Your TR Source
President Roosevelt is delighted with the judgment in the ice trust matter. He would like to see John Clay Davies when he is in Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-05
Thomas L. Hisgen credits Theodore Roosevelt for the success of the dissolution of the Standard Oil Trust.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-16
Norman H. White contends that steamers paralleling railroad routes are contrary to the Sherman Act. He finds it odd that the case would be pursued by the Roosevelt administration and then dropped by President Taft and Attorney General Wickersham. White would like to hear Taft’s or Wickersham’s views on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-04-08
President Taft explains why the railroad acquisition suit was dismissed by Attorney General Wickersham. It was decided that the systems were supplementary and not competitive so their consolidation would not constitute an unlawful restraint of trade.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-04-05
President Taft’s “friends” are claiming that the Taft administration cannot be blamed for the actions of the Standard Oil Company as Taft had to enforce the Sherman Act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s interpretation. A response is suggested noting that trust regulation was part of the platform that elected the current administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-03-11
Otto S. Jonas, secretary of the Independent Retail Tobaconnists Association, argues in favor of the Tobacco Trust litigation being put before the United States Supreme Court.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-01-30
Frank Lambert Dingley writes to Theodore Roosevelt to share his opinion about political and social progress. Dingley comments on Roosevelt’s recent positive reception and the fact it was predicted Roosevelt would be back in politics despite many believing he had retired. Dingley hopes to meet with Roosevelt soon, after his return from Washington D.C., where he will be meeting with many Republican and Progressive political leaders.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-14
Series of telegrams documenting the efforts of the National Cigar Leaf Tobacco Association and the Cigar Manufacturers’ Association of America to convince President Taft to examine the “Tobacco Trust” case that they believe violates the Sherman Act.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-11-06
Charles G. Washburn selects Theodore Roosevelt as a target to his observations of the Sherman Act due to the recent comments published in The Outlook. Washburn lists to Roosevelt 5 difference points in response to George W. Perkins’ address the Detroit Board of Commerce.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-20
Nathaniel T. Green informs Theodore Roosevelt that he has recently successfully sued the American Tobacco Company for damages under the anti-trust statute. The suit was successful even though the judge’s views were not favorable. Green believes that allowing private rights of action against trusts more feasible could be a good method of breaking trusts up. He sends a brief he presented on the case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-18
Governor Wilson thanks Edwin A. Van Valkenburg for the letter regarding the recent Supreme Court decisions in the Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust cases. He read the letter with deep interest and had intended to look into the English cases himself.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-28
Edwin A. Van Valkenburg presents arguments against the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust cases.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-21
Emory Speer agrees with Theodore Roosevelt’s opinion in The Outlook regarding the interest judges should have in the laboring masses. He sends a copy of his ruling in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers case, which is one of the most pleasing incidents in his long judicial career. Only Roosevelt’s public praise of his work in the chain gang case and the Greene and Gaynor case equals it. Speer wishes Roosevelt safe travels.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-18
The Office of the Attorney General reports that Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte advised President Roosevelt that there is no reason to prosecute the United States Steel Corporation under the Sherman Act for its proposed acquisition of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. However, if this transaction were to be preceded or followed by similar acquisitions, the Department of Justice would need to reexamine the situation for antitrust violations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-09
United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Attorney General
William Dudley Foulke sends President Roosevelt several new clippings regarding the ways his enemies in Ohio and Indiana have been trying to discredit him, particularly allegations he has done nothing to limit political corruption in Cincinnati driven by George Barnsdale Cox and that his antitrust investigations are responsible for the current financial crisis. Foulke also offers his own suggestions as to how Roosevelt could best curb the power of monopolies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-14
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
Thomas A. Painter sends college classmate Nicholas Murray Butler his thoughts regarding resource pooling, which is currently banned under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Painter details how pooling works along with its benefits, and argues for its legalization.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-31
Nicholas Murray Butler encloses a letter from his college friend, Thomas A. Painter, on the topic of resource pooling and antitrust law that Butler thinks President Roosevelt will find interesting.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-01
Attorney General Bonaparte encloses a letter and a memorandum from Milton Dwight Purdy, along with Bonaparte’s own memorandum commenting on Purdy’s work on the Sherman Act in the wake of the Panic of 1907.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-06
Attorney General Bonaparte analyzes the findings of Assistant Attorney General Milton Dwight Purdy regarding interpretation of the Sherman Act in the wake of the Panic of 1907. Bonaparte does not believe all forms of competition can or ought to be “encouraged or alike discouraged by the law.” Bonaparte details the features of healthy and unhealthy competition, and describes how to avoid the various types of offenses that are committed by trusts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-06