President Roosevelt regrets having to send Jacob A. Riis a letter from Commissioner of Internal Revenue John Watson Yerkes, but believes that he either has to stand by Yerkes, “or give up every pretence [sic] of cleaning up and rendering more efficient the internal revenue service.” When Yerkes previously tried to remove inefficient men from the Internal Revenue Service, they would frequently try to appeal to Roosevelt to reinstate them, and Roosevelt has pledged to stand by Yerkes in his attempt to improve the service. While he would like to oblige Riis and Paul Underwood Kellogg in this instance, he does not feel that he can.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August), 1849-1914

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Page Count

2

Production Method

Typed

Record Type

Multi-image

Resource Type

Letter

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation

Cite this Record

Chicago:

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis. [August 17, 1905]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o192431. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis. [17 Aug. 1905]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. May 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o192431.

APA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1905, August 17]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o192431.

Cite this Collection

Chicago:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. May 15, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.

APA:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.