Ballinger, Richard Achilles, 1858-1922

Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett has written a book on the country life problem in the United States and Gifford Pinchot hopes for Theodore Roosevelt’s endorsement. Pinchot is pleased that Roosevelt might be able to speak at the National Conservation Congress and knows other organizations that would be anxious to hear him speak as well. Pinchot believes that the latest developments in the Pinchot-Ballinger controversy show Attorney General George W. Wickersham and President William H. Taft in a poor light.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-05-18

Gifford Pinchot and Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett wonder whether the death of King Edward VII will make it feasible for Theodore Roosevelt to visit Ireland. Amos Pinchot has written that the controversy surrounding Secretary Richard Achilles Ballinger is looking favorable for them and that Gifford Pinchot should not return yet. Pinchot hopes to have the conservation meeting in either Kansas City or St. Louis, Missouri and urges Roosevelt to make his first speech there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-05-09

Senator Beveridge writes to Gifford Pinchot to chronicle the sense of general distrust and disappointment in President Taft. Beveridge reports that early misgivings were roused by Taft’s treatment of Theodore Roosevelt’s friends, the make up of his cabinet, and the men chosen to be his advisors. The tariff bill is almost universally hated throughout the country and Taft has gone out of his way to defend it. Beveridge fears that dislike of Taft is turning to hatred in some parts, and that others think the President is “stupid” or “punk.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-03-24

Gifford Pinchot writes to Theodore Roosevelt in Africa to provide a recap of current events. An investigation into Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger and the Forest Service will begin shortly. Pinchot believes that special interests control Congress and President William H. Taft’s administration, whose actions are characterized by “a most surprising weakness and indecision.” Taft has abandoned many of Roosevelt’s policies, and Pinchot sees a rift emerging between Taft and the more progressive elements of the Republican party. Pinchot sends his love to Kermit Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-12-31

Ambassador Jusserand sends Theodore Roosevelt Christmas wishes and hopes for his continued safety. He informs Roosevelt of his election to the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences on his own merits, with no opposing votes. Jusserand shares an incident of a mother cat saving her kitten from a caged tiger. Roosevelt’s letter was delightful and complemented his articles in Scribner’s Magazine, which everyone follows with interest. He does not have much to comment on regarding internal politics other than that he deplores the quarrel between Gifford Pinchot and Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger. Jusserand updates Roosevelt on several of their friends. Ambassador to France Robert Bacon was recently injured in a fall from his horse before leaving for his assignment. A letter “full of pleasant chattering” from Justice Alford Cooley hints at a possible improvement in health. Secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke Meyer and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Beekman Winthrop are trying to capture Jose Santos Zelaya in Nicaragua. While Henry Cabot Lodge and Anna Cabot Mills Davis Lodge are in good physical health, they still mourn for their son George “Bay” Cabot Lodge, especially on Christmas. Jusserand includes a newspaper clipping on Roosevelt’s election to the Academy and part of a political cartoon featuring Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-12-25

Senator Root updates Theodore Roosevelt on political and legislative matters that he has missed while he has been on safari in Africa. He believes that in time President William H. Taft will be seen as a good president in the eyes of the public, and lists some legislature currently before Congress. The Republicans have now been in power for a long time, and Root reports that some people are getting tired of the leaders. Root leaves to argue the Atlantic Fisheries case before the Hague, and Andrew Carnegie would like him to meet with Roosevelt and work on bringing about disarmament in Europe. Root believes this is a bad idea. He discusses news of Roosevelt’s family, including the engagement of his son Ted and reports that Kermit has shot a female warthog.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-02-11

Senator Bourne argues that President Roosevelt must run for another term as President, using excerpts of letters, newspaper clipping, and his own strong opinion on the matter to convince Roosevelt not to leave office at this critical point in history.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-07

Senator Bourne and other Oregon legislators recommend that George A. Westgate be named as the Surveyor General of Oregon. They are eager to name a replacement because the last Surveyor General was dismissed for poor conduct, and Westgate is known to be a man of integrity. Regarding the upcoming election, Bourne believes the public will resist any effort by Roosevelt to name his own successor, even though many would like him to run for office again. He believes New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes would be the people’s choice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-03

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

W. A. Boyd informs Senator Andrews he has learned of rumors that General Land Office Special Agent Frederick C. Dezendorf and his understudy, Oscar D. Olmstead, have been informing the press on political matters. Boyd requests Andrews speak with Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield and General Land Office Commissioner Richard Achilles Ballinger about his concerns of the federal government outsiders meddling in the affairs of the New Mexico territory.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-06

Senator Bourne believes that President Roosevelt should run for a third term, and makes several arguments why this should be so. Roosevelt’s influence over the economy, his diplomatic abilities as demonstrated by his brokerage of peace between Russia and Japan, and his general popularity means that he should “sacrifice” himself for the country and obey the will of the people. Bourne argues that a win by Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan would result in years of business stagnation, that Secretary of War William H. Taft is not nearly as attractive to the people as Roosevelt is, that New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes could be a dangerous candidate, and that Selden P. Spencer is best ignored.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-20

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

Senator Bourne writes President Roosesvelt to report on his meeting with Scott C. Bone, editor of the Washington Herald, who agrees that by December, public opinion will universally concede that Roosevelt should be re-elected. Bourne goes so far as to say that Roosevelt “must obey the call of the people or be considered a weak coward or a selfish egotist.” He also writes that if Roosevelt can secure the confidence of Richard A. Ballinger, he may be able to defeat the plan of the “reactionaries” who planned to stir up opposition in Washington State.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-14

Senator Bourne asks President Roosevelt if he could have a meeting with General Land Commissioner Richard Achilles Ballinger.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-10

James G. Lewis explains how deforestation in China became a central part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s last annual message to Congress in December 1908. Lewis notes that Roosevelt’s conservation efforts had been increasingly thwarted by Congress in the last two years of his administration, and Roosevelt decided that he needed to make a strong case to Congress in his last message. Roosevelt used the example of what had happened to China’s soil, rivers, and climate after massive deforestation had rid many of its mountains of trees and vegetation. Roosevelt relied on evidence, eyewitness accounts, and photographs supplied by Frank Nicholas Meyer and Willis Bailey to emphasize the damage done in China. Lewis notes that Roosevelt was the first president to add photographs to his annual message. 

Five photographs appear in the article, including three of deforestation in China, a similar scene from Utah, and one of Meyer. 

Barry W. Walsh provides an overview of the career of America’s first and most famous forester, Gifford Pinchot. Walsh emphasizes Pinchot’s work in government to promote forest conservation, and she examines his work with President Theodore Roosevelt and his dismissal under President William Howard Taft. Walsh also examines Pinchot’s bitter quarrel with John Muir over building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park, and she notes his advising President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the founding of the Yale Forest School. A photograph of Pinchot appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

In this chapter excerpt from his book John Muir and His Legacy: The American Conservation Movement, Stephen Fox examines efforts to expand Yosemite National Park, the battle between preservationists and conservationists over the use of forests, and provides portraits of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, John Burroughs, and Theodore Roosevelt. He looks at the work undertaken by the conservation movement to preserve Niagara Falls, the redwood forests of California, and Mount Desert Island in Maine. Fox concludes the chapter with a look at the battle over the city of San Francisco’s desire to build a dam at the southern end of Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park. In addition to looking at the life and work of Muir, the chapter provides information on many lesser known figures in the turn of the twentieth-century conservation movement.

A listing of the officers and the members of the executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of the excerpt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Senator Robert M. La Follette recently delivered a speech excoriating President William H. Taft for having “broken all the vital party platform pledges and repeatedly and continuously [betraying] the public interests into the hands of special privilege.” While Taft attained the presidency through his association with Theodore Roosevelt, his actions in office have gone against many of the progressive policies that Roosevelt upheld.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-17

Following a number of legislative items, including voting on an amendment to a bill and a motion to investigate participation in international expositions, Senator Robert M. La Follette delivers a speech beginning with proposed tariff reciprocity with Canada, but quickly turning to his view that President William H. Taft has abandoned his campaign promises to continue the progressive policies of his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt. La Follette excoriates Taft on his stances on taxes and conservation, among other issues.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-15

The article describes a speech on the Senator floor, in which Senator Robert M. La Follette attacked President William H. Taft for ignoring former president Theodore Roosevelt’s policies. La Follette argued that Taft was elected by promising to continue Roosevelt’s agenda, but has not done that. In particular Taft took issue with the firing of Gifford Pinchot, the reciprocity bill, and the Taft administration’s railroad legislation. He also noted that Taft barely mentioned Roosevelt in his first message to Congress.

Comments and Context

The article includes underlines and comments from Mary E. Wiswell, who mailed the clipping to Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division