Executive Director's Notebook

Quite a few American presidents have traveled to Hot Springs, Virginia, to relax at The Homestead resort.

But two had the chance, before they took office, to travel to The Homestead for a vacation respite – and to address the Summer Meeting of The Virginia Bar Association.

WILSON. The first of the two was Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th president – the last president who was a native Virginian. Wilson was born in Staunton, but his family moved to Georgia when he was almost 2, a fact that is not mentioned very loudly at the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton.

In 1897, Wilson was a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, and he attended the 9^th Summer Meeting of the VBA, then known as the Virginia State Bar Association.

He was the featured speaker who delivered the Annual Address.

Wilson opened his speech by noting, “I am a lawyer and a Virginian. I feel here the sort of exhilaration that must always come to a man who returns from a distance to breathe his native air again.”

The address, “Leaderless Government,” called for a stronger American presidency.

Considering he assumed that office 16 years later, scholars have studied his speech at Hot Springs to understand Wilson’s view of the office.

The Homestead is a famous golfing destination, but it’s unlikely that Wilson took to the links in 1897, because he didn’t play at the time. However, when was 55 and in the White House, his physician told him to take up the game for his health. Wilson became an avid golfer, often playing with his doctor, according to an article from the Golf Heritage Society.

Wilson’s first wife, Ellen, died in 1914. A year later he met and wooed a widow named Edith Galt. One of Edith’s favorite hobbies was playing golf. The couple married just before Christmas 1915. And their honeymoon destination will be no surprise. They traveled to The Homestead, where they played The Old Course, which had been newly redesigned by famous golf course architect Donald Ross.

TAFT. The other president-to-be who spoke at a VBA Summer Meeting was William Howard Taft, the 27^th president. Taft is probably best remembered for his size – he was a big man who was 6 feet tall and weighed 332 pounds. And recently, he has gained renewed fame among baseball fans – the Washington Nationals added “Big Bill” as the fifth of the “racing presidents” who entertain fans by running around the ballpark.

Back in 1908, though, Taft was Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary of War – and TR wanted Taft to succeed him as president. Roosevelt cleared the way for his protégé, and Taft was tapped to lead the ticket at the Republican national convention in Chicago in June.

Then, in a move that irritated his political advisors, Taft and his family headed to Virginia for a two-month stay at The Homestead.

What did Taft do at The Homestead? He played golf. A lot of golf. The Old Course was his personal favorite.

Taft’s stay at The Homestead lasted from July through August. In early August, the Virginia State Bar Association convened its 20^th Summer Meeting in Hot Springs.

On Aug. 6, Taft presented a speech called, "The Administration of Justice - Its Speeding and Cheapening.” A former judge, Taft called for the simplification of judicial procedure.  He saw the inequality when a poor litigant has to endure delays which are practically ruinous to him financially, while a richer man or a corporation can afford to wait.

Delay “is a great advantage for that litigant who has the longer purse,” he said, according to VBA records. He proposed limiting the opportunity for appeals on questions of procedure.

Taft won the 1908 election handily over Democrat William Jennings Bryan.

But schmoozing with lawyers from the VBA at The Homestead didn’t help Taft any. During the 1908 election, Bryan won Virginia’s 12 electoral votes by garnering 61% of the vote in the fall.

The Executive Director's Notebook is a monthly column written by Paul Fletcher, executive director of The Virginia Bar Association.