William Howard Taft quotations
William Howard Taft quotations
Taft Said It
Be sure to see also William Howard Taft Humor & Anecdotes
What's in a saying?
Bartlett's, the standard of quotables, has a criteria beyond the aesthetics and wisdom of choice words. If you know a person or a time, you will likely find argument with Bartlett's choice to include or exclude. It was a painful excursion for the editors of those so very New York publishers to get around to seeing anything in Ronald Reagan's words except, as in my 1992 edition, a triplet of Reagan quips on big government, which the editors chose by way of the back-hand. They couldn't much ignore Reagan, for, when greatness is self-evident, there's no denying the man.
Taft does not appear in Bartlett's. I won't argue with it. I'll offer, instead, my own choice Taft words, which ought to be known.
So, open your mind, and listen to some fabulous insight and great humor:
In February of 1912, Taft took on the greatest demagogue of the age, Theodore Roosevelt. The "great" (see below) T.R. had been in a campaign for "human rights," a phrase he hadn't employed as President, but which took on a lovely ring for his populist campaign of 1912, just then being launched.
In the face of it, Taft fired off this heady volley, which we ought remember always:
It has been said, and it is a common platform expression, that it is well to prefer the man above the dollar, as if the preservation of property rights has some other purpose than the assistance to and the uplifting of human rights. Private property was not established in order to gratify love of some material wealth or capital. It was established as an instrumentality in the progress of civilization and the uplifting of man, and it is equality of opportunity that private property promotes by assuring to man the result of his own labor, thrift, and self-restraint.
When, therefore, the demagogue mounts the platform and announces that he prefers the man above the dollar, he ought to be interrogated as to what he means thereby -- whether he is in favor of abolishing the right of the institution of private property and of taking away from the poor man the opportunity to become wealthy by the use of the abilities that God has given him, the cultivation of the virtues with which practice of self-restraint and the exercise of moral courage will fortify him.
- "Taft Fires on His Opponents" New York Times, February 13, 1912
After the election in which Theodore Roosevelt was denied a third term, there was a movement to limit the presidency to a single, six-year term. Taft himself signed on to it. Of "what are we to do with our ex-Presidents," he contributed this fine idea:
Dr. Osler's method... the proper and scientific administration of a dose of chloroform, or of the fruit of the lotus tree... the funeral pyre... might make a fitting end to the life of one who has held the highest office, and at the same time would secure the country from the troublesome fear that the occupant could ever come back.
- "Lotos Club Speech," November 16, 1912, Taft Papers, Library of Congress
Nearing the end of his term, Taft hurried about putting in and affirming things important to him, one of which was his considerable efforts to promote charity. At a visit to the "Blind Lighthouse" in New York, Taft reflected on what it meant in those very human terms before him, this political idea of "equality of opportunity":
I have often wondered, when I have read the Declaration of Independence... what the blind must think about the statement that all men are born free and equal. Behind those eyes that do not see there must be a good deal of question. We are not equal in opportunity or environment. What is meant is that it is the aspiration of a popular Government to bring about as near equality of opportunity as possible. That is why we are here.
- "President Opens 'Blind Lighthouse,'" New York Times, February 23, 1913
After he left office, Taft's friends peppered him with praise and the "what ifs" he had won in 1912 and how surely he'd win in 1916. Taft didn't care for the talk. He kept his head about him, and never, ever, lost perspective. One friend rather testily "has taken exception" to Taft's having spoken of Roosevelt in terms of "greatness." Taft clarified, and with every bit of that "good hater" in him, dismissed Roosevelt's greatness as:
I am sorry to differ with you about Roosevelt -- or rather it is not a difference but it is a question of definition. I presume that Satan was a great angel but he did not prove to be on the right side and his purposes were evil. So Napoleon was a great man... Of course it is absurd to talk about Roosevelt being great in the sense that Washington was great from the standpoint of moral purpose and quality...
- Secretary Diaries, August 1, 1913, Taft Papers, Library of Congress
More soon!