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Speaker of the House Reed tells Police Commissioner Roosevelt that his wife, Susan Prentice Merrill Reed, is impatient to get back to Grand Beach, Maine, where from a “happy distance” they can observe “the struggles of police commissioners and candidates for the presidency and other kinds of unfortunate beings” doing reform work that is going unrecognized.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-05-13
Speaker of the House Reed believes it was his duty to “go in again” and that his refusal to stand for reelection would make things unsatisfactory in his state given present conditions. Reed expresses distaste for Chairman of the Republican National Committee Marcus Hanna’s “coarse ways,” but it will not deter Reed from doing what “ought to be done.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-07-28
Vice presidential candidate Thomas E. Watson writes Police Commissioner Roosevelt regarding Roosevelt’s recent article in the Review of Reviews, which criticized Watson’s populist platform. Watson explains his position as tied into his advocacy for the poor, upon whom the burdens of government most often fall. He believes Roosevelt has misjudged him and asserts that if the two spent time together, Roosevelt would see that they have much in common.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-08-30
Thomas E. Watson gives Police Commissioner Roosevelt permission to use his previous letter as Roosevelt proposed. Roosevelt does not need to send Watson his article before it is published, as Watson is sure there would not be anything objectionable in it. Watson will unfortunately not be able to come visit Roosevelt in New York because of some important law cases.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-11-07
H. H. Lyman is not too sure what Senator John Raines meant in his statement. Raines led him to believe that his statements were off the record. Lyman and others appreciate the work Commissioner Roosevelt has done enforcing the excise law in a city as large as New York, although there are issues with fake clubs and hotels.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-11-28
Senator Lodge writes Commissioner Roosevelt about a lunch he recently had with Presidential Nominee William McKinley. The pair talked about McKinley’s plan for his time in office, including policy on Hawaii and McKinley’s desire not to go to war over Cuba. They also spoke extensively about McKinley’s plans for his cabinet. Lodge assures Roosevelt that his chances of an appointment in the naval department are good, though McKinley sought assurance that Roosevelt did not have “preconceived plans which he would wish to drive through the moment he got in.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1896-12-02
Thomas E. Watson praises Police Commissioner Roosevelt for a recent article in the Review of Reviews which gave him “good reason to congratulate myself for having written you.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-01-04
Commissioner Roosevelt has paid $323.30 for taxes due to the town of Oyster Bay, New York, on real property assessed at $15,000 and personal property assessed at $2,000.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-01-23
Receipt from the Metropolitan Club Restaurant for a meal that included blue points, broiled potatoes, duck, potato salad, and Camembert. Theodore Roosevelt paid eleven dollars and thirty cents for the meal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-04-04
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt’s bill for a meal at the Metropolitan Club Restaurant shows that he ordered mutton, toast, and a glass of milk for 45 cents.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1898-04-15
Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Maine Joseph H. Manley invites Theodore Roosevelt to speak in Maine and support the Republican campaign there.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1886-08-11
“Red-headed Mike Finnegan” writes Theodore Roosevelt from the State Penitentiary in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he was imprisoned for having stolen Roosevelt’s boat on the Little Missouri River in April 1886. Finnegan asks Roosevelt’s assistance in having his prison sentence commuted.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1887
John Jay responds to an inquiry from Theodore Roosevelt, who was writing his biography of Gouverneur Morris, regarding a loan that Morris made to Louis Philippe, later King Louis Philippe I of France, son of Phillipe Egalité, the former Duke of Orléans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1887-09-08
Mary H. Sumner Long is sending to Theodore Roosevelt a copy of the Memoirs of General Robert E. Lee, written by her husband, General A. L. Long. She was inspired to send the book because of the “beautiful tribute” Roosevelt paid the General in his biography of Thomas Hart Benton. Sumner Long explains that some critics have charged her husband with partiality, but she thinks Roosevelt will agree that the biographer has done justice to Lee’s “genius as a soldier” and his “character as a man.” She then tells Roosevelt that she is one of his greatest admirers and loves reading his articles.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1887-11-22
Admiral Luce commends Theodore Roosevelt on his Naval War of 1812 as “the very highest authority we have on the subject.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1888-02-13
Basil Wilson Duke, a Confederate officer during the American Civil War, commends Theodore Roosevelt on his biography of Thomas Hart Benton.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1888-05-19
Representative Reed responds to a letter from Theodore Roosevelt regarding the speakership of the House of Representatives. Reed notes that although the speakership “never seemed much worth longing for,” it would still “seem rather a rebuff” not to have it after having been twice selected as the caucus candidate when the party was not in power.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1888-11-27
Representative Lodge describes some canvassing he has done, on Commissioner Roosevelt’s behalf, with President Harrison and others. In addition, Lodge says he has spoken to Walker Blaine about Butterfield. Lodge also notes that the “accursed patronage” makes him feel “harassed to death.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1889-03-29
George William Curtis congratulates Theodore Roosevelt on appointment to the Civil Service Commission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1889-05-09
Henry Cabot Lodge assures Theodore Roosevelt that President Harrison intends to stand by him. Following Roosevelt’s sojourn out West, the President will be able to ask for increased appropriations. Lodge thanks Roosevelt for his comments on a speech he gave.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1889-07-13