The Public Record
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States, serving from 1909 to 1913. A member of the Republican Party, he was known for his trust-busting policies and efforts to promote international trade. After his presidency, Taft continued to serve the nation as the 10th Chief Justice of the United States from 1921 until his death in 1930, making him the only person to have held both the presidency and the chief justiceship. His tenure as Chief Justice was marked by a commitment to judicial restraint and the rule of law.
Judges to fulfill their functions properly in our popular Government must be more independent than in any other form of government, and that need of independence is greater where the individual is one litigant and the State, guided by the…
I must therefore withhold my approval from this resolution if in fact I do not approve it as a matter of governmental policy.
In dealing with the courts, which are the cornerstone of good government, and in which not only the voters, but the nonvoters and nonresidents, have a deep interest as a security for their rights of life, liberty, and property, no matter…
If I sign this joint resolution, I do not see how I can escape responsibility for the judicial recall of the Arizona constitution.
We believe that this benefit is best accomplished by popular government, because in the long run each class of individuals is apt to secure better provision for themselves through their own voice in government than through the altruistic…
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to the ratification of the treaty, I transmit herewith an authenticated copy of a treaty signed by the plenipotentiaries of the United States and France on August 3, 1911.
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to the ratification of the treaty, I transmit herewith an authenticated copy of a treaty signed by the plenipotentiaries of the United States and Great Britain on August 3, 1911.
It is hereby ordered that the following-described lands in Pinal County, Ariz., be, and they are hereby, reserved from settlement, entry, sale, or other disposal and set aside as an addition to the Gila River Indian Reservation, Ariz.
The whole contention that the executive order and the opening to settlement of the shore of Controller Bay grants a monopoly to the railway company rests on the claim that it has given an opportunity to persons using scrip to appropriate…
It is easy in cases like this to take the course which timidity prompts, and to do nothing, but such a course does not inure to the public weal.
I am in full sympathy with the concern of reasonable and patriotic men that the valuable resources of Alaska should not be turned over to be exploited for the profit of greedy, absorbing, and monopolistic corporations or syndicates.
It is hereby ordered that the following described lands in the State of Florida be, and they are hereby withdrawn from settlement, entry, sale, or other disposal, and set aside as a reservation for the Seminole Indians in southern Florida…
The statute can be easily amended to include the evil I have described.
Fraudulent misrepresentations of the curative value of nostrums not only operate to defraud purchasers, but are a distinct menace to the public health.
The need is urgent for legislation which will prevent the raising of false hopes of speedy cures of serious ailments by misstatements of fact as to worthless mixtures on which the sick will rely while their diseases progress unchecked.
An evil which menaces the general health of the people strikes at the life of the Nation.
It is hereby ordered that the following described lands in Pima County, Ariz., be, and they are hereby, reserved from settlement, entry, sale, or other disposal and set aside for school, agency, and other necessary uses for the benefit of…
It is hereby ordered that the following-described land, to wit, the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 26, township 18 north of range 13 west of the…
Let us leave this beautiful city of the national dead, therefore, with the deepest gratitude to the men whose valorous deeds we celebrate.
I shall not stop to discuss whether it might have been possible to accomplish the same great reform by milder methods.
We have made great progress, almost within our own memory, in such ideals.
Politicians like Bill Taft
