy journey”: Ibid.
“patient leadership . . . in the future”: Literary Digest, Aug. 7, 1909.
made the final bill “less shocking”: Ibid.
“the necessities of the common people”: Tacoma [WA] Times, Aug. 6, 1909.
judged an “empty victory”: NYT, Aug. 6, 1909.
“vindicated his personal . . . in his strategy”: Literary Digest, Aug. 7, 1909.
“his own fault . . . the stable door”: NYT, Aug. 6, 1909.
“come to a standstill . . . enthusiastic”: NYT, Aug. 8, 1909.
“which could be heard”: AB to Clara, Aug. 10, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 173.
While the president and his family . . . in Beverly: NYT, Aug. 8, 1909.
“If anybody says”: Baltimore Sun, Aug. 8, 1909.
Taft soon settled into: Boardman, “The Summer Capital,” Outlook, Sept. 25, 1909, p. 177.
“the rest . . . forget her illness”: AB to Clara, Aug. 10, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 173.
“over every beautiful . . . pleasant route”: National Tribune (Washington, DC), Aug. 25, 1909.
“the family dinner hour”: Boardman, “The Summer Capital,” Outlook, Sept. 25, 1909, p. 179.
“If it were not . . . out of life at all”: AB to Clara, Aug. 24, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 185.
“I do not know exactly”: WHT to Nancy Roelker, Sept. 11, 1909, in Anderson, William Howard Taft, p. 206.
“take the people into”: New York Tribune, Sept. 10, 1909.
“rampant . . . favor of his standard”: National Tribune, Aug. 25, 1909.
“the bill was unsatisfactory . . . under the circumstances”: New York Tribune, Sept. 10, 1909.
A future fight . . . loomed: NYT, Sept. 14, 1909.
“learned a great . . . shortcomings”: New York Tribune, Sept. 10, 1909.
“tens and hundreds . . . personal touch”: WHT, “Speech at the Boston Chamber of Commerce, Sept. 14, 1909,” WHTP.
“cabinet members . . . and banking system”: Register and Leader (Des Moines, IA), Sept. 15, 1909.
“Father of the Federal”: NYT, Nov. 19, 1914.
Reaching Chicago . . . a hearty reception: New York Tribune, Sept. 17, 1909.
At Milwaukee . . . first statement on the tariff: New York Tribune, Sept. 18, 1909.
“omnipresent good nature”: Thompson, Presidents I’ve Known, p. 218.
“hotbed of insurgency”: Current Literature (November 1909), p. 480.
Republican leaders in the House . . . home district: Thompson, Presidents I’ve Known, p. 218.
“Hope to be able”: WHT to HHT, Sep
t. 16, 1909, in Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 453.
“a mass of facts”: Washington Post, Sept. 18, 1909.
“Speech hastily prepared”: WHT to HHT, Sept. 17, 1909, in Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 453.
“What was the duty . . . Republican party ever passed”: William Howard Taft and David Henry Burton, The Collected Works of William Howard Taft (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2001), pp. 179, 181, 177.
“without hesitation”: NYT, Sept. 19, 1909.
“Western Republicans . . . on the tariff question”: All cited in Literary Digest, Oct. 2, 1909, p. 511.
“I did not write to you”: Horace Taft to WHT, Oct. 8, 1909, WHTP.
“commendation” of Tawney: Current Literature (November 1909), p. 478.
“Theodore Roosevelt’s . . . overwhelming demand”: Literary Digest, Oct. 2, 1909.
“You have come out . . . national supervision”: TR to HCL, Sept. 10, 1909, in TR and HCL, Selections from the Correspondence, Vol. 2, p. 346.
“I never appreciated . . . power and force”: HCL to TR, April 29, 1909, in ibid., pp. 333–34.
“surprised . . . opinion of him”: HCL to TR, Sept. 10, 1909, in ibid., p. 346.
“the wilds of Africa”: RSB, Notebook K, June 13, 1908, RSB Papers.
“truthful statement . . . win victories”: WHT to Robert Taft, Oct. 28, 1909, in Pringle, Life and Times, Vol. 1, p. 456.
“Of course we want”: NYT, Oct. 7, 1909.
Nearly 7,000 . . . in Portland: WHT to HHT, Oct. 2, 1909, WHTP.
in Phoenix . . . through the gates: AB, “Record of the Trip of President Taft,” in WHT Diaries, WHTP.
“Winning Taft Smile”: Albuquerque [NM] Morning Journal, Oct. 16, 1909.
“Taft’s personality”: Current Literature (November 1909), p. 476.
“really and sincerely . . . more real affection”: AB to Clara, Nov. 14, 1909, in AB, Taft and Roosevelt, Vol. 1, p. 205.
He noticed that Taft: AB to Clara, Nov. 14, 1909, in ibid., p. 206.
“They are prompted”: WHT to Frederick Carpenter, Oct. 24, 1909, WHTP.
“Whatever their judgment”: WHT to HHT, Oct. 24, 1909, WHTP.
“enjoyed every moment”: WHT, “Speech at Charleston, South Carolina, Nov. 5, 1909,” WHTP.
“266 speeches”: Current Literature (December 1909), p. 8.
“of temperament”: WHT, “Speech at Charleston, SC, Nov. 5, 1909,” WHTP.