Actions and defenses

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt enjoyed visiting with Attorney General Bonaparte and agrees with his views of United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick and Senator William Edgar Borah. In a postscript, Roosevelt discusses how Ruick has been “playing a sharp, clever, tricky game” and hopes Francis J. Heney can take over. Roosevelt shares his thoughts on the situation in New Mexico.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edwin Walter Sims

President Roosevelt congratulates U.S. Attorney Sims on the outcome of the Standard Oil case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Carl L. Rasch

President Roosevelt congratulates District Attorney Rasch for his handling of the Carroll Fencing case. Roosevelt appreciates Rasch’s point that a stronger penalty would have hurt the government’s cause “where public sentiment is only beginning to come around to the side of the law.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

President Roosevelt shares his thoughts regarding the upcoming presidential election and the land fraud case against Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah with William Allen White. Roosevelt outlines his personal reasons for supporting Secretary of War William H. Taft for president as well as the political considerations necessary to secure his nomination. In the case of Borah, Roosevelt would like White to come to Oyster Bay to discuss the matter with him and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte; Roosevelt thinks it would look bad for Borah to come himself, and asks White to bring Borah’s lawyers on August 9.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to G. W. Woodruff

President Roosevelt authorizes Acting Secretary of the Interior Woodruff to confer with the Departments of Justice and Treasury to see if it would be advisable to permit coal mining operations to continue pending the settlement of a lawsuit regarding royalties per ton of coal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on various matters before the Department of Justice, specifically pertaining to the cases of William Edgar Borah and N. M. Ruick. Bonaparte also goes into great detail about the case of the People of Puerto Rico vs. the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church in Puerto Rico. He encourages Roosevelt not to get involved but instead to let the courts work it out. In a postscript, Bonaparte discusses the political considerations of federal appointees who run for elective office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-15

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter from Ruel Rounds to Charles J. Bonaparte

U.S. Marshal Rounds acknowledges several messages Attorney General Bonaparte has sent pertaining to the trial of Senator William Edgar Borah. Borah’s friends believe he will not receive a fair trial. Rounds says he is confused by this concern and explains that he has done nothing to prevent Borah from receiving a fair trial. Rounds requests that Bonaparte begin an investigation to satisfy himself about the truth of the complaints.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-07

Creator(s)

Rounds, Ruel, 1842-1922

Letter from Frank Sigel Dietrich to Charles J. Bonaparte

Judge Dietrich informs Attorney General Bonaparte he had asked for a large panel of seventy jurors and informed the U.S. Marshal to avoid any appearance of bias. Dietrich also reports on developments regarding the judge to be appointed for the Idaho land fraud case. He reached out to several judges before eventually deciding on Judge Edward Whitson, an outside judge which will give the appearance of fairness. The decision was “entirely satisfactory to all parties here.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-07

Creator(s)

Dietrich, Frank Sigel, 1863-1930

Letter from Otto Gresham to Theodore Roosevelt

Otto Gresham corrects a statement made in a prior letter to President Roosevelt. Gresham himself opined that the confession of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and its attorneys would embarrass Standard Oil if the case were reversed. He did not mean to imply that the statement was made by John S. Miller, the attorney for Standard Oil.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-06

Creator(s)

Gresham, Otto, 1859-1946

Letter from Frank Sigel Dietrich to Charles J. Bonaparte

Judge Dietrich reports to Attorney General Bonaparte on discussions he has had with the parties and special government counsel regarding the outside judge to be appointed in the Idaho land fraud cases. All parties agreed to Judge Edward Whitson, but Dietrich is not sure all would agree to Judge William Henry Hunt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-06

Creator(s)

Dietrich, Frank Sigel, 1863-1930

Letter from Otto Gresham to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney Otto Gresham sends President Roosevelt a letter from Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Gresham shares his views, as well as the views of various local lawyers and judges, on Landis’s actions and the proceedings of the Standard Oil case. Gresham also summarizes the conversations he had with Landis regarding the potential reversal of the case and the imposition of the fine. After discussing the history of law in Britain, Gresham concludes that the people support Roosevelt in his actions to control the corporations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-04

Creator(s)

Gresham, Otto, 1859-1946

Telegram from Edwin Walter Sims to Charles J. Bonaparte

United States Attorney Sims suggests edits to Attorney General Bonaparte’s letter. If Bonaparte does not agree to them, Sims asks for an adjournment of the grand jury in order to resubmit evidence so as to prove that the Department of Justice has taken an incorrect stance. Sims feels the court was unfairly influenced by the witnesses from the railroad company’s traffic department, and that the situation is urgent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-02

Creator(s)

Sims, Edwin Walter, 1870-1948

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte sent President Roosevelt a draft of the telegram to United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick. Bonaparte shares his thoughts about the intentions of the press in attacking him and gives an update on the International Harvester Company trust prosecution. Additionally, Bonaparte comments on Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg and the conference of attorneys general.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-26

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

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

Attorney General Bonaparte rebukes United States District Attorney Ruick for his telegram that is a “surprise, embarrassment and regret” to the Department of Justice. Ruick has not followed the directions of President Roosevelt or the department in the case against Senator William Edgar Borah and is no longer reliable. Because of this, the trial will be turned over to special counsel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-25

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte shares with President Roosevelt his thoughts about what to do with United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick. He sends a copy of the telegram he sent to Ruick, and notes the reasoning for his approach. The remaining question is that of the special counsel for the trial. Bonaparte will contact Francis J. Heney and provides several alternatives if Heney is unavailable. He asks Roosevelt for further suggestions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-25

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant Attorney General Cooley returns Philip Battell Stewart’s letter to President Roosevelt. He also includes a report from Stewart’s attorney wherein he tries to cast doubt on Cooley’s account and the propriety of Roosevelt’s choice to remove Herbert J. Hagerman from the position of territorial governor of New Mexico. Cooley cites multiple cases that give precedent to his claims. He feels that Hagerman was treated leniently.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-23

Creator(s)

Cooley, Alford Warriner, 1873-1913

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte recently met with Charles B. Morrison and Frank B. Kellogg regarding the suit against the Standard Oil Company. He summarizes the facts of the case for President Roosevelt and shares his thoughts. Bonaparte and Kellogg also discussed the Interstate Commerce Commission’s report on the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroad Companies.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-22

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte reviewed the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company case. He sends President Roosevelt a copy of his letter to United States District Attorney Edwin Walter Sims and asks him to look it over. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-21

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter to Edwin Walter Sims

The writer petitions United States Attorney Sims make a motion that the federal government repudiate its promise of immunity in the case of the United States vs. The Standard Oil Company of Indiana. The writer provides a thorough review of the case history beginning in June 1906.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-20

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to E. T. Colburn

Senator Lodge acknowledges E. T. Colburn and his friend’s concerns over the decline in the stock market. However, this decline results from many causes affecting not only the United States but the world. Therefore, Lodge argues that blaming President Roosevelt’s administration and investigations of corporations is unreasonable and unjust.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-19

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924