Your TR Source
Jacob Riis compliments Theodore Roosevelt on his speech to the labor unions. Riis is also exasperated about the attacks Leonard Wood has been receiving. He ends the letter by asking about the health of Edith Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-03-23
Jacob A. Riis thanks President Roosevelt for securing a job for his son, John, a job that Riis thinks will get his son safely through “his wandering years.” Presently, the elder Riis is recuperating in the hospital after having a heart treatment to which he is responding well. As it is the first day of Lent, he encourages Roosevelt that with spring soon at hand, he and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt will “have peace in the White House” and be able to rest. In a postscript, Riis remarks that the happenings of the Senate remind him “of the man who digged a pit for his enemy and fell therein himself.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-27
Jacob A. Riis assures President Roosevelt that he depicted Roosevelt accurately in his recently published biography, as it has been “the delight and comfort” of Riis’s life to know the president well enough to write such a book. He expresses concern for Roosevelt’s safety in his travels and asks to join a future trip in the capacity of a bodyguard. Riis also expresses agreement with Roosevelt’s choice of Ernst J. Lederle as sanitary expert on the Isthmus of Panama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-02-26
Jacob A. Riis will be glad to come see President Roosevelt on January 29. Having heard of Alice Roosevelt’s engagement to Nicholas Longworth, Riis asks the president to “give them my loving congratulations.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-15
Jacob A. Riis informs President Roosevelt of his busy schedule in December and January but will be lecturing in Washington in February and hopes to spend a day with Roosevelt at that time. Riis commented on Roosevelt’s progress in the south and his handling of the Governor of Arkansas, likely referring to Jeff Davis’ speech defending lynching the previous month during Roosevelt’s visit. Riis “felt as if I should have thrown up my hat and given three cheers” for Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-28
Jacob A. Riis invites President Roosevelt to meet with Frank Miller about his idea to build a hotel in Yosemite similar to his mission hotel in Riverside, California.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-24
Jacob A. Riis passes along a message of love and cheer to President Roosevelt from the recently deceased Josephine Shaw Lowell. Riis also encloses two items relating to football.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-10-27
Jacob A. Riis writes to President Roosevelt to discuss a French sculptor, Paul Nocquet, who wants to mold Roosevelt’s head in clay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-11
Jacob A. Riis says President Roosevelt did right with George Wood Wingate and agrees with Paul Underwood Kellogg on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-22
Jacob A. Riis supports George Wood Wingate’s efforts with the Public Schools Athletic League, and encourages President Roosevelt to support the organization.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-18
Jacob A. Riis and Paul Underwood Kellogg previously spoke well of a man based on Kellogg’s mother’s recommendation. They both commend President Roosevelt for acting appropriately when more facts were known. If “that fool talk” of Riis’ possible candidacy for mayor of New York City arises again, Riis authorizes Roosevelt to tell some of his experiences with Riis, which he believes would set the rumor to rest.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-21
Jacob A. Riis thanks President Roosevelt for his letter and for expressing his opinion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-08
Jacob A. Riis wishes William Loeb a good trip.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-19
Jacob A. Riis invites Edith Roosevelt to visit a hospital for crippled children on the beach of Coney Island and describes the wonders the hospital has done for the children.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-22
Jacob A. Riis tells President Roosevelt about his involvement in campaigning for Roosevelt. He plans to continue giving speeches as long as his throat holds out, though he mentions that it has not been in good shape this fall. A Democrat-controlled library board in Council Bluffs, Iowa, has gotten rid of books about Roosevelt out of the fear that “it might corrupt the youth of that modest town,” but Riis mentions that he will be sure to visit the town and give a speech there.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-13
Jacob A. Riis writes to President Roosevelt to say that he met with a Joint Committee of the House and Senate to discuss a plan to “fence the slums out of Washington,” but he had forgotten the details of their conclusions. Riis updates Roosevelt on social reform efforts, including the work of Anne Hitchcock, who is working with African American school children in Washington, D.C..
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-10
Jacob A. Riis writes to President Roosevelt about his trip to Denmark including a dinner with the Danish crown-prince and prime minister as well as a visit to a fishing village where he previously stayed in 1899. Riis also discusses the nomination of Judge Parker for president by the Democrats and discusses Roosevelt’s campaign.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-15
William McCloy, editor of the New York Evening Sun, supports President Roosevelt and may be in a position to “give warning of tricks.” McCloy will write directly to Roosevelt, and Jacob A. Riis believes that McCloy can provide valuable service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-25
Jacob A. Riis is looking forward to seeing President Roosevelt and he and his wife should make it to the White House on Monday in time for dinner. He is glad to have the opportunity to see Roosevelt and the first lady before he and his wife go away.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-13
Jacob A. Riis thanks an unnamed friend for their love and kindness, presumably in response to condolences on the death of his wife, Elisabeth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-19