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Judge Amidon thanks Charles C. Moore for rescuing his dissenting opinion in the Cundieff case. He reflects on the difficulty of the case and the courts’ tendency to rely on “library knowledge” in decisions affecting human life. Amidon comments on who bears liability for injury and death at railroad crossings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-09-19
Ferdinand C. Bretsnyder, president of the Bell Oil Company, congratulates Theodore Roosevelt on the government’s victory against the Standard Oil Trust. Roosevelt and Missouri Governor Herbert S. Hadley deserve the credit. Bretsnyder hopes that Roosevelt will return to the White House after the next election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-11-22
Senator Root updates Theodore Roosevelt on political and legislative matters that he has missed while he has been on safari in Africa. He believes that in time President William H. Taft will be seen as a good president in the eyes of the public, and lists some legislature currently before Congress. The Republicans have now been in power for a long time, and Root reports that some people are getting tired of the leaders. Root leaves to argue the Atlantic Fisheries case before the Hague, and Andrew Carnegie would like him to meet with Roosevelt and work on bringing about disarmament in Europe. Root believes this is a bad idea. He discusses news of Roosevelt’s family, including the engagement of his son Ted and reports that Kermit has shot a female warthog.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-02-11
Daniel W. Baker got all the presentments he asked for in President Roosevelt’s libel suit against newspaper publishers. The Grand Jury even decided to prosecute Joseph Pulitzer. Attorney General Bonaparte hopes to keep this news secret for a few days, so they can prepare the indictments.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-30
Following instructions from President Roosevelt, Attorney General Bonaparte sends a certified copy of the Senate resolution directing him to inform the senate whether legal proceedings have been instituted against the United States Steel Corporation. At present, no such proceedings have been instituted.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-06
Attorney General Bonaparte wishes President Roosevelt a merry Christmas, and offers his opinion about how to proceed regarding the recent sentencing of Samuel Gompers. While Roosevelt has the power to pardon Gompers, Bonaparte says that to do so would be inappropriate while an appeal is pending, and so any requests for Roosevelt to pardon Gompers at this point would be premature. Bonaparte remarks confidentially that from his current understanding of the case, the sentences imposed by Judge Daniel Thew Wright are much too severe, even though he does not hold any sympathy for Gompers’s case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-25
Attorney General Bonaparte writes to President Roosevelt regarding some upcoming cases to be heard by the Supreme Court. Bonaparte advises Roosevelt to mention to an unnamed Justice the danger of disqualifying himself, and brings up the difficulty of postponing the case. Bonaparte does not believe that the justices who are of an age to retire will do so until several cases are heard, and therefore doubts the chance of having them heard by a more favorable court.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-18
Attorney General Bonaparte reports that, as President Roosevelt instructed, the lawsuit against Amalgamated Company will not be instituted until Roosevelt directs. However, such a suit could not compel the smelters to shut down until a final verdict was given. It would be a voluntary action on the company’s part to shut down the smelters at the beginning of the case. While Roosevelt wants the Department of Justice to investigate some alternative propositions concerning the situation in Anaconda, Montana, Bonaparte notes that the Department of Justice has no facilities for handling such scientific questions. Nevertheless, he promises that the department will investigate “as actively as possible.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-08
Representative Mondell responds to an inquiry from E. E. Kessner, who was employed by the Western Construction Company and working on the Corbett Tunnel when it went bankrupt. Kessner was not compensated for his work. Wheeler informs Kessner that it will be impossible for him to file a lien for compensation now that the company’s property has been seized by the government. Wheeler suggests that Kessner and other men trying to reclaim their lost wages should join the suit the government will likely file against the Western Construction Company’s bondsmen.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-15
Ambassador Thompson informs President Roosevelt of a meeting he facilitated between W. E. Dame and President Porfirio Díaz. Thompson specifies he did not arrange the meeting to include Dame’s lawyer, as he requested, because that would put Roosevelt in a bad position with Díaz.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-30
Attorney General Bonaparte reports to President Roosevelt on conversations he has recently had with several people. Bonaparte has received a draft of a decree in the Standard Oil case and will submit it after reviewing it, but is not sure when negotiations will conclude. John Carter Rose is likely to decline, but is waiting to hear from his wife before he makes a final decision. Milton Dwight Purdy is anxious to receive his appointment in Minnesota soon. An investigation into electrical materials that Bonaparte has mentioned to Roosevelt before has become very interesting, and Bonaparte plans to write to Roosevelt later at greater length about the situation. Bonaparte also mentions some of his upcoming travel plans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-03
John Ellis Roosevelt informs President Roosevelt that there is another suit accounting for the will of their uncle, Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt. Due to his remainder interest, Theodore is a necessary party and a summons will be published if he does not appear. John has drafted a letter for his cousin asking Robert F. Manning to appear on his behalf.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-04
A letter to Attorney General Bonaparte clarifies the roles of many of the people involved in the Idaho land fraud case, describing when people entered into and left the conspiracy. It is not possible to indict several of the people, as some have since died, and the statue of limitations has run out on others. The presentation of the case to the Grand Jury will finish soon, and the author of the letter predicts that the jury will be disposed to indict, although there is some uncertainty whether convictions can actually be secured under the instructions of the court.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-07
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on several matters, including lawsuits regarding railroads and shipping regulations. In particular, Gardiner Lathrop of the Santa Fe Railroad would like to speak with Roosevelt about a rebate case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-08
William H. H. Llewellyn provides President Roosevelt with some details about the recent killing of Pat F. Garrett. Llewellyn will participate in the trial of J. Wayne Brazel, the man who killed Garrett, as the Territorial District Attorney was away. While Llewellyn disagreed with Garret on many issues, he regrets his death and says that Garret was a great supporter of Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-14
George Haven Putnam writes to President Roosevelt to inform him of some developments of a libel case Putnam has been involved in against Thomas S. McAvoy. Putnam had previously asked Roosevelt for counsel regarding McAvoy’s term as an Inspector of Police in New York, and thought he may be interested to hear how the case turned out. The case was decided in Putnam’s favor, and he believes that Judge Leonard A. Giegerich managed the case very fairly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-03
Attorney General Bonaparte confirms receipt of a letter from William Loeb expressing President Roosevelt’s views regarding the situation in Idaho. Bonaparte advises that before making a change in district attorneyship or marshalship in Idaho, Roosevelt should find out whether the appointees can be confirmed. If they cannot, Bonaparte recommends waiting until the adjournment of the Senate. Bonaparte suggests conferring with Senator Philander C. Knox to get an unbiased opinion on the subject. Unless they can get a new person confirmed, there will be resistance to the removal of the current office-holder, and the current office-holder will not be useful. Once it becomes apparent that a new appointee could be confirmed, Bonaparte recommends sending Alford Warriner Cooley, or another suitable person, to confer with judges and lawyers to find an appropriate candidate. Bonaparte also comments on a recent conversation he has had with Senator Charles William Fulton. In a postscript, Bonaparte tells Roosevelt about his recent experience presenting a case to the Supreme Court.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-24
Senator Lodge does not think that President Roosevelt should bring a lawsuit against the New Haven Railroad until the Massachusetts case currently in the courts has been decided and they see whether they could be separated from trolleys by law. Roosevelt had asked Lodge to speak with U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Asa P. French about it before anything was done. Lodge is writing because he saw writing from Attorney General Charles Bonaparte that suggested he were about to bring suit against New Haven, and Lodge believes it would be a mistake to do this if they can accomplish the same result a different way.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-03
Attorney Lindsay Denison wishes to add a few points of fact to the case involving his client Benjamin B. Hampton. Denison clarifies inaccuracies in both to a letter written by Hampton and a memorandum written by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and believes that Bonaparte, in particular, would not have been as harsh in his memorandum had he known all of the facts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-21
Attorney General Bonaparte is not clear how seriously the attached letter should be taken, and as such cannot fully comment on it. The letter’s author, Benjamin B. Hampton, is an advertising agent unfamiliar with the laws related to the American Tobacco Company and has obtained his information primarily through communications with management of said trusts, but is certain that President Roosevelt has violated the law in his administration’s prosecution of the trusts and is acting on incorrect information. Bonaparte dismisses these allegations and does not believe Hampton to have any of the contextual or legal knowledge necessary to speak on the issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-11