Actions and defenses

Letter from Francis Bowler Keene to Theodore Roosevelt

Francis Bowler Keene explains the origin and status of a libel lawsuit to President Roosevelt. Louis Hite originally tried to have Keene removed from his post in the American consulate in Geneva, Switzerland, after Keene wrote letters against Hite who was separating from his wife. Failing that, Hite has now sued Keene for libel in his home city of Milwaukee. Keene assures Roosevelt that he was involved in the entire business against his wishes, and hopes Roosevelt, as a former classmate, will not forget his conscientious service.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-01

Letter from Benjamin B. Hampton to Lindsay Denison

Benjamin B. Hampton explains to Lindsay Denison his recent remarks in further detail. Hampton believes it would be better for President Roosevelt to deal with the tobacco companies directly, rather than through the courts, since it would be faster and potentially more beneficial for both parties. Hampton stresses that he is not well-versed in law or in a position to speak on behalf of the tobacco industry, although he is an advertiser for the American Tobacco Company. Hampton invites Denison to consider the shortcomings of his proposal and to enlighten him as to why it might be ill-conceived.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-24

Telegram from Charles J. Bonaparte to Marsden C. Burch

The Department of Justice is embarrassed that Idaho District Attorney N. M. Ruick took part in the timber fraud case, particularly in the jury selection, against William Edgar Borah. Attorney General Bonaparte orders Assistant Attorney General Burch to ensure that Ruick does not participate in the case further.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-27

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on the progress of the Idaho land fraud cases. He forwards Roosevelt his telegram to Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch demanding that N. M. Ruick take no part in the case. Bonaparte updates Roosevelt on other matters and suggests the two schedule a meeting.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-28

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte gives President Roosevelt details about his encounter with former Illinois Governor Richard Yates. Yates has been offered a job with the Department of Justice and is unsure if he will accept it. Bonaparte is sorry to hear that Solicitor General Henry Martyn Hoyt is having surgery and will be incapacitated for some time. In a postscript, Bonaparte adds that he has spoken with Cardinal James Gibbons. Among other matters, they agree the government should not involve itself in the lawsuit between the Catholic Church and Puerto Rico.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-21

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte sends President Roosevelt a letter from Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg on the “very serious and unsatisfactory” situation in New Mexico. He also encloses a letter from United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick stating his position on the case against Senator William Edgar Borah. Bonaparte looks forward to hearing Roosevelt’s thoughts on the matters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-07

Letter from William H. Taft to William Loeb

Secretary of War Taft introduces William Loeb to Ralph M. Shaw, a lawyer for the Chicago and Alton Railroad who he thinks President Roosevelt should meet. Taft believes the evidence Shaw can present may merit the postponement of the grand jury in the case until all the facts can be considered.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-07

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft informs President Roosevelt he wrote a letter to William Loeb introducing Ralph M. Shaw, a Chicago lawyer. Taft wants Roosevelt to meet Shaw and discuss the Standard Oil Company as it relates to the Chicago and Alton Railroad case, as Taft believes the evidence may merit the postponement of the grand jury in the case until all the facts can be considered.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-07

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt that he told United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick that Senator William Edgar Borah must be tried immediately. He discusses conditions related to the case. During his travels, he ran into “some hungry reporters whom I tried to fill up with a little chaff.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-10

Telegram from N. M. Ruick to Charles J. Bonaparte

United States District Attorney Ruick protests Attorney General Bonaparte’s call for an immediate trial of Senator William Edgar Borah because of the lack of time to prepare for such a case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-12

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte reviews “several matter of importance and delicacy” with President Roosevelt, including Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg’s handling of the New Mexico situation, Senator William Edgar Borah’s trial, and the progress of the Republican Convention. He shares how the press attacks him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-15

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on legal matters in several states. In North Carolina, Bonaparte has found that many of the jurisdictional problems in the Southern Railway case are due to political posturing, and that Bonaparte’s investigator, Edward Terry Sanford, has found that the federal judge in the case, Jeter Connelly Pritchard, has acted appropriately. Bonaparte encloses a letter regarding Japanese seal poachers and suggests sending naval reinforcements. Bonaparte has directed Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley to look into monopolistic actions of railroad and steamship companies in New England that are in possible violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Ormsby McHarg to Charles J. Bonaparte

Special Assistant Attorney General McHarg updates Attorney General Bonaparte on the legal situation in New Mexico Territory. McHarg asks for permission to hire Mexican nationals to aid in investigations he is conducting. McHarg tells Bonaparte that though Bonaparte believes charges against territorial Attorney General William H. H. Llewellyn will be dropped, his son, Morgan Llewellyn is involved in illegal activity and therefore the elder Llewellyn should be kept from any grand juries. McHarg details several territorial court clerks who have been accused of crimes, saying a thorough investigation of the territorial judiciary must be made at once.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte submits a detailed analysis of the case against Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah to President Roosevelt. Bonaparte believes, ultimately, that a postponement in the case against Borah will be necessary. Bonaparte has received reports of charges against Florida judge William B. Sheppard. In North Carolina, Bonaparte believes the situation between the legislature, the railroad, and the Federal government has been resolved, but in future would prefer to let local authorities do their own negotiating.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-01

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte returns a speech with minor suggestions to President Roosevelt, and discusses his strategy in finding a case in which the government could convict and sentence the head of an industrial trust. In North Carolina, Roosevelt could not have altered the dispute between Federal and State authorities in the railroad rate case. Bonaparte passes along some clippings related to the case against Senator William Edgar Borah of Idaho. Bonaparte relates the progress in vetting William B. Sheppard for a judgeship in Florida. In New Mexico, Bonaparte says he has examined the charges against New Mexico District Attorney William H. H. Llewellyn, and believes he must be removed from office. Bonaparte will be in Oyster Bay on Friday.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-05

Letter from James W. Raynolds to Charles J. Bonaparte

Acting Governor of New Mexico Raynolds confirms the text of a telegram he sent Attorney General Bonaparte regarding the behavior and actions of Ormsby McHarg, United States Special Assistant Attorney General, in the case of Holm Olaf Bursum, the former Superintendent of Prisons. McHarg has made several demands of the territorial government, and while the territory is anxious to comply, they are not required by law to do so. Further, McHarg has impugned the character and capability of several officials. Raynolds asks for specific guidance from the Department of Justice as to the wishes of the department and the actions the territorial government of New Mexico is expected to perform in the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-15

Letter from Herbert J. Hagerman to Theodore Roosevelt

Former New Mexico Territory Governor Hagerman has refrained from addressing President Roosevelt’s statements in his letters concerning Hagerman’s forced resignation because he felt that on further reflection, Roosevelt would correct his false accusations. However, Hagerman now feels compelled to answer the accusations Roosevelt has made against him and set the record straight. Hagerman includes a detailed timeline and description of events and persons involved in his forced resignation due to accusations of land fraud. In conclusion, Hagerman says that the entire affair has hurt the standing of the Republican Party in New Mexico and asks Roosevelt to take this into consideration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-19

Letter from William Allen White to Theodore Roosevelt

William Allen White of the Emporia Gazette shares his thoughts on William H. Taft’s candidacy for president in the upcoming election and the trial of Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah. White fears that politicians may ruin Taft’s chances in various states, as they would support Roosevelt for a third term, but will give their support to men like Senator Joseph Gurney Cannon or Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks when Roosevelt declines to run. White says the political organization in Colorado is against Taft. S. S. McClure, who was originally prejudiced against Borah, now supports him and asked White to write an article defending him, which White refused both because he is personal friends with Borah, and because he is busy with his own writing. White hired C. P. Connelly, a lawyer, to look into the matter for him, and Connelly told him that he believes Borah to be innocent. White shares his thoughts regarding the impossible situation Borah is in, where a mistrial will be as bad as a conviction for his career. White asks Roosevelt to meet with Borah. In a postscript, White points out that the trial of Charles H. Moyer, which Borah is prosecuting, will take place in the same month as Borah’s own trial, and how disadvantageous this will be for all involved.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-25

Letter from Charles F. Skelly to Kazuo Matsubara

Charles F. Skelly, Secretary of the San Francisco Board of Police Commissioners, informs Japanese Vice Consul Matsubara that permits for employment agencies were denied to Henry Fruya and several other Japanese nationals due to the board’s interpretation of a treaty between Japan and the United States. The board believes the applicant, Fruya, should bring a case to the courts to have his rights under the treaty determined.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-03

Letter from Benjamin Ide Wheeler to William Loeb

Benjamin Ide Wheeler is glad to hear of Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon’s positive report on John W. Garrett. Wheeler updates William Loeb on the local political climate in San Francisco, which he finds very confused. The “stable elements” of society are now in opposition to several formerly popular leaders, though it is hard to say exactly why. Wheeler believes it has to do with indictments against the men. Wheeler encloses a series of editorials from The Argonaut examining the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-03