Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-04-12

Creator(s)

Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926

Recipient

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Oscar S. Straus encloses correspondence between himself and President Taft which he thinks will amuse Theodore Roosevelt. His being offered a post in Japan would have been a recognition of his service, but being offered Turkey would be a demotion because he held that post before. He instead will join the “employable unemployed” after leaving Roosevelt’s cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-13

Oscar S. Straus declines President Taft’s offer to be Ambassador to Turkey because he has already spent many years there in various capacities. He is interested in being appointed to Japan or an equally important European mission if that is possible.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-13

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus expresses his appreciation to President Roosevelt for the opportunity to serve in his cabinet. Straus recognizes that his appointment had importance beyond his own personal career, but was an expression of Roosevelt’s commitment to religious tolerance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-03

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus thanks President Roosevelt for the gift of a book “illustrating the ancient glory” of the German city of Wartburg. Straus treasures the book even more because of the message Roosevelt wrote inside it, and promises to pass the gift down to his children as an heirloom.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-08

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus informs William Loeb that both Richard H. Taylor and Francis X. Patterson were detailed to the office of the President on November 20, 1908.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-19

A note by Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus says that “bucket-shops cannot be distinguished from exchanges.” He notes that exchanges are “a civilized way of making a good living with least amount of work,” concluding “no bucket, no exchange.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-21

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus thanks William Loeb for forwarding a letter from John Mitchell of the United Mine Workers of America affirming Mitchell will continue to serve as a trustee of the Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-22

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus tells President Roosevelt that he is ill, and will be on bedrest for another day, missing a cabinet meeting. Straus has the contract lithographers labor case under control and will discuss it with Roosevelt next week. Straus is happy to hear that Roosevelt was not responsible for the financial crisis in New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus reports on the application of navigation laws to the Territory of Hawaii. He believes Congress should discuss the matter and decide how to enforce the laws in regards to Hawaii, with the goal of facilitating communication between the territory and the mainland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-25

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus encloses for President Roosevelt his address delivered at the University of Georgia centennial. Straus directs Roosevelt to read the portion on the development of religious liberty in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-13

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus returns Reynolds’ supplemental report regarding the Chinese Service to William Loeb. He will retain his copy until matters are resolved.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-07

Secretary of Commerce Straus believes that President Roosevelt’s oration on the Rough Riders was one of his best. He writes that it is “full of wisdom for the ‘Banker and the Bricklayer,’ the warrior and wage earner.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-13

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus is confident in his decision in the South Carolina labor case and does not believe that it will be damaging to the labor unions. However, Straus will consider President Roosevelt’s judgment on the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-19

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus will lay Thomas G. Bush’s suggestion of Hugh Henry Hanna as a member of the proposed Industrial Peace Commission before the trustees. Straus conferred with Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller about convening a meeting of the trustees this week.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-25

Oscar S. Straus thanks President Roosevelt for selecting him as Secretary of Commerce and Labor. He has been receiving messages of congratulations from around the world, including from missionaries in Turkey and Baron Rothschild in London, as well as from large labor employers and labor leaders.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-25

Oscar S. Straus updates President Roosevelt on the status of the campaigns in New York. Straus is assisting Timothy L. Woodruff, the Chair of the Republican State Committee in New York. He says that while he and Nathan Bijur have their “hands on the pulses on the Eastside,” he is sure that William Randolph Hearst will mislead the people over there. Straus says it is different this year, as Tammany Hall is behind Hearst rather than George B. McClellan. Straus commends Bijur for his work, and says that the leading newspapers of the Eastside are supporting Charles Evans Hughes for Governor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-12

Oscar S. Straus is surprised that President Roosevelt read his interview with James B. Morrow of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Straus’s purpose in doing the interview was to “set right some of the exaggerated ideas some people have about the Jews.” Straus’s travels in France, Great Britain, and Germany have convinced him that Roosevelt’s efforts in the United States are garnering the United States respect throughout Europe. Straus says that the American people will insist on Roosevelt seeking a third term.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-18

Oscar S. Straus assures President Roosevelt that he has the support of the American people despite criticism from the press and politicians.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-15

Oscar S. Straus discusses President Roosevelt’s popularity with the American public and the British government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-07