Wright, Luke E. (Luke Edward), 1846-1922

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of War Wright the text of two letters written by former Secretary of War William H. Taft that are relevant to the current question involving the purchase of ships. Roosevelt believes that the letters clearly show that most of the questions regarding whether to purchase ships were settled long ago, and the only question currently relevant is what the price for the ships will be.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt has learned that the Army Corps of Engineers has been compiling a report on the waterways project from St. Louis to the Gulf of Mexico. He instructs Secretary of War Wright that no such report should be made public before it is submitted to the Waterways Commission and receives Roosevelt’s authorization.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Wright that he believes physical tests are needed for higher officers in both the Army and the Navy, and asks if they can be implemented.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt instructs Secretary of War Wright to publicly issue orders to the Isthmian Canal Commission, War Department, and all their subsidiaries that Archer should not be employed to make any kind of purchase on their behalf. An investigation revealed that Archer is “an absolute scoundrel” who is alleging to outsiders that only he can get ships taken. Roosevelt also would like all members of the Isthmian Canal Commissions and all employees dealing with the War Department to be specifically asked if they currently are or ever have been in communication with Archer. Roosevelt would also like to find out if the Commission members or Mr. Rodgers had knowledge of the excessive price paid in 1905 for two Cromwell ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt advises Secretary of War Wright that he wants all “colored” regiments to have “colored” bandmasters. Wright should transfer white bandmasters in such units to white units, and replace them with “colored” men.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

Several graduates from the French cavalry school at Saumur are now training horsemanship at West Point and the Mounted Service School. Now that the French system is being taught at the Mounted Service School, President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Wright to issue orders allowing graduates from that school to train men at their posts and regiments.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-26

Letter form Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

After further reviewing Secretary of War Wright’s letter about Captain John H. Parker’s report on machine gun services, and discussing the matter further with General James Franklin Bell, President Roosevelt has two suggestions. He would like to have Parker’s regulations reviewed by the General Staff. Roosevelt also suggests assigning two guns for each battalion. Attached memorandums detail the creation of machine gun units and battalions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

General James Franklin Bell has returned, and President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Wright to refer Captain Frank Parker’s report on machine guns to him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt has spoken with Alexander Lambert, who has been to Yellowstone Park and has concluded that things are going badly. General S. B. M. Young and Major Henry T. Allen do not get along and the conflict is leading to the poor state of affairs. Although he likes Allen, Roosevelt instructs Secretary of War Wright to remove Allen and all the soldiers from the park.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt believes there is the potential for scandal within the Army Transport Service and asks Secretary of War Wright if it should be investigated.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt introduces Archibald Gracie, a distant relative of his, to Secretary of War Wright, and asks that Wright show Gracie “all proper courtesy.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Wright if any action should be taken regarding a recent letter, or about Philippine matters in general. Roosevelt asks Wright not to go to William H. Taft with Philippine matters as Taft should focus exclusively on his presidential campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Wright that if Major Beecher B. Ray campaigns for William H. Taft, it will draw justified criticism. Roosevelt thinks that Ray should be returned to regular duty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt has read the letter from Assistant Secretary of War Robert Shaw Oliver, as well as the letter from Judge Advocate General of the Army George B. Davis. In Roosevelt’s opinion, the court-martials of Lieutenants John J. Moller and Claire R. Bennett were “an outrageous miscarriage of justice.” Roosevelt wishes he had the legal power to change the action of the court-martial and, barring that, informs Secretary of War Wright that he would like to punish them in any way that he can for as long as he is president for the damage they have done to the reputation of the army. (Moller and Bennett were tried on charges of allowing torture of Filipino prisoners to try to extort information from them)

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of War Wright a copy of a letter that he sent to Acting Secretary of the Interior Frank Pierce. Roosevelt would be pleased if Wright would instruct Henry Gannett to assist the National Conservation Commission, if such a thing could be done without harming the progress of the Census of Cuba.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt forwards Secretary of War Wright a letter from William H. Taft regarding a proposition made by Assistant Secretary of War Robert Shaw Oliver and General Leonard Wood. Roosevelt is sure that what Shaw and Wood recommend would be a sound business decision, but thinks that it is not wise to do at present because Congress would be against it. He asks Wright if it is possible to alter things along the lines that Taft suggests in his letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Wright if he can come stay the night on July 31. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission, will be visiting, and Roosevelt would like to discuss some matters regarding Panama with both of them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt would like Luke E. Wright to take office as Secretary of War on June 30 or July 1, and would like for him to meet with Secretary of War William H. Taft for several days beforehand. Roosevelt suggests that Wright not speak extensively on any public subject before he meets with Roosevelt because their opponents may try to make trouble.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt tells Luke E. Wright that he would be happy to lose any northern state, including his home state of New York, if he could break the solidarity of the South and win some of those states. He is pleased that he and William McKinley have carried some of them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

In the event that Secretary of War William H. Taft is nominated for the presidency, he will immediately leave the Cabinet. If that happens, as President Roosevelt believes it will, Roosevelt would like Luke E. Wright to replace him as Secretary of War. If Roosevelt had run for a third term he would have liked to have carried an ex-Confederate state, and would have appointed someone like Wright, from one of those states, to a position in his cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-13