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Wister, Owen, 1860-1938

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Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

After discussing the matter with the Department of State and the Department of Commerce and Labor, President Roosevelt tells Owen Wister that it is clear that Princess Sofia Grigorievna Kropotkina should not be allowed into the United States. The mere fact that she calls herself an anarchist is reason enough, and Roosevelt adds that he personally does not think she should come, as anarchists “add to the strength of the worst and most vicious elements of our civilization.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Until President Roosevelt received Owen Wister’s letter, he was unaware of the anniversary celebration, and does not believe he will accept an invitation. Roosevelt felt that he had to keep quiet about the election of John E. Reyburn as mayor of Philadelphia, as the alternative would have been to take part in every municipal election. Roosevelt thinks, however, that Reyburn is “a rather unusually well-developed type of prize hog.” He also comments on his attendance of the Harrisburg celebration, which he attended with Philander C. Knox, and tells Wister that if he declined to visit state capitals if he did not like the governors or legislatures, he would have a tall order.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt welcomes any novel if it provides guidance on matters such as “In God We Trust,” even if it is inferior to Wister’s Lady Baltimore. Some will regret Roosevelt’s decision regarding “In God We Trust.” However, he feels it was correct, if not politically, then out of good taste. Roosevelt looks forward to Wister’s biography of George Washington and wishes Wister would visit. He finds the response over Wister’s remarks on non-resistance amusing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt sends Owen Wister the text of a letter he received describing the situation of the Cox family at Indianola, Mississippi. Minnie M. Geddings Cox was previously in the center of a disturbance after being forced out of her job as postmistress by residents of the town. In the time since that event, her husband, Wayne W. Cox, has started a bank in town, and has received no objections to his serving as the president of the bank. Roosevelt comments on the hypocrisy of the residents of Indianola, saying that “now the fantastic fools and moral cowards who encouraged or permitted the mob to turn [Minnie M. Geddings Cox] out are depositing their funds in the husband’s bank and have him as a director in a white bank, and she and her husband own one of the best houses in Indianola and one of the best plantations in the neighborhood.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt writes to Owen Wister about a letter Roosevelt received from Judge J. M. Dickinson. Dickinson suggested that while the race question may never be settled, he believes that Roosevelt has helped quiet it for a time. Roosevelt believes that this is a common view in the South. He asserts that while many problems still remain in race relations and universal suffrage, the current situation has improved upon the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt had recently finished Owen Wister’s book Lady Baltimore, and sends Wister his thoughts and criticisms of the work. While he enjoyed the story, Roosevelt believes the book is unfairly critical of northerners and uncritical of southerners. Similarly, Roosevelt points out that while the book lauds the past at the expense of the present, there are many examples of violence, brutality, greed, and other vices in the past. Roosevelt also remarks on the status of African-Americans, and while he agrees with Wister in certain regards, believes the work has gone too far in the racist stereotypes. He hopes that Wister will be able to visit him soon. In a postscript, Roosevelt mentions a number of other books he has read or is reading that similarly make readers “feel that there is no use of trying to reform anything because everything is so rotten that the whole social structure should either be let alone or destroyed.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt asks Owen Wister to tell C. Grant La Farge about the request from Rowland Gibson Hazard, and to explain why it means it is impossible for him to visit Rhode Island to see La Farge and Wister. Roosevelt does not feel he could visit Rhode Island and not go to some of the places he has been invited to attend, but it is impossible for him to make any more speeches.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919