Delay works always for the man with the longest purse.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
“Adequate Machinery for Judicial Business,” Journal of the American Bar Association (Sep 1921)
Quotations by:
Taft, William
Too many people don’t care what happens so long as it doesn’t happen to them.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
(Attributed)
No tendency is quite so strong in human nature as the desire to lay down rules of conduct for other people.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Ladies Home Journal (May 1919)
Regarding the temperance movement. Quoted in Robert J. Schoenberg, Mr. Capone (1992).
Substantial progress toward better things can rarely be taken without developing new evils requiring new remedies.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers (1916)
We are all imperfect. We can not expect perfect government.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Speech, Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC (8 May 1909)
The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Speech, Lotus Club (16 Nov 1912)
Enthusiasm of the cause may sometimes warp judgment.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Speech, Methodist Conference, Ocean Grove, NJ (15 Aug 1911)
We have passed beyond the time of what they call the laisser-faire school which believes that the Government ought to do nothing but run a police force.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Speech, Milwaukee (17 Sep 1909)
(Source)
There is nothing so despicable as a secret society that is based upon religious prejudice and that will attempt to defeat a man because of his religious beliefs. Such a society is like a cockroach — it thrives in the dark. So do those who combine for such an end.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Speech, Young Men’s Hebrew Association, New York (20 Dec 1914)
No honest, clear-headed man, however great a lover of popular government, can deny that the unbridled expression of the majority of a community converted hastily into law or action would sometimes make a government tyrannical and cruel. Constitutions are checks upon the hasty action of the majority. They are the self-imposed restraints of a whole people upon a majority of them to secure sober action and a respect for the rights of the minority.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) US President (1909–13) and Chief Justice (1921–1930)
Veto Statement for the Arizona Enabling Act (15 Aug 1911)
(Source)
Taft vetoed the admission of Arizona to the US with a state constitution that allowed popular recall of judges.