President Roosevelt wishes that Cecil Spring Rice and his wife were there to visit with him and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. He reflects on the growing German materialism in light of the controversy surrounding the appointment of David Jayne Hill as new ambassador there. The previous ambassador, Charlemagne Tower, was wealthy, and Roosevelt believes that the Germans dislike Hill because he is not wealthy. Roosevelt reflects on the merits of being rich and concludes that while it is good to have the things that money can buy, “from the standpoint of real pleasure [he] should selfishly prefer [his] oldtime ranch on the Little Missouri to anything in Newport.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Spring Rice, Cecil, Sir, 1859-1918

Language

English

Period

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

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Page Count

3

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 Cecil Spring Rice. [April 11, 1908]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o202279. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Spring Rice. [11 Apr. 1908]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 6, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o202279.

APA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1908, April 11]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Spring Rice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o202279.

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. February 6, 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.