Taft on the Presidency
100 years ago at this time, the nation was in transition from the administration of William Howard Taft to that of Woodrow Wilson. Taft had been soundly defeated in the election fo 1912, finishing third behind Wilson and his former mentor Theodore Roosevelt. Taft is to be commended for the fact that he did not appear to be bitter over the loss. He wrote at the time "the nearer I get to the inauguration of my successor, the greater the relief I feel." (In 1912, presidents were inaugurated in March, not January).
A couple of weeks after the election, Taft spoke to the Lotos Club of New York (on November 16, 1912). The subject of his talk was "the Presidency". He gave his perspective on the office, and while he had no apparent bitterness over losing, he seemed to harbour some resentment toward Roosevelt for splitting the Republican party. For example, when discussing his office, Taft said that, while the Presidency was referred to as the most powerful office in the world, those who held it were conscious of its limitations. In a thinly-veiled reference to Roosevelt that was not missed by his audience, Taft said "of course there are happy individuals who are able entirely to ignore the limitations both in mind and practice, and as to the the result may be different." He added "in an era of progress, reform, uplift and improvement, a man does not show himself abreast of an age unless he has some changes to suggest. It is the recommended change that marks his being up to date." He went on to point out that his own proposed changes were modest, saying "though I am a conservative, I am not a reactionary or a trilobite."
He went on to say "one of the results of my observation in the presidency is that the position is not to be enjoyed by a sensitive man. I do not know that this evil has been any greater in this administration. All I know is that this was my first experience and that it seemed to me as if I had been more greatly tried than most presidents by such methods. The result in some respects is unfortunate in that after one or two efforts to meet the unfounded accusations, despair in the matter leads to indifference and perhaps to an indifference toward both just and unjust criticism. This condition helps the comfort of the patient, but I doubt that it makes him a better president. Of course the reassuring formula that history will right one and give one his just meed of praise is consolatory, but it is not altogether satisfactory, because the time for remedying the injustice may be postponed until one is gathered to his fathers when he is not particularly interested in earthly history."
Taft concluded the speech with the question "what do we do with our ex-presidents?" He said:
"I am not sure Dr. Osler's method of dealing with elderly men would not usefully apply to the treatment of ex-presidents. The proper and scientific administration of a dose of chloroform or of the fruit of the lotos tree, and the reduction of the flesh of the thus quietly departed to ashes in a funeral pyre to satisfy the wishes of his friends and the families, 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. His record would have been made by one term and his demise in the honorable ceremony would relieve the country from the burden of thinking how he is to support himself and his family, would fix his place in history, and enable the public to pass on to new men and new measures. I commend this method for consideration.
"Another method has been advanced for dealing with rejected presidents. Its sponsor was William Jennings Bryan. Mr. Bryan has not exactly had the experience of being a president. He has been a near president three times, and possibly that qualified him as an expert. He proposes that ex-presidents should be confined to the business of sitting in the senate and listening to the discussions in that body. Why Mr. Bryan should think it necessary to add to the discussion in the senate the lucubrations of ex-presidents, I am at a loss to say. I can not conceive of any reform in the senate which does not lead to a limit in their debate. For many reasons I object to Mr. Bryan's disposition of ex-presidents. If I must go and disappear into oblivion, I prefer to go by the chloroform or lotos method. It's pleasanter and less drawn out."
A couple of weeks after the election, Taft spoke to the Lotos Club of New York (on November 16, 1912). The subject of his talk was "the Presidency". He gave his perspective on the office, and while he had no apparent bitterness over losing, he seemed to harbour some resentment toward Roosevelt for splitting the Republican party. For example, when discussing his office, Taft said that, while the Presidency was referred to as the most powerful office in the world, those who held it were conscious of its limitations. In a thinly-veiled reference to Roosevelt that was not missed by his audience, Taft said "of course there are happy individuals who are able entirely to ignore the limitations both in mind and practice, and as to the the result may be different." He added "in an era of progress, reform, uplift and improvement, a man does not show himself abreast of an age unless he has some changes to suggest. It is the recommended change that marks his being up to date." He went on to point out that his own proposed changes were modest, saying "though I am a conservative, I am not a reactionary or a trilobite."
He went on to say "one of the results of my observation in the presidency is that the position is not to be enjoyed by a sensitive man. I do not know that this evil has been any greater in this administration. All I know is that this was my first experience and that it seemed to me as if I had been more greatly tried than most presidents by such methods. The result in some respects is unfortunate in that after one or two efforts to meet the unfounded accusations, despair in the matter leads to indifference and perhaps to an indifference toward both just and unjust criticism. This condition helps the comfort of the patient, but I doubt that it makes him a better president. Of course the reassuring formula that history will right one and give one his just meed of praise is consolatory, but it is not altogether satisfactory, because the time for remedying the injustice may be postponed until one is gathered to his fathers when he is not particularly interested in earthly history."
Taft concluded the speech with the question "what do we do with our ex-presidents?" He said:
"I am not sure Dr. Osler's method of dealing with elderly men would not usefully apply to the treatment of ex-presidents. The proper and scientific administration of a dose of chloroform or of the fruit of the lotos tree, and the reduction of the flesh of the thus quietly departed to ashes in a funeral pyre to satisfy the wishes of his friends and the families, 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. His record would have been made by one term and his demise in the honorable ceremony would relieve the country from the burden of thinking how he is to support himself and his family, would fix his place in history, and enable the public to pass on to new men and new measures. I commend this method for consideration.
"Another method has been advanced for dealing with rejected presidents. Its sponsor was William Jennings Bryan. Mr. Bryan has not exactly had the experience of being a president. He has been a near president three times, and possibly that qualified him as an expert. He proposes that ex-presidents should be confined to the business of sitting in the senate and listening to the discussions in that body. Why Mr. Bryan should think it necessary to add to the discussion in the senate the lucubrations of ex-presidents, I am at a loss to say. I can not conceive of any reform in the senate which does not lead to a limit in their debate. For many reasons I object to Mr. Bryan's disposition of ex-presidents. If I must go and disappear into oblivion, I prefer to go by the chloroform or lotos method. It's pleasanter and less drawn out."