Stone, Melville Elijah, 1848-1929

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Stone, Melville Elijah, 1848-1929

President Roosevelt believes that if an announcement were made now, it would hurt William H. Taft’s campaign, and tells Melville E. Stone of the Associated Press that he hopes the matter is kept “absolutely quiet.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-10

President Roosevelt is glad Melville Elijah Stone of the Associated Press is sending a man to Tokyo to gain information on the “real design” of Japanese statesmen and to prevent aggravation of existing tensions between the two countries. While the crimes against Japanese immigrants in San Francisco and sensationalist press coverage of these crimes are “outrageous,” Roosevelt says they do not give Japan the justification for hostile actions against the United States. Roosevelt asks if Stone is a friend of Senator Eugene Hale, and if so, requests that Stone explain to Hale that his actions to thwart funding for the Navy do not keep the peace, but threaten it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-26

President Roosevelt informs Melville Elijah Stone that he remains certain that he does not want any journalists, even Lawrence F. Abbott, accompanying his upcoming trip. While on the steamer, Roosevelt will not personally communicate with newspapers and will request that the crew remain similarly silent about his actions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-31

President Roosevelt tells Melville Elijah Stone that “all that can be done against my will” is for the correspondents to go to Mombasa or Nairobi with Roosevelt, and then meet him again at Khartoum. Roosevelt is not particularly bothered by this, but it is a minor inconvenience. He does not want any reporters with him on his actual safari.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-05

President Roosevelt clarifies a statement he previously made to Melville Elijah Stone, of the Associated Press, regarding his willingness to speak to newspapermen after leaving the presidency. While Roosevelt would not wish to speak to a newspaperman for publication, he will not avoid his friends and colleagues who work in the profession.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-04

President Roosevelt writes to Melville Elijah Stone regarding his expectations of privacy after leaving the presidency and on his African safari. When Roosevelt leaves on the trip he will be a private citizen, and he hopes to be given the privacy that any other citizen is entitled to. Roosevelt does not plan to speak to any newspapermen after leaving the United States until he returns from his journey. Any statement attributed to him during the period of his absence should be accepted as false.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-02

President Roosevelt chides Melville Elijah Stone for not properly vetting the statement from Bishop Henry Gabriels, who supposedly quoted Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s records show that the Bishop got the sentiment of the statement correct but did not use Roosevelt’s words, and so the statement should not have been presented as a quote.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-09

Representatives from the Associated Press showed President Roosevelt an alleged interview with Bishop Henry Gabriels in which Gabriels supposedly quoted phrases of Roosevelt’s. While the words carried the Roosevelt’s general ideas, Roosevelt emphasized that the statements were not quotations, and should not be treated as such. He has since seen that the interview was nevertheless printed with the statements in quotation marks, and chides Melville Elijah Stone for presenting the statements in this way, even after receiving feedback from Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-01

President Roosevelt thanks Melville Elijah Stone for the letter of explanation but believes that if Elmer E. Paine is replaced as a reporter in the White House before the Senate votes to confirm Benjamin F. Barnes’s nomination, it will be difficult to convince people that the change was not made because of the Mrs. Morris incident earlier in the year. If Stone still feels that Paine should be replaced, Roosevelt suggests waiting a few weeks before taking action.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-10

President Roosevelt writes to Melville Elijah Stone because he has heard a rumor that Elmer E. Paine is to be replaced as a reporter at the White House because of his truthful reporting on the “Mrs. Morris affair.” Roosevelt defends Paine and his reporting and makes it known that he “should feel in the strongest way his change under these circumstances.” Roosevelt feels that Paine’s removal would signal that reporters should not report the truth and does not want them to be punished for being honest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-08

President Roosevelt wishes that he could be present at the dinner in honor of former Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage. Roosevelt holds Gage in high regard as a public servant.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-05

President Roosevelt will try to write several of the speeches he will give on his upcoming trip in advance. He tells Melville Elijah Stone that he intends to visit New Orleans with only William Loeb and Surgeon General Presley Marion Rixey. He cannot take one press man without taking others, and he wants to avoid crowding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-08

President Roosevelt encloses a statement from the editor of the Arkansas Democrat in a letter to Melville Elijah Stone. Roosevelt believes the editor did not intentionally betray a confidence and suggests it may be wise to exercise leniency in this case, although the president does not want to interfere with discipline.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-17

President Roosevelt thinks Hosea Ballou Morse’s letter is interesting and “substantially true” but does not believe in “Japan’s invincibility in war.” Roosevelt makes comparisons to the armies of other nations and battles from other wars.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-12

Elmer Roberts reports that German advisors to the Emperor believe the Japanese navy is superior to the American navy, should the two nations go to war. Roberts believes that this is unbiased information because the Germans despise Japan and are generally favorable to the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-11

Elmer Roberts, Associated Press correspondent in Berlin, reports to Melville Elijah Stone two conversations regarding international affairs, particularly the relationship of Japan and the United States. The British naval attache, Philip W. Dumas, states that Japan is building up its navy to prepare for war with the United States and to claim the Philippines back from them. Friedrich von Holstein speculates that the British are spreading this rumor, in hopes of influencing the United States to align itself with Great Britain against Japan. Such an alliance would keep the United States from drawing closer to Germany.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

President Roosevelt is concerned that the announcement would damage William H. Taft’s campaign. He would prefer that nothing is leaked.

Collection

Newberry Library

Creation Date

1908-09-10

Theodore Roosevelt will meet with the Swedish prince but the general policy is to discourage royalty from visiting as to not set a precedent that many would attempt to follow. Only Congress can declare a guest of the nation so the prince will only receive “informal hospitality.”

Collection

Newberry Library

Creation Date

1907-07-19

General Wood requests a correction to an editorial that appeared in the New York Sun. The editorial states that Mr. Bellaires was transferred from Santiago to Havana at Wood’s request. Wood denies this and only found Bellaires to be “honest and fair.” He believes that Melville Elijah Stone is confusing two separate incidents and presents evidence to support his position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-04