Talk:William Howard Taft/Archive 1

Not Actually the President?
The sidebar referring to his term in office as President lists Warren G. Harding as President, Taft was the first president to get an STD too —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.19.45.121 (talk) 04:52, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Taft and Roosevelt
Were Taft and Roosevelt friends before their rivalry for the presidential seat?

Yup, they met when Roosevelt was on the Civil Service Commission and Taft was Solicitor General in Benjamin Harrison administration, 1890-91(?). Sheldon Novick 21:48, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Slight confusion
I am a little confused. The article talks about someone named Alphonso Hranchak. He is mentioned in Taft's early years section. Who is this? Kimberly H  18:59, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

is there any cool pages that can tell me a lot of good stuff about him?
Sorry, Bush, I didn't get that...? Aceholiday (talk) 13:50, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Acting President???
In the article it says that when Roosevelt was away Taft was in effect acting President. Wouldn't Vice President Charles Warren Fairbanks have been effect the acting President in Roosevelt's absence. Was Fairbanks absent as well if so the article should make that clear.--The Shadow Treasurer 04:06, 15 July 2006 (UTC)


 * vice presidents were nobodies before the 1950s. TR trusted Taft and was setting him up for the presidency. Rjensen 04:35, 15 July 2006 (UTC)

Trivia section
Trivia sections on Wikipedia are considered very bad form. All imformation within this section should be dispersed to apropriate places within the article. --The_stuart 18:31, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Here's the thing about trivia, there are some truthful things that occured that are listed in this. Prehaps the term, "trivia" isn't approate, however, this list of facts is something that a reader can skim through and read. I think a decent amount of views come from the fact that he was stuck in a bathtub, not the fact that he was a Supreme Court Chief Justice on a case like US v. Myers (I may have screwed up that order). Yanksox 18:34, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Danny, thanks for adding those tables. The format works great on my Opera browser, and I enjoy using the links the table provides. --Ed Poor


 * Thanks, Ed. Eventually, I hope to get to adding some information to the articles too. Most of them are pretty scanty. Danny
 * By providing the framework, you create an inviting and hospitable "home" for others to contribute their "homework" as well. Structure is essential. Ed Poor


 * Why is the bathtub story removed? It's one of the most-remembered things about Taft, and many people will come to the article wanting to learn the veracity and details of the incident.--Scottandrewhutchins (talk) 04:23, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

First Lady Helen Herron Taft was originally Helen Herron before marriage to William Howard Taft. Reason of edit: full maiden name appears in most presidential bios. --65.73.0.137

I stumbled on a piece by Terry Jones which made me realise WHT has a slew of descendants warranting their own articles; cf Disinfopedia on WHT4. 142.177.24.97 16:16, 16 Jun 2004 (UTC)

The links here (and in other articles) indicate that Bob Taft is Robert Taft II, but the Bob Taft page says he is Robert Taft III, and wouldn't Robert Taft II = Robert Taft Jr.? Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm not then this is an error in not only this article but several others. :) Tim
 * Well, since nobody commented in a couple days, I went ahead and made the change, and will try and change it wherever else I can find it, too. Tim 16:22, Jul 14, 2004 (UTC)


 * Didn't see this until now. Sorry I didn't comment earlier. Robert Alphonso Taft I's son was just Robert Taft. He is generally referred to as "Robert Taft Jr." for the sake of convenience, but, really, he is not a "Jr.," because his name is not identical to his father's (he didn't have the middle name "Alphonso"). His son is Robert Alphonso Taft II, not III, because he was named after his grandfather. In this case, II does not equal Jr. So I changed this back wherever I found it. Acsenray 15:15, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the clarification. Looks like you found all the edits I made. Tim 15:18, Jul 27, 2004 (UTC)

Revert and capitalization...
I stumbled on the fact that the Cabinet box was whacked. I reverted back to the "12:39, 7 May 2005" version and then went back and manually added what had been changed. The one exception to this is that I did not capitalize "armed forces" which I think is a generic term and not a proper noun. If you know better than I on this, feel free to capitalize it. Wikibofh 15:59, 14 May 2005 (UTC)

Insomnia
I spent two years researching Taft's sleep problems, but never ran across a mention of post-presidential insomnia. If someone has a reference, that would be great (and very interesting to me), but if not, I would be inclined to strike the phrase about insomnia. July 14, 2005.


 * No source I know of. Be bold and go ahead and remove it.  :)  Wikibofh 03:45, 15 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Great advice - thanks for the tip and the boldness pointer. Revision has been made.  July 28, 2005

Question
I am researching any information on a gift of an origional Bronze Remington (statue) that was given to the Secretary of War in 1904, should be Taft or Root. Anyone have information??
 * Unsigned comment by LouisSexton@Comcast.Net 05:47, 17 September 2005 (UTC)

Clarification on Chief Justice quotes
This article has two sentences which are seemingly contradictory. In the section on Taft's appointments to the Supreme Court it says that Edward Douglass White was "the first Chief Justice to be elevated from Associate". In the section on Taft's appointment as Chief Justice it says "He was also the first chief justice without any prior high court experience." The second sentence would imply that every Chief Justice prior to Taft was elevated from Associate Justice to Supreme Court.

So, which is it? Does "prior high court experience" in the second sentence refer to some other sort of "high court" or "experience"? Dharris 15:59, 3 October 2005 (UTC)


 * Scanning the wikipedia articles of White and the eight Chief Justices prior to White, it's clear that the first sentence is more accurate. Given that "prior high court experience" was not adequately explained by whomever added that, I'm going to remove that sentence. Dharris 16:05, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Your action is correct, that second statement is obviously not true. NoSeptember  16:09, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

Fatal error: Call to a member function on a non-object in /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.5/extensions/LuceneSearch.php on line 402 what do i do??!! i really need some help

Last President to have facial hair
Lincoln was the first bearded US President, Grant the first to have both a mustach & beard ,how about Taft the last President to have facial hair (in this case, a mustache). Since Taft every US President has been clean shavened. 25 October 2005
 * I agree. Great trivia.  Go ahead and insert it.  I can even provide a book reference for it. :)  Wikibofh 03:40, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Minor Change
Corrected the spelling of "graduated" in "Education" -- NitishP


 * Nice catch. Thanks.  Wikibofh 15:44, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

Chief Justice
I added a chief justice box to make continuing along that path easier. It was really strange to be able to click successor on chief justices and suddenly I had a president successor as my option.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Flyingember (talk • contribs) 02:28, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

"I don't remember that I ever was President"
Did he say this or write it - the sources I'm finding are split... also, I'd like to nail down a date for this quote. bd2412 T 20:26, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

Skull & Bones
An anonymous user has been insisting today on adding Skull & Bones club membership information to this article on Taft. The information has nothing to do with Taft himself, and it already exists in the Skull & Bones articles. A couple of us have reverted these edits, and I've left a message on the IP's talk page. With luck and reason, this won't continue. I've seen similar debates in articles on other historical figures, and in the end, keeping the historical articles clutter free has won out. However, I welcome any and all discussion and consensus building here. Rklawton 22:27, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

Dubious fact
I removed this item because I cannot find a town or county with these names. Maybe someone else can help correct this.


 * The town of Siloam, Michigan was re-named "Taft" in his honor, as was a nearby school. This Losco County town was a flagstop on the Rose City branch of the Detroit and Mackinac Railway.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Vaoverland (talk • contribs) 13:13, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

Taft's First Election
I removed the reference to Taft as "uncharismatic" and softened the phrase about him being politically "inept". Taft was neither inept or uncharismatic, but suffered more than a bit in comparison to TR. Markp6 15:49, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

7th inning stretch--myth
"A second Taft myth had him inadvertently creating the seventh-inning stretch. Nice, but untrue. More than forty years earlier, in 1869, Harry Wright of the Red Stockings wrote to a friend about a local custom: "The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh innings, exent their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief affoded by relaxation from a long posture on hard benches."" from Baseball: The Presidents' Game by William B. Mead 1997. Page 27. Rjensen 23:34, 31 March 2006 (UTC)


 * The seventh-inning stretch entry contains more information that seems to contradict the Taft story. Perhaps this could be left in as folklore, with the disclaimer that it's just a myth? Markzero 15:48, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
 * done Rjensen 16:11, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Schools
''* There is an elementary school in Riverside, CA named after him. Taft (William Howard) Elementary. There are probably hundreds of WH Taft public schools in the US, why single out and name these two? --NEMT 00:20, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
 * There is a high school in Woodland Hills, CA named after him. (William Howard) Taft High School.''

Descriptors
I had added to the initial description in the article's introduction several descriptors that were removed: "progressive conservative" and "staunch advocate of pacifisim". I am not sure why, as they were very accurate. President Taft was not a per se "leader of the conservative wing of the Republican party." He consistently described his political philosophy as "progressive conservatism:" erring on the side of caution but always with a mind toward civic, economic, and social progress. He believed in equal rights for all people, he abhorred discrimination, and he desired the end of Jim Crow, antisemitism, war, and barriers due to social and ethnic concerns. At the same time, however, he believed that refined capitalism and traditional civilization were the best ways to achieve these ends. As such, he was not merely "conservative," but he was (as, again, he described himself), a "progressive conservative." I have reinserted this language and believe that it should remain. As well, he WAS a pacifist. When WWI broke out in Europe, he headed the "league to enforce peace." Just listen to his 1909 speech about the horrors of war, in which he called for the end of war forever. Of course, when WWI did break out he believed in total commitment - not for war's sake, but so that the war could be over as soon as possible and with the fewest casualties and horrors possible. He consistently advocated peace and the worldwide abolition of war. If this isn't pacifism, I don't know what is. I have reinserted this descriptor and believe that it, too, should remain. 65.28.2.172 16:01, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


 * "progressive conservatism" sounds odd without explanation. In 1911+ he was indeed the leader of the conservative wing of the party, whipping TR and emphasizing judicial power. He was Secty of War who always called for a powerful military. He (and the pacifists) would have been stunned to hear him called a pacifist. That is very different from trying to end wars. (Addams and Ford were pacifists.) Rjensen 20:49, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Rjensen, you aren't accounting for WHY Taft called for a powerful military. He only believed in prosecuting a war if it were a "necessity," and he struggled long and hard to come up with reasons that WWI was a "necessity" (promulgating them in a document in which he explicitly refers to himself as a "pacifist." Generally, he summed up his beliefs thusly: "I am willing to admit that war has accomplished much in the progress of the world. I am willing to admit that there are certain crises in the forward march of Christian civilization that perhaps could not have been met than in any other way than by the sword. I am willing to admit that war develops certain heroic traits in men and furnishes a test for the evidence of the highest character. Perhaps too, it trains and disciplines people. But the other side of the picture justifies the prayer of every man, of every civilized man, that war should be abolished and that the suffering, cruelty, corruption and demoralization that follow in its train should be, as far as we can bring it about, lifted as a burden from the human race. It is our duty to take every legitimate and proper step we can to persuade the nations of the world to settle their controversies in some other way." If this isn't pacifism, I don't know what is.
 * As for "progressive conservatism," TR never referred to himself as a "conservative;" he referred to himself as a "progressive." Taft, however, referred to his philosophy as "progressive conservatism" and "practical reform" so as to distance himself from "conservatism." Taft himself labeled his sociopolitical and judicial philosophies thusly: "I am a lover of the Constitution and a believer in progressive conservatism." (Burton, Taft, Holmes, and the 1920s Court, p. 127). So, to say he headed merely the "conservative wing" carries too much baggage, especially in today's popular sociopolitical clime. Taft was an unideological believer in historical contextualism and rationalism and reliance on tradition, but also believed that sincere progress in the equality of and peace among all men could be derived from changes erring on the side of caution.  As he stated, "Substantial progress toward better things can rarely be taken without developing new evils requiring new remedies." (Taft, Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers - 1916).  This is his "progressive conservatism," which is a far different thing than mere "conservatism." 65.28.2.172 21:22, 26 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Taft as pacifist--I think it's the wrong word. He was a peace advocate.  Most statesmen call for war only when it is absolutely necessay. In 1910 era Pacifists said that peace is absolutely necessary and never called for war. The "pacifists" were numerous and well organized in 1900-1918 and they distrusted Taft and even opposed his arbitration treaties. Taft is not even mentioned in A World without War: How U.S. Feminists and Pacifists Resisted World War I. by Frances H. Early 1997.  DeBenedetti says "Tellingly, prewar peace advocates backed President Taft's arbitration treaties with an unsettling ambivalence." The Peace Reform in American History p 89.

so let's call Taft a "peace advocate". Rjensen 22:05, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Come now, Rjensen, that's ahumanistic. If Taft sincerely believed that he was a pacifist (which he clearly did), who cares what his contemporaries thought of him?  Of COURSE prewar peace advocates were uneasy about being on the same side as a Yalie Republican!  Taft's party had only recently waged the Spanish-American War, so of course when he, of the same party, comes out in 1909 and says "It is our duty to take every legitimate and proper step we can to persuade the nations of the world to settle their controversies in some other way," I don't blame them for being skeptical.  Gandhi's conteporaries decried him as "a little colored man in a loincloth;" does that then become all he was?  Hell, Hitler was Time's "Man of the Year" in 1933.  What one's contemporaries think of one is not necessarily what one is.  The same is true of Taft.  The Wikipedia article on "pacifism" defines the topic as, "the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved, to absolute opposition to the use of violence, or even force, in any circumstance."  Taft believed that international disputes could and should peacefully be resolved and opposed war or violence as a means of settling disputes.  In so doing, he called himself a "pacifist."  Thus, he was a pacifist.  Certainly, include the extra descriptor that his contemporaries may not have accepted him as such, but to say he wasn't a pacifist because his CONTEMPORARIES didn't think so does not seem reasonable. Leave it be as it is.  65.28.2.172 13:29, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Dr. Taft?
Since Taft had an LL.D. from Yale (for which he wrote a dissertation), in addition to his LL.B. (what we'd call a "JD" today), and ordinarily people with LL.D.s (or JSDs or SJDs or whatever we sometimes call them today) are called "Doctor", because it's basically a Ph.D. in Law, shouldn't he be Dr. William Howard Taft? Strange you never see this. Perhaps he characteristically downplayed his education. 65.28.2.172 13:40, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
 * He was also President William Howard Taft and Chief Justice William Howard Taft. I'm sure Taft thought those titles gave him more than enough distinction; everyone knew what he had accomplished. Only self-important egomaniacs like Idi Amin tend to affix every title they can claim in front of their name (His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada). Jsc1973 03:37, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

"Trivial things"
Rjensen, Taft's 1930 New York Times obituary discusses his rowing and wrestling at Yale. Dunn's 1908 biography discusses his father's opposition to Walter Camp's invitation for him to join the fledgling football squad. Yale's archives DO show that he received an honorary LLD in 1893. He DID receive his LL.B. from Cincinnati in 1880. He WAS Dean and Professor of Law at Cincinnati between 1896 and 1900, as Cincinnati Law School's archives show. These events DID happen. They ARE true. They all even are cited to the proper authorities. You are not the arbitrator of Taft's history, nor is Pringle (have you even read Dunn's very comprehensive, pre-presidential biography?). These are not "trivial events." Taft's activities at Yale, his degrees, and his first deanship/professorship are all worthy facts to be included in this biography. Moreover, most of these facts have been in here for months without anyone except you objecting to them. There is no good reason to do away with them. What's more, why de-wikify what you have de-wikified? Spain, the bar, and prosecutor are all proper wikifications. Please provide justificiation for your proposed changes. 65.28.2.218 20:49, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
 * a million things happened in Taft's very busy lifetime. The job of Wiki editors is to decide the important ones to include, and which do not make the cut. That means 99% of the events mentioned by Dunn or Pringle have to be left out. Rjensen 16:04, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * You said "we can safely leave out things that did not happen," but those things DID happen! Walter Camp DID want Taft to join the squad, but the elder Taft disapproved (Dunn, chapter 1). Taft WAS an accomplished wrestler and rower (obituary, Dunn). Fine, leave out the stuff about his honorary degree (presidents do accumulate many), but there is no good reason to leave out the information about his Yale activities. Yes, Wiki editors must decide what to include, but you are not the ONLY Wiki editor, Rjensen. This article is not your proprietary page. You are the only one who ever has objected to his Yale activities being included in this article, and they have been there for a long time without any other objection whatsoever. Because you have presented no good reason to leave them out, they rightly should be included. 134.193.247.248 16:14, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I don't see anything wrong with including such information. They certainly don't detract from the article that I could see.  At the very worse, one can always create another article to focus on that time of Taft's life.  The George Washington article is a prime example of this.   ~ (The Rebel At) ~  16:34, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * it's a matter of deciding what's important. If people have 5 minutes to read the article and they get loads of little things they will miss the big picture.Rjensen 16:55, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I think the details add flavor to his character, I'm in favor of leaving them in. Wjhonson 17:02, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Rjensen, these "details" should not be moved to the "trivia" section. The article is in chronological order. You are the only editor who objects to them at all. Because they concern Taft's time as an undergraduate at Yale, they are appropriately placed chronologically in the portion of the article about his time at Yale. Leave them be! 65.28.2.218 00:23, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Last president to serve in a public office after leaving office?
I believe that the statement that Taft "thus far, is also the last President to hold a public office after his Presidential term ended" may not be correct, depending on the meaning of "public office." See Herbert Hoover. Newyorkbrad 05:48, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

College days
As his official biographer states, with citations: "Taft was not athletic. He was not on the crew. He played neither baseball nor football...."I was urged to offer myself for the crew," Taft recalled, "but my father had other ideas which I induced him to modify with respect to my brother, who came after me, and who made the crew." 17 "[fn = G. W. Burton to Pringle, Oct. 18, 1933. Taft's statement in American Physical Education Review, April, 1916.] The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography. Volume: 1 by Henry F. Pringle 1939. Page 38. A serious biography trumps an anonymous newspaper obit or popular writer who garbled the story into football (long before Yale played football). Rjensen 18:32, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

"Eaten by wolves"
In a Saturday Night Live piece from 1996, Dana Carvey did an impersonation of Tom Brokaw pretaping news tags prior to a vacation. Doing a whole series on the death of Gerald Ford, he balked when the tag was "Tragedy today as former president Gerald Ford was eaten by wolves. He was delicious." The off camera director tells him "Taft was eaten by wolves." This is the inspiration for recent vandalism. Wainstead 17:33, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

The montage
I downloaded the montage but it seems that it is corrupted, it only plays the first like 20 secs and then cuts out. Any way we can get the original and post it? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.200.162.135 (talk) 05:55, 17 January 2007 (UTC).

Did Lafollete really have a cheese fetish
Wtf?! That seems kinda strange to be true. So I wanted to see if it really was, or just some idiot editing this again. So... feedback please!

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.159.45.130 (talk) 12:56, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Baby Ruth
The trivia piece about Baby Ruth claims that the candy bar was named for Taft's daughter, when in fact the candy bar is allegedly named after Grover Cleveland's daughter. Whether or not Taft was fond of the candy bars or not, I have no idea.
 * Unsigned comment by lonnold@yahoo.com

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.17.167.240 (talk) 22:20, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

Presidential and Supreme Court trivia

 * At 6 feet, and weighing over 350 pounds (159 kg), Taft was the heaviest President, although Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson, Jefferson, Arthur, George H.W. Bush, Franklin Roosevelt, Clinton, Washington, Jackson, and Reagan were taller. Buchanan, Ford, Garfield, Harding, Kennedy, Monroe, and Tyler all were as tall as Taft.
 * Taft's weight caused him to become stuck in the bathtub in the White House several times, prompting the installation of a new bathtub capable of holding all of the men who installed it, something the White House denied until the bathtub was torn out years later.
 * Taft was the last American president to have had facial hair (in his case, a moustache), as of 2007.
 * Taft was an avid baseball fan, but contrary to myth he did not create the seventh-inning stretch, which was a custom decades earlier. He was, however, the first American president to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game, at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1910.
 * Taft was the first American president to golf as a hobby.
 * Taft was the first president to occupy the Oval Office when it was opened in October 1909.
 * It is rumored that Taft was so concerned with his appearance that during his term as president he would only wear three piece suits with three buttons on the jacket out in public.
 * Taft was the first American president to own a presidential automobile. He converted the White House stables into a four-car garage in 1909.
 * Taft owned a Holstein cow, Pauline Wayne, which he let graze freely on the White House lawn. Pauline was the last cow to live at the White House.  She provided milk for the president and his family.
 * He is one of two presidents buried at Arlington (the other being John F. Kennedy) and one of four chief justices buried at Arlington (the others being Earl Warren, Warren Burger, and William Rehnquist).
 * He was the first Chief Justice that did not die in office since Oliver Ellsworth and was the only Chief Justice ever to have a state funeral.

Popular culture

 * "Blasting Taft" has become an increasingly popular euphemism for masturbation on certain internet message boards.
 * Richard Armour's poem It All Started with Columbus describes Taft as being "as big as two ordinary men, and fortunately named both William and Howard." Armour wrote that Taft tried to stay in the middle of the road, but "was run over by the Democratic machine."
 * In The Simpsons episode "Homer the Smithers", Waylon Smithers tells Homer Simpson that Mr. Burns never forgave his mother - aged 122 in 1996 - for having an affair with Taft.
 * In a famous Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Dana Carvey as Tom Brokaw, Taft was said to have been eaten by wolves.

small>—Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.165.9.151 (talk) 20:58, 30 September 2007 (UTC)

Deleting material sourced by tax fraud web site
I am deleting the material regarding the link to the "Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry" (SEDM), which is actually another "activity" of Mr. Christopher M. Hansen. For those Wikipedia editors who don't know who Hansen is, check this out from the U.S. Department of Justice web site, which shows a Federal court order identifying SEDM as one of Hansen's "tax-fraud schemes" (that's the court's wording, not mine):. See also I have seen some talk in another forum questioning why Hansen apparently has not yet complied with the court order shutting down his activity, but that's another story.

At any rate, one of the basic tenets of Wikipedia is that we must use reliable sources. A web site that has been ruled in a court of law to be part of a "tax-fraud scheme" probably does not fit the bill. Yours, Famspear 03:40, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Error report
The U.S. Presidency and Chief Justice roles are interchanged. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 147.83.106.135 (talk) 20:15, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

Taft's Place of Death
Just a question. From my research I discovered that Taft died at the Petersen Boarding House is Washington DC. This is the boarding house where Lincoln was taken after Ford's Theater and where he passed away. Just wondered if anyone else found this and could confirm? --Tim McDowell, Colorado 75.70.232.197 17:58, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

Sixteenth Amendment verbiage
I found some glaring errors in the discussion of the Sixteenth Amendment, which I have corrected. The article had incorrectly stated that the Amendment was needed to authorize a tax on individuals as opposed to corporations. That is completely incorrect. The Congress always had the power to tax the incomes of both individuals and corporations, and did so many times. No Federal court has ever ruled that a Federal income tax would be invalid merely because it was imposed on "individuals." See the article on the Sixteenth Amendment and the related article on the Pollock case. Famspear (talk) 17:37, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

Misspelling
In "Death and Legacy", "apocryphal" is misspelled as having two Ps. 207.224.13.134 (talk) 03:21, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Under "Political Career", where it says,"...he viewed the Filipinos of not yet being incapable of governing themselves and because of his popularity among them.[18]" It should be capable. I checked the web site given, since the sentence structure was a little hard to understand to confirm (007pale (talk) 02:12, 30 March 2009 (UTC)).

Are you sure?
I've heard that he famously got stuck in the shower. Could I confirm that?--Andrzejestrować ZP Pbjornovich (talk) (contributions) 17:11, 29 August 2008 (UTC)

Photo of Taft and worker sitting on block of ice -- worthy of inclusion?




Hi, folks. A long while back I purchased on eBay what I believe to be an original photograph of President Taft and a worker sitting on blocks of ice. According to the seller, the worker was a relative who had installed the first air conditioning system in the White House. A little bit of searching shows that Taft didn't install a true AC system, but rather a cooling system in which air was blown over blocks of ice (source link).

I've posted the front and back of the photo to the right here.

I've read that Taft was keen on adopting new technologies during his presidency -- e.g., radio, the automobile. This would seem to be a good example of his eagerness to exploit technology, with decent source material to accompany it. Does anybody else feel that a section on some of the technological changes that were adopted during Taft's presidency would merit inclusion in the article, or is there a place in the article to work in a few sentences on this material? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.68.114.160 (talk) 15:44, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

That's not President Taft in the photo. That person is bald and looks nothing like Taft, other than that he is similarly (but not quite as) rotund. 75.87.72.104 (talk) 00:43, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

Fact or Fiction
I once read that Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub, but I do not see it in the article, is this false? --67.242.64.116 (talk) 22:56, 20 October 2008 (UTC)

It's true. --MissMeticulous (talk) 00:52, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

William Howard Taft II?
As the subject of the article is the son of Alphonso Taft and no numeral comes after his name, I assume he's the first individual named 'William Howard Taft'; although neither of his sons have the same name, his grandson is 'William Howard Taft III'- the Taft Family entry doesn't list a 'William Howard Taft II' either. Was there one, who just wasn't notable (although I think still warrants a mention somewhere) or is there a mistake in their naming? Many thanks for answers. Ashiyura (talk) 22:40, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Presidential Oath
I dont seem to have the authority to edit the article, but Taft did not, as the article indicates, swear in Calvin Coolidge as president. Due to the impromptu nature of his inauguration, a justice of the supreme court of D.C. did so. See Calvin Coolidge to confirm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.69.119.94 (talk) 22:04, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes, when Harding died in 1923 his father swore him in, but Calvin Coolidge was re-elected in 1924, and at the March 1925 inauguration, Taft indeed administered the oath. 141.166.157.47 (talk) 22:36, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Order of Precedence
I know that Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the last Office Taft had held. However I feel that being President of the United States is Higher in stature. If you were to open World Book Encyclopedia, or Encyclopedia Britannica it would show the fact that he was 27th President first, and then highlight how he went on to become the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. I am bringing this up because I feel the information in his Infobox should be showing he was President first, then Chief Justice.

I feel it should be like that, due to the Office of President of the United States being higher in the Order of Precedence.--Subman758 (talk) 16:13, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Nation's Largest Bathtub?
The article closes with the questioned fact that the White House now houses the largest bath tub in the country. I think that is going to have be be qualified and referenced, or else deleted. I've seen some outrageous bath tubs as large as small swimming pools that were installed for bathing and not for swimming. I don't think the White House has such, or we would already have heard a great deal about it. I suspect that somewhere in this great nation is a plutocrat with enough cash and ego to have the biggest bathtub.

Is the qualification in this case that the "tub" must be a tub of cast iron? In any case, we need reference.

I recently saw photos of President Taft's tub being installed in the White House, with four workmen sitting in it. I believe the photos might have been in National Geographic magazine. A pity we can't include them, as this bathtub is clearly a great part of presidential folklore.

Your suggestions welcome.

Carl Gusler (talk) 16:47, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

how much did he weigh? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.109.2.110 (talk) 16:38, 26 January 2009 (UTC)


 * How about the bathtub that Francis Buxton had, from Pee Wee's Big Adventure? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.16.124.196 (talk) 00:29, 12 September 2009 (UTC)

Bot-created subpage
A temporary subpage at User:Polbot/fjc/William Howard Taft was automatically created by a perl script, based on this article at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. The subpage should either be merged into this article, or moved and disambiguated. Polbot (talk) 22:54, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

error regarding Taft's health
One reads the following near the bottom of the article:

''Medical condition

Evidence from eyewitnesses and from Taft himself strongly suggests that he had severe obstructive sleep apnea during his presidency, resulting from his obesity. Within a year of leaving the presidency, Taft lost approximately 80 pounds (32 kg).''

80 pounds is 36.3 kg. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.70.17.32 (talk) 22:35, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Double Negative Correction Needed
Under Political Career is the following:

but he reluctantly declined since he viewed the Filipinos of not yet being incapable of governing themselves and because

"not yet incapable" looks to me like an inadvertent double negative, making the sentence mean the opposite of what is intended. Judging from the context, either "not yet" needs to be changed to "still", or better, "incapable" to "capable." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.48.130.253 (talk) 12:24, 16 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Correction made. Tom (North Shoreman) (talk) 00:12, 6 June 2009 (UTC)


 * English originally made use of double or even triple negatives, for emphasis. This whole "double negative" thing is artificially constructed. So I demand that you revert it back. —ᚹᚩᛞᛖᚾᚻᛖᛚᛗ ( ᚷᛖᛋᛈᚱᛖᚳ ) 23:50, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

small change needed: "incapable" to "capable"
Page says:

...he reluctantly declined since he viewed the Filipinos of not yet being incapable of governing themselves ...

the double negative needs to be cleared up with wither a change of 'incapable' to 'capable' or 'not yet' being changed to 'still'.

As a matter of style I'd suggest changing 'incapable' to 'capable'

Already done North Shoreman already took care of this. Celestra (talk) 02:15, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Phi Beta Kappa
Is this really relevant enough to be mentioned in the introduction to the article? I really can't see how the fact that he was a member of this or that fraternity in college qualifies as one of the most important points made. Article development.

--3M (talk) 01:27, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

change "cenotaph" to "headstone" in photo caption
A cenotaph is a memorial to a dead person who lies elsewhere. The photo shows a headstone, as one can deduce from the inscription and the mention of the wife. 69.121.6.97 (talk) 16:39, 17 December 2009 (UTC)captcrisis

Reason for Resignation or Retirement from the Supreme Court?
In the table on the List_of_Justices_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States Taft is listed as having resigned from the as compared to "retired." Also, the footnote alludes to some disagreement over whether he resigned or retired. I think it would be interesting to cover this in more detail in this article about him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by JimD (talk • contribs) 08:26, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Relevance?
Is his physical stature really relevant enough to have in the introductory portion of the article? Wouldn't it better be under a subcategory? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.232.72.153 (talk) 10:37, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Carl Panzram story
I can find no source earlier than 1970 for the story of Carl Panzram burglarizing Taft's home. This causes me to question the veracity of this account. Cheers! bd2412 T 22:43, 21 December 2010 (UTC)

Utah's Sen. Thomas Kearns and relationship with Roosevelt & Taft
U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns (1901 - 1905 Utah), mining magnate, newspaper owner, and railroad builder was the first gentile U.S. Senator from Utah. He enjoyed a close relationship with Presidents McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. In 1903 Roosevelt made a special trip to Utah and made a point of a special lunch at the Kearns mansion (now the Utah's Governor's mansion) Kearns later broke with the Republican Party in Utah and formed the "American Party" which is thought to be the inspiration for Roosevelt's "Progressive Party." This is especially relevant in that it split the Republican vote and Woodrow Wilson, a democrat, won the election. Roosevelt and Taft remained friends with Thomas Kearns until his death in 1918. A new book is being published with companion DVD by Coventry-LDS press in the next month, with never before scene photographs and letters between Kearns and the two presidents. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.182.201.141 (talk) 04:48, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

President Taft's pony brigade
In Taft's later years, he devoted his life to developing a brigade of ponies capable of killing the British. Why is this not mentioned in the article??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chemtype (talk • contribs) 20:34, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Year of appointment to Court of Appeals
Article gives year of appointment to Court of Appeals as 1891. This is unlikely as Wikipedia says he served as Solicitor General until 1892.

His denomination's biography says he was appointed to the court in 1893. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.175.109.15 (talk) 22:28, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

The Sixth Circuit's site says Taft was confirmed and appointed to the Court in 1892. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laurelcooper (talk • contribs) 22:43, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Diabetes?
Did Taft have Diabetes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.139.124.250 (talk) 14:56, 24 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Well did he? --93.142.246.54 (talk) 14:21, 30 August 2011 (UTC)


 * How about someone actually answering my damn question? I even signed so that you bots won't have to clean up the mess!--212.15.184.158 (talk) 18:55, 14 September 2011 (UTC)


 * According to this, he didn't.Tratchy (talk) 20:29, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * According to Anderson, no. You're welcome. Hoppyh (talk) 23:41, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Overcrowding/importance of images
There are a number of instances where the article is overcrowded with images, in some cases the images also lack adequate import to be included, per WP:image guidelines.

I have removed the following audio file due to overcrowding: Listen|filename=Taft_-_The Farmer and the Republican Party.ogg|title="The Farmer and the Republican Party"|description=A speech given in Kansas City, Missouri, 1908|format=Ogg. Hoppyh (talk) 13:09, 26 September 2011 (UTC) I have removed the following image due to overcrowding: File:Taft Roosevelt policies2.jpg|thumb|Roosevelt handing responsibility to Taft in 1909.Hoppyh (talk) 13:12, 26 September 2011 (UTC) I have remove the following image to eliminate overcrowding: File:NG1917 Charles Phelps Taft II.png|thumb|Taft says goodbye to his son, Charles Phelps Taft II as he leaves for World War I.Hoppyh (talk) 13:23, 26 September 2011 (UTC) I have removed the following image due to overcrowding - link provided.Hoppyh (talk) 13:27, 26 September 2011 (UTC) I have removed the following image to eliminate overcrowding.File:1912 Electoral Map.png|right|thumb|Electoral votes by state, 1912.Hoppyh (talk) 01:33, 2 October 2011 (UTC) I have removed the following image of taft and War Sec. Root to subst. pic of Taft's wife. File:Taft-Root.jpg|thumb|left|Taft with United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War Elihu Root in 1904.Hoppyh (talk) 19:11, 7 October 2011 (UTC)