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1902 William Howard Taft Signed Letter Concerning Judicial Appointment Future President and Chief Justice of Supreme Court Discusses Judicial Qualifications of David Kemper Watson and Charles Edward Magoon Tells Magoon He Told President Theodore Roosevelt He Supports Watson But Magoon Can Use Praise In Letter With President Roosevelt In Seeking Another Judicial Position
In this historic letter written by William Howard Taft deals with two qualified contenders for judicial appointments to the Court of Claims. It was probably widely known by that time that President Roosevelt had twice offered Taft a position on the United States Supreme Court, so his recommendation for judicial posts to the President was probably considered a valuable asset among judicial office seekers. At the time Taft wrote the letter he was home in Cincinnati, but still Governor General of the Philippines and about to assume his new post under President Roosevelt as Secretary of War, a post his father held under President Ulysses S. Grant. The contenders for the vacancy in the Court of Claims were former Ohio Attorney General and Congressman, David K. Watson, and an attorney for the Bureau of Insular Affairs in the War Department, Charles Edward Magoon. In the letter to Magoon Taft tells him that he had already put in the good word for Watson to President Roosevelt ("I have mentioned to the President the candidacy of ex Attorney General Watson of Ohio...the President would have the right to regard my remarks as placing me in the line of his supporters.") To weaken the blow to Magoon's judicial aspirations Taft points out that there may be other vacancies coming up to the Court of Claims and that "it may be that there are considerations that lead the President into other states than Ohio." Magoon surely understood that Ohio native Taft giving an endorsement to fellow Ohio native Watson was a natural in the political world. As it turns out, everything probably worked out the best for Magoon even though he never got a judicial appointment. In the year of our letter he published The Law of Civil Government under Military Occupation and he thereafter got a succession of administrative appointments from President Roosevelt. In 1904 he was made counsel for the Panama Canal Commission and prepared laws for the Panama Canal Zone, and in 1905 he became governor of the Canal Zone and minister to Panama. He was provisional governor of Cuba during the U.S. military occupation of 1906 to 1909. If he was a Court of Claims Judge he probably would never have been immortalized in the cover of a book, shown below. Watson, who is also shown below, never got the appointment to the Court of Claims, despite Taft's endorsement and he resumed his prosperous law practice in Ohio.
This letter from William Taft, the only man who has served in the top executive and judicial positions of the United States government, shows his diplomatic and political skills in politely dealing with a respected judicial office seeker. He correctly judged Magoon's talents and he undoubtedly continued dealing with Magoon in his positions as Secretary of War and President. A wonderful letter that is a good addition for any legal, Presidential, foreign relations or American history collector. And its framed and ready to display. Price: $550
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