Your TR Source
William Allen White accepts Theodore Roosevelt’s dinner invitation and can meet with The Outlook people on Tuesday.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-02-14
William Allen White admires Theodore Roosevelt’s interpretation of books and sees in him a strong intellectual leader of the country. He recommends two books to Roosevelt. White also warns Roosevelt about using lengthy sentences in his writing, describing his recent writing as nervous rather than lucid.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-01-16
William Allen White encourages Theodore Roosevelt to inform the public that he would not decline the Republican presidential nomination if it was offered. Enthusiasm for Roosevelt is strong in the West.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-01-23
William Allen White forwards a statement, framed as a New Year’s resolution, announcing that Theodore Roosevelt will no longer make public his visitors or their conversations. He includes a “Winning Ticket” which lists “For President – Tar Baby – he say nothin’,” and “For Vice President – Br’er Fox: he lay low!”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-29
“What shall we do with this patriot?” William Allen White asks Theodore Roosevelt. In a handwritten P.S., White writes, “How is your ark? Is it afloat? Can’t you feel the thrill of life along her keel?”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-12
William Allen White is supporting Senator La Follette for the Republican presidential nomination but sees an upcoming flood of support for Theodore Roosevelt. President Taft is “wrong on war, wrong on peace and wrong in the hearts of his countrymen”.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-05
William Allen White claims that he has been working for several years to convince people that Theodore Roosevelt will not be a presidential candidate under any circumstances. However, he sees the nomination going to Roosevelt due to President Taft’s failings and the general opposition to Senator La Follette. White ends with his expectations for the Democratic nominee. He believes that supporters for Speaker Clark and Governor Harmon will unite at the convention to prevent a compromise in favor of Governor Wilson.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-11-16
William Allen White requests an inscription to be added to a copy of African Game Trails that will be given to White’s son, William Lindsay White. He has spent the summer working on a novel in Colorado. White does not believe that local politicians will support President Taft, as a Taft ticket will lose thousands of votes at the local level. He has seen a great deal of western support for Senator La Follette and Theodore Roosevelt but does not believe that La Follette’s nomination is feasible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-18
William Allen White encloses part of a letter he wrote to Senator La Follette regarding the initiative and referendum. He is opposed to the initiative and referendum as a national issue. White has been encouraging Mr. Madison to accept the nomination as governor of Kansas in 1912. He sees Theodore Roosevelt’s popularity throughout the Midwest and West and thinks Roosevelt could win the presidential nomination in 1912. However, he believes that Roosevelt will be more useful out of office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-01-17
William Allen White will reply to Theodore Roosevelt’s letter in a few days. He sends his Phi Beta Kappa address and directs it be read in front of a wood fire. White sends Christmas wishes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-12-21
William Allen White waited to send the enclosed letter to Theodore Roosevelt “with the deepest respect.” The progressive Republicans need a leader and White believes it will be Roosevelt, Senator Albert J. Beveridge, or Senator Robert M. La Follette. However, White does not want Roosevelt to run for president, if possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-12-06
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-03-22
White, William Allen, 1868-1944
William Allen White sends President Roosevelt good wishes for the last two weeks of his presidency. White also discusses progressive ideologies as compared to Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian ideologies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-16
William Allen White was pleased by what President Roosevelt told him about Associate Justice William H. Moody’s views. White believes that the courts should have some veto power over the legislature, but that this power should also be restricted. He believes that lower federal courts should not have the ability to to invalidate federal laws, and similarly lower state courts should not be able to invalidate state laws–rather, only the supreme courts of such bodies should be able to rule on these. In lower courts, laws are often objected to without proper investigation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-15
William Allen White apologizes to President Roosevelt for the “screed” which his new editorial writer, Walt Mason, published in the Emporia Gazette. White assures Roosevelt that it does not reflect his views. He jokingly blames the Republican party for the problem, stating that if times were not so good, the paper would not have been able to hire another writer. White also says that William H. Taft has made a good impression in Kansas, and he believes that Taft is the right man to meet the current crisis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
William Allen White thinks that President Roosevelt’s final annual message should clearly state his ideals and “political creed,” and serve as a “confession of faith.” It should also outline the progress that has been made since the 1890s. White tells Roosevelt to let him know if there is anything he can do to help, and notes that he believes that William Jennings Bryan is “thoroughly whipped,” and that William H. Taft’s main obstacle is appearing too technical.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-16
William Allen White reports to President Roosevelt on his experience at the Republican National Convention in Chicago. White regretted to be away from his family for so long, but was seated next to Roosevelt’s sister, Corinne Roosevelt Robinson, and was very much charmed by her. Henry Cabot Lodge’s speech at the convention was very good. White believes that in the end, people of Senator Robert M. La Follette’s temperament will win out over those who are more like Representative Julius C. Burrows.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-23
William Allen White asks William Loeb to show President Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft the enclosed clipping. He feels positive about the Kansas situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-13
William Allen White sends President Roosevelt two copies of a little book containing an address he gave at Oberlin College, one of which he hopes can be sent to French Ambassador J. J. Jusserand. Jusserand spoke highly of White’s book Stratagems and Spoils, the writing of which has kept him quite busy. He trusts Roosevelt will like the novel.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-20
William Allen White is personally offended by attacks levied at President Roosevelt, particularly in a speech given by Supreme Court Justice David J. Brewer. White, who worked in similar circles as Brewer in Kansas, alleges that twenty years earlier Brewer had sold a receiver position on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad to Colonel Harrison C. Cross and threatened to fire him when Cross ceased payment. White also suggests that for the last twenty years there has been a concerted effort by outside parties to control senators and judges.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-22