Actions and defenses

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt returns letters and telegrams to Attorney General Bonaparte. Roosevelt asks Bonaparte to consult with Supreme Court Justice Edward Douglass White and Judge Waller Thomas Burns about appointing a special counsel to investigate the violation of neutrality incidents on the border with Mexico. Roosevelt wants to assure the Mexican government that something will be done at once and does not want to wait for reports from secret service agents. Roosevelt asks about the status of the whiskey cases.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt tells Attorney General Bonaparte that he thinks the prosecution against Standard Oil should go on “as hard as possible,” no matter what happens in the campaign. Roosevelt has told William H. Taft that he should announce that he will not take any campaign contributions from Standard Oil. Roosevelt returns a letter from Assistant District Attorney Charles Albert Boynton and agrees with Bonaparte about Alabama Governor B. B. Comer. Roosevelt is not pleased with the situation surrounding Lycurgus H. Lingenfelder. Roosevelt makes recommendations for appointments to the Department of Justice in the wake of resignations by Milton Dwight Purdy and Alford Warriner Cooley.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt has sent Attorney General Bonaparte a public statement regarding the recent United States Circuit Court decision in the Standard Oil Company, and asks him to consult with Frank B. Kellogg about it. Roosevelt feels Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis has hurt the case by imposing an excessive fine, but that the three who reversed the decision have hurt the “cause of civilization and property.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt forwards Attorney General Bonaparte a telegram from former Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock, and admits that his prejudice against Pliny L. Soper may have been a holdover from Hitchcock’s time in office. Roosevelt also encloses an unsigned letter that Secretary of War William H. Taft and Frank B. Kellogg discussed, and asks that Bonaparte discuss it with Milton Dwight Purdy and Kellogg. Roosevelt has heard of the matter, but thinks that little good would come from pursuing the matter currently, as it would get twisted to political purposes. Roosevelt will tell Senator Jonathan Bourne and John D. Archbold that they have to stop wasting time trying to negotiate through Roosevelt and comply with the opinion of Bonaparte and Kellogg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James M. Ashton

President Roosevelt sends James M. Ashton the text of a report from Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield regarding three suits regarding the title of tide lands near Tacoma, Washington, which have been claimed by the Puyallup tribes. Roosevelt agrees with Garfield’s assessment that all three suits should be prosecuted to a conclusion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry L. Stimson

President Roosevelt sends Henry L. Stimson, United States Attorney, a brief from Senator William Edgar Borah, who is working on the Brownsville case on behalf of the administration. Borah is “worked up” over a suit that could reinstate a soldier. Roosevelt asks Stimson to look at the brief and consider it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert F. Manning

President Roosevelt asks Robert F. Manning to appear on his behalf in the suit for the accounting of his uncle Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt’s will.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt has called in Charles Patrick Neill regarding the employers’ liability bill and tells Attorney General Bonaparte that Congress may have to recall the bill to avoid it being ruled unconstitutional. Roosevelt thought that suit was going to be brought regarding “the trolley line business,” as he thought it was a clear violation of the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt clarifies with Attorney General Bonaparte that a recent indictment in Idaho will not repeat the charge of conspiracy of the men with Senator William Edgar Borah. Borah’s acquittal in the land fraud cases prevents his re-indictment, but Roosevelt wants to avoid potentially besmirching his name.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-26

Note from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt directs Attorney General Bonaparte to telegraph the clerk of the United States Court in Idaho and ask for the decision of the court from the previous Saturday, which saw a ruling on a plea in abatement in the land fraud cases. Roosevelt says that if the verdict is what he understands it to be, then District Attorney N. M. Ruick and Marshal Ruel Rounds should be removed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-16

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur William Merrifield

President Roosevelt assures U.S. Marshal Arthur William Merrifield that he will support Judge William Henry Hunt and U.S. District Attorney Carl L. Rasch, and that he trusts their judgement in regards to the cases that Merrifield mentioned.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Henry Hunt

President Roosevelt informs Judge William Henry Hunt that he has forwarded the papers relating to the case of Patrick D. Lenihan, Matthew J. Plunkett, Joseph Shannon, William Cutts, and A. E. Edwards to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte with instructions to deny their request.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Reuben D. Silliman

President Roosevelt agrees with Reuben D. Silliman that the actions of the government are driven by “aggressiveness.” Rather, it is because the business of the country has become national. He will mention Silliman’s letter to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte to see whether the case can be argued again.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Clay Frick

President Roosevelt prefers any communications about the case be exchanged between the respective counsels of the Standard Oil Company and the United States Government rather than involving himself.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt has read Attorney General Bonaparte’s letter regarding William C. Bristol’s poor professional conduct as Oregon Attorney General, and is withdrawing Bristol’s nomination to the Senate. Roosevelt feels that the land fraud cases should be tried by Oregon District Attorney Francis J. Heney and assistants that Heney recommends.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence F. Abbott

President Roosevelt is happy to hear that Lawrence F. Abbott likes the design for the new $10 coin, but he is even more excited for Abbott to see the $20 coin which he considers one of the most beautiful modern coin designs. Roosevelt is amused by the Supreme Court’s recent decision declaring a bill passed by New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes as constitutional, although he is not surprised. He notes that his opponents tend to automatically declare any of his laws unconstitutional even if they have been approved by the Supreme Court.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Horace H. Lurton

President Roosevelt thanks Judge Lurton for the speech, and says he will ask Alabama Representative William Richardson about it in person. Roosevelt would like to speak with Lurton about the injunctive process in the railway cases the government is currently prosecuting. Roosevelt has told both Governor B. B. Comer of Arkansas and Governor George L. Sheldon of Nebraska that the injunctive process cannot be abolished, but Roosevelt would like to discuss the ways it is being used with Lurton.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt forwards to Attorney General Bonaparte the Interstate Commerce Commission’s report, letters, and a map on the Edward Henry Harriman matter. He suggests that Bonaparte publish the report at the same time he announces the law suit. In a postscript dated July 11, Roosevelt responds to a letter he received from Bonaparte in the meantime. He expects to be “in an awful row” regarding Ulysses S. Bratton. He discusses the timing of Alexander McDonald McBlair’s and Mary Tayloe Key’s marriage, as it relates to McBlair’s responsibilities in the Oregon land fraud cases. He praises Bonaparte’s handling of the tobacco case. Finally, he alerts Bonaparte that Senator William Peters Hepburn wants to speak with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt informs Attorney General Bonaparte that he has directed the Department of Commerce and Labor to make the census of Oklahoma Territory that Bonaparte suggested. Roosevelt trusts Bonaparte’s judgement regarding a novel way to deal with the illegal tobacco trusts that had recently been proposed. Roosevelt would prefer to see the trust offenders put in prison, but thinks the seizure of businesses acquired against the law will be almost as effective.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt encloses a copy of a telegram for Secretary of State Root. San Francisco Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz “is a game man and has acted like a trump.” Roosevelt ordered the lawsuit to be dismissed as soon as the San Francisco Board of Education adopts the resolution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-12