Alabama

Letter from Louis Edelman to Theodore Roosevelt

Dr. Louis Edelman tells Theodore Roosevelt his opinion of the Republican Presidential candidates and where they stand with the American people based on his travels through many states, including his home state of Alabama. Edelman tells Roosevelt he is the only possible candidate who can win the South and that he has a duty to the Republican party and the American people to run for president. If Roosevelt will run, Edelman will not give up the fight for delegates in Alabama, but he asks Roosevelt to let him know so he might come to New York to meet in person.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-16

Telegram from the Alabama State Fair Association to Theodore Roosevelt

Members of the Alabama State Fair Association remind Theodore Roosevelt of previous conversations about him opening the fair in the fall. They reiterate that they will continue their requests until he agrees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-07

Letter from Joseph O. Thompson to Theodore Roosevelt

Joseph O. Thompson encloses clippings describing the “political waterloo” that led to him resigning his leadership in the Alabama Republican party. He hopes President Taft will rebuke P. D. Barker in the future for his “treachery.” Barker criticized Theodore Roosevelt in the 1910 New York gubernatorial campaign. Thompson offers to be of service to Theodore Roosevelt within the state of Alabama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-17

Letter from Thomas Goode Jones to Theodore Roosevelt

Judge Jones reflects on recent attacks by former Alabama Governor B. B. Comer to Theodore Roosevelt. Jones also comments on his involvement in a railroad rate case, and hopes that his actions did not make Roosevelt regret the faith he had placed in him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-23

Letter from Thomas Goode Jones to Theodore Roosevelt

Judge Jones sends Theodore Roosevelt a copy of the “Observations,” to which he had previously referred, and which former Alabama Governor B. B. Comer had written a reply to. He does not want to burden Roosevelt by requesting he read the whole thing, and has therefore marked several passages that he feels are of particular interest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-21

Letter from Braxton Bragg Comer to Theodore Roosevelt

Braxton Bragg Comer encloses a piece he believes to be self-explanatory in a letter to Theodore Roosevelt. Comer states “there are still some strenuous times in Alabama.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-13

Letter from George H. Miller to Theodore Roosevelt

George H. Miller is pleased Theodore Roosevelt visited Corey, Alabama, and is interested in the small-scale agricultural improvement project in the area.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-15

Letter from Julia Marion Grayson to Theodore Roosevelt

Julia Marion Grayson, President of the Selma Congress of Mothers, writes to Theodore Roosevelt on behalf of her organization. She has heard that Roosevelt will visit the south and address the Child Labor Congress in Birmingham, Alabama, and invites him to visit Selma and address her organization as well. Doing so would hopefully provide the impetus for the creation of more mothers clubs in Alabama, as there are presently only three.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-02

Telephone message from Eugene Davis

Judge Thomas G. Jones of Alabama wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in 1907 regarding several people who wanted government appointments. One such person was Oscar R. Hundley, who has been appointed judge in Alabama. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee would like the President to send a copy of the letter as it relates to Hundley.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

Letter from Joseph O. Thompson to William Loeb

Joseph O. Thompson writes to William Loeb regarding politics in Alabama, as he did not get a chance to speak with Loeb before leaving Washington, D.C. He explains his motives for remaining aligned with Charles H. Scott, in spite of the push to break with him, because of the likely confusion it would cause at the state convention. He feels that he is acting in a way that will bring Secretary of War William H. Taft victory, and says that he will use all honorable means to bring about Taft’s success, since President Roosevelt refuses to run for another term.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-24

Letter from Booker T. Washington to William Loeb

Booker T. Washington waited several days before responding to William Loeb because he wanted to study the situation. The question that is troubling him regards Charles H. Scott and his dislike of Frank H. Hitchcock. It is important to have his vote and influence in the National Committee, but Washington suspects that Scott will try to act against Hitchcock and thereby against Secretary of War William H. Taft’s candidacy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-24

Letter from Booker T. Washington to William Loeb

Booker T. Washington updates William Loeb on matters in Alabama, including several upcoming meetings he has scheduled, as well as the fact that the state committee in Birmingham, Alabama, endorsed President Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-22

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to William Loeb

Assistant Attorney General Cooley has read and returns Booker T. Washington’s letter about the political situation in Alabama. He believes that Charles H. Scott should be kept in line until the Republican National Convention, and is happy to use whatever influence he has with him to get him to change his demands. Both Scott and Joseph O. Thompson are beholden to the Roosevelt Administration for their influence in Alabama, thus it should be possible to achieve the arrangement President Roosevelt wants. Cooley wishes that Scott and others who supported Secretary of War William H. Taft before Roosevelt’s declaration would understand that Assistant Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock is not against them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-06

Letter from Booker T. Washington to Theodore Roosevelt

Booker T. Washington requests that nothing be done in Alabama to disrupt Tuskegee Postmaster Joseph O. Thompson’s authority without his consent. Thompson has been working out the situation and currently has it under control. If the conflict between Thompson and Charles H. Scott cannot be resolved, Scott should be given a position out of state, as it is imperative that Thompson’s influence over the Alabama State Committee be maintained.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-07

Letter from Thomas Goode Jones to William Loeb

Judge Jones defends his use of injunctions preventing Alabama from enforcing legislation that permits the state to regulate rates charged by railroad companies in a letter to William Loeb. Jones has read in the Birmingham Age-Herald that while on a visit to Washington, D.C., Governor B. B. Comer, who is in favor of regulation, met with President Roosevelt allegedly to discuss the situation, so as to avoid a potential conflict between state and federal troops. Jones requests that Loeb inform Roosevelt of the reasoning behind Jones’s actions, as he was appointed by Roosevelt. He asserts that the injunctions were administered in accordance with the Constitution and were invoked to protect the interests of Alabamians.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-07

Letter from Horace H. Lurton to Thomas Goode Jones

Judge Lurton supports Judge Jones and his opinions on a series of rate cases he had recently handled. While Jones’s decisions have been controversial, Lurton assures Jones that his decision was necessary to preserve the balance between federal and state powers, as he also believes the cases in question clearly fell under federal and not state jurisdiction.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-18

Letter from Thomas G. Bush to Theodore Roosevelt

Thomas G. Bush praises President Roosevelt for his speeches on a recent tour of western and southern states, calling particular attention to a speech in Memphis. Bush also commiserates with Roosevelt on recent economic developments, saying he is not to blame for the recent downturn in the market. He is sorry that Roosevelt did not make a visit to Alabama on this trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-12

Letter from Arthur I. Vorys to William Loeb

Arthur I. Vorys’s friend urges him to communicate with Charles H. Scott in Alabama regarding Secretary of War William H. Taft’s campaign for the presidency. Vorys asks William Loeb to confirm Scott’s association with President Roosevelt and asks for any information about him. Thus far, the campaign has tried to “keep hands off of the Southern states.” Before pursuing leads in the South, Vorys wants to know who is friendly to Roosevelt’s administration and requests a list of such individuals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-13

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on several matters before him. Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley has been investigating the situation in Alabama, where Bonaparte deems it necessary for Roosevelt to “call down” several politicians who are complicating judicial confirmations and the workings of the attorney general’s office with concerns over political patronage. In Arkansas, Cooley reports that there are many well qualified men to replace Assistant District Attorney Ulysses S. Bratton, who has been involved in improper conduct in a case involving postal inspectors. Bonaparte has recently met with Census Director S. N. D. North and explains the problems he has encountered with obtaining an accurate census of Oklahoma Territory, resulting in problems with representation of citizens there, and makes recommendations to solve the problem. Bonaparte has requested summaries for the injunction regarding the picketing of the Allis Chalmers company in Wisconsin, and is appointing a special counsel to take charge of litigation against a prominent official there. Bonaparte is ready to move against the Tobacco Trust and James Buchanan Duke.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-18

Letter from Milton Dwight Purdy to Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant to the Attorney General, and acting as Attorney General, Milton Dwight Purdy tells President Roosevelt that the decision of Judge Walter Evans was decided before Attorney General William H. Moody could intervene. More similar cases are upcoming in Kentucky and Tennessee that Moody will intervene in. Purdy notes that declaring acts of Congress as unconstitutional is becoming more common.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-07