Editing Archibald Butt (section)

==Service to two presidents==
[[File:Butt, Baden-Powell, Taft, Bryce2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Butt (''left, in uniform'') on the White House portico with [[Robert Baden-Powell]], [[William Howard Taft|President Taft]], and British ambassador [[James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce|Lord Bryce]] in February 1912.]]
Butt was recalled to Washington in March 1908.  President Theodore Roosevelt asked him to serve as his military aide in April 1908<ref>Gould, p. 208.</ref>—just a month after Butt's return to the United States.<ref name="Obit" /> There were several reasons why Roosevelt chose Butt. Among them were that Roosevelt had become acquainted with Butt's organizational skills in the Philippines and was impressed by his hard work and thoughtfulness.<ref name="Obit" /> The other was that Taft recommended Butt, whom he knew well from their time together overseas.<ref name="Encyclopedia" />

Butt became one of Roosevelt's closest companions.<ref>Morris, p. 529.</ref> Although Butt was stout, he and Roosevelt were constantly going climbing, hiking, horseback riding, running, swimming, and playing tennis.<ref>Watterson, p. 388.</ref> Butt also quickly organized the chaotic White House receptions, transforming them from exhausting, hours-long events fraught with social missteps into efficient, orderly events.<ref name="Obit" /><ref name="Daily">[http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/20/032012-opinions-history-butt-davenport-hines-1-3/ Davenport-Hines, Richard. "The History Page: Unsinkable Love."] ''[[The Daily (News Corporation)|The Daily]]''. March 20, 2012. Accessed May 18, 2012.</ref>

When William Howard Taft became president in March 1909, he asked Butt to stay on as military aide. Butt continued to serve as a social functionary for Taft, but he also proved to have strong negotiating skills and a good head for numbers, which enabled him to become Taft's ''de facto'' chief negotiator on federal budget issues.<ref name="Bromley52" /> Butt accompanied President Taft when he threw out the first ball at the [[Opening Day|first home game]] of [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[Washington Nationals (1905–56)|Washington Senators]] in 1910 and 1911.<ref>"Taft Tosses Ball." ''The Washington Post'' April 15, 1910; "Nationals Win, 8 to 5, as 16,000 Cheer Them." ''The Washington Post''. April 13, 1911.</ref> Butt died at sea shortly before the season-opening game in 1912 and Taft, according to ''The Washington Post'', was overcome and "could not be present for obvious reasons."<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101262_2.html Duggan, Paul. "Balking at the First Pitch." ''The Washington Post''. April 2, 2007.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602153041/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101262_2.html |date=June 2, 2017 }} Accessed March 22, 2012.</ref>

On March 3, 1911, Butt was promoted to the rank of major in the Quartermaster Corps,.<ref>United States Army ''Official Army Register for 1912'', 1911, p. 23.</ref>

By 1912, Taft's first term was coming to an end. Roosevelt, who had fallen out with Taft, was known to be considering a run for president against him. Close to both men and fiercely loyal, Butt began to suffer from depression and exhaustion.<ref>Abbott, pp. xi–x.</ref> Butt's housemate and friend [[Francis Davis Millet]] (himself one of Taft's circle) asked Taft to give him a leave of absence to recuperate before the [[U.S. presidential primary|presidential primaries]] began. Taft agreed and ordered Butt to go on vacation.<ref>Garrison, p. 89.</ref> Butt was on no official business, but [[Anti-Catholicism|anti-Catholic]] newspapers and politicians accused Butt of being on a secret mission to win the support of [[Pope Pius X]] in the upcoming election.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pringle |first= Henry F. |author-link=Henry F. Pringle |title=The Life and Times of William Howard Taft |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.185543/page/n284/mode/1up?view=theater |volume=II |pages=833–834 |place=New York |publisher=[[Farrar & Rinehart]] |year=1939}}</ref> Butt did intend to meet with Pius, and he carried with him a personal letter from Taft.  But the letter merely thanked the pope for elevating three Americans to the rank of [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]], and asked what the social protocol was for greeting them at functions.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /><ref>Bromley, p. 326.</ref>