Harvard Law School - Yearbook (Cambridge, MA)

Page 8 text:

THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON January 28, 1954 I am highly gratified to learn that the Harvard Law School Year Book for 1954 is to be dedicated to the memory of the late Senator Taft. His death last July was a shock to the countryg he was of the type for which this nation always has need. To know him was to be impressed by his character, his courage, and his knowledge of government. He estab- lished a bright record as a diligent, fearless public servant, particularly during his long service as a mem- ber of the United States Senate. On the more personal side, his death created among my circle of friends and official counsellors a feeling of heavy loss that still persists. When Bob Taft left us, a distinguished lawyer, citizen and statesman passed from our midst. I cannot help but believe that the story of his public service will be an inspiration to future classes at the Harvard Law School, as it is to us who knew him, Sincerely, of ee

Page 7 text:

Dedicated to ROBERT ALPHONSO TAET, LLB. 'IS UNITED STATES SENATOR I939-I953 I889-I953

Page 9 text:

KW-msn' ,-..-.. -, .af ,f My classmates who entered Harvard Law School in 1910 included several men of great ability like Merrick Dodd, LeRoy Percy, and Tracy Vought, not to mention those who happily are still alive. Bob Taft was outstanding among them from the very first and graduated at the top in 1913 as President of the Law Review and holder of the Fay Diploma. His yearly averages were 83, 82, 84. When I succeeded to Professor Brannan's office and books, I found tucked away just two examination papers out of his fifteen years of teaching, one of them Bob Taft's. I had the pleasure of turning it over to his son while he was also at the School. Some of our best students have confined their achievements to their examina- tions and contributed almost nothing to classroom discussions. Not so with Bob. First-year lectures had hardly started when his renown began. I-le was in the other section from mine, and I kept hearing stories at lunch of what Bob had said that morn- ing. One day when Mr. Williston had a distinguished visitor behind the desk with him in Contracts, he put on a good show for the guest by calling on Bob and Steve Philbin and a few of his other prize performers during the entire hour. Whenever I look through one of my Law School notebooks, Bob's name often crops up in the classroom col- loquies. After forty years I am struck by his penetration and soundness. Here are two passages from my notes on Conflict of Laws, one of the two best courses I ever had. Every time we thronged into Austin North, we looked forward to a delightful exhibition ofjoey Beale's marvellous acrobatics. Especially enjoyable were the clashes between his intellectual ingenuity and Bob's common sense. One day Beale was explaining how the power of choice was essential to domicile. A jailer can acquire a domicile at the jail, but a prisoner cannot because he is unable to select his home. Beale: There may be physical impossibility as when X is on a desert island. Tuf?: How large must the island be before X has a domicile? joey: Large enough so that he can live in one of two places on it.