Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt
Secretary of War Taft agrees with President Roosevelt’s decision to appoint John Marshall Harlan. Taft then analyzes the political considerations in making the appointment of the Supreme Court justice who will succeed Henry Billings Brown. Taft also expresses concern about Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal John F. Stevens’s inability to answer the charges of Poultney Bigelow’s article in The Cosmopolitan, even if the charges have no foundation. In addition, Taft notifies Roosevelt that he tried to get Major George W. Goethals, an army engineer, to be Secretary of the Board to live on the Isthmus of Panama, but the presence of Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission Joseph Bucklin Bishop prevents it. Taft recognizes that Congressman Julius C. Burrows is “indignant” about Taft’s involvement in the appointment of District Judge in the Western District of Michigan, but Taft does not think Burrows is justified.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-08-21
