Bankruptcy

Letter from Richard P. Keif to Theodore Roosevelt

Richard P. Keif repeats his earlier request of Theodore Roosevelt to recommend an honest lawyer to help him, having not received a response to his previous letter. Keif placed his stock in the care of a broker who stole the stock and sold it before declaring bankruptcy. Keif does not believe America has honest laws that are followed and has been unable to file charges against the man who robbed him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-16

Creator(s)

Keif, Richard P., -1943

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Michael Byrne

President Roosevelt wishes he could do as William Michael Byrne requests in the pardon case. However, based on Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte’s report, he feels he cannot. Roosevelt agrees with Bonaparte that such crimes “are becoming scandalously frequent.” The business community needs to clearly understand that perjurious acts are not merely business incidents in bankruptcy cases.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Woods Motor Vehicle Company financial statements

Two statements of the Woods Motor Vehicle Company’s financial condition outline the company’s assets and liabilities as they stood on October 1, 1904 and on January 1, 1904. The October statement shows an increase in overall revenue since earlier in 1904, but both statements show a decrease from a similar assessment made in August 1902. The statements also provide a brief history of the company, and mention several of its officers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-01

Creator(s)

Whitney, Max H. (Max Hanson), 1870-1915; Becker, Abraham G., 1857-1925; Hyman, Charles E., 1863-1915

Not broke

Typed transcript of an article from the Bismarck Tribune. The Marquis de Morès is far from bankruptcy and continues to have the support of wealthy family members. The rumors of divorce between the Marquis and Marquise are unfounded.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1887-10-11

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Ray

President Roosevelt asks if there is anything he should put in his message about bankruptcy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Frank Wheeler Mondell to E. E. Kessner

Representative Mondell responds to an inquiry from E. E. Kessner, who was employed by the Western Construction Company and working on the Corbett Tunnel when it went bankrupt. Kessner was not compensated for his work. Wheeler informs Kessner that it will be impossible for him to file a lien for compensation now that the company’s property has been seized by the government. Wheeler suggests that Kessner and other men trying to reclaim their lost wages should join the suit the government will likely file against the Western Construction Company’s bondsmen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-15

Creator(s)

Mondell, Frank Wheeler, 1860-1939

Memorandum on Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company

A memorandum outlines the current assets and debts of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, and the plan of a Readjustment Committee to rescue the company from bankruptcy. The memorandum makes suggestions on how to make the Merchandise Creditors’ plan effective, including lifting receivership of the company.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-28

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from W. Minter Wimberly to Theodore Roosevelt

W. Minter Wimerbly defends Postmaster Harry Stillwell Edwards against the accusation of not paying his debts. Wimberly, who has represented Edwards in legal matters for many years and has become his friend, relates how Edwards came to be in debt and the great efforts he has made to pay off his indebtedness. Both Wimberly and his partner have advised Edwards to seek relief by filing for bankruptcy, but Edwards has declined, committing to pay his debts as he is able. Wimberly believes the accusation against Edwards is unjust and slanderous.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-18

Creator(s)

Wimberly, W. Minter (William Minter), 1861-1919

Statement by William F. King

William F. King sets out a brief history of the Nautical Preparatory School, as well as the plans of the school’s reorganization committee going forward. After the bankruptcy of the company hired to construct a ship for the Nautical Preparatory School, the school tried chartering a ship instead, but was unable to raise the necessary funds, leading to the creation of the reorganization committee to manage how to proceed. Although there is no legal obligation to proceed, the committee feels that there is a moral one, and hopes to continue to receive support from the public to make the venture a success.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-18

Creator(s)

King, William F. (William Frederick), 1850-1909

Rescued? Nothing doing in the mercy line from the Bluebeard of bankruptcy

Bluebeard, wearing a hat labeled “Bankruptcy” and holding in his raised left hand a clock labeled “Obligations,” holds a sword in his right hand and confronts a woman labeled “Railroads” who begs for mercy, just as a knight labeled “Increased Freight Rates” enters from the left.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1913-12-17

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

Licensed wreckers – in the hands of the receivers

Print shows a ship labeled “Wrecked Corporation” and “Insurance Co. Bankrupt” that has wrecked on rocks with a darkened lighthouse labeled “Trust” and “Justice” nearby. The light has been snuffed by “Judge” and “Corruption.” Victims of the wreck, some clinging to the ship, others in the water, are labeled “Policy Holder” and “Pillaged Policy Holder.” A rope from the ship to shore is held by a “Receiver,” a “Lawyer,” and a “Shore Shark,” and is coiled around a money bag labeled “Fee.” Another “Lawyer,” using a gaff, reaches for a barrel labeled “Fees” that bobs in the water near the ship. Standing near the lighthouse is a man labeled “Referee” who is holding a pan labeled “False Beacon” that spews illuminated smoke labeled “By Order of the Court.” The man burns papers labeled “Waste, Outrageous Extravagance, Extortion, [and] Cost.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-03-15

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

Let us have a good bankruptcy law, as a protection against the “preferred creditor” swindle

Puck carries a “Petition – To the 48th Congress” at the head of a long procession of well-dressed businessmen who want Congress to enact a “Good Bankruptcy Law” that would identify fraudulent conveyances to a “Preferred Creditor” and hold swindlers accountable. They march down “Relations Row” past buildings that are labeled “Grandfather Preferred, Brother Preferred, 19th Cousin Preferred, Uncle Preferred, Sister Preferred, [and] Brother in Law.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-11-14

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alice Lee Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt writes his wife Alice to express how much he misses her. Frank Iselin has “failed” and his family will have to leave their house. He took Aunt Annie out in the dog-cart and dined with Philip Miller.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1881-04-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Summary of letter from Jeff Davis

Governor Davis protests against the rumored appointment of Senator Jones to the Panama Canal Commission. He points to a petition of bankruptcy filed by Jones and believes that this should disqualify Jones from a federal position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-19

Creator(s)

Presidential Office Staff

Letter from Jeff Davis to Theodore Roosevelt

Governor Davis is against the appointment of Senator Jones to the Isthmian Canal Commission because Davis does not believe Jones to be a representative Democrat of the state and claims that Jones has a reputation for not paying his debts. He apologizes for missing an opportunity to see President Roosevelt and mentions that he would like to speak to Roosevelt regarding Jones. He mentions a bankruptcy judgment in Jones’ hand and his reputation for not paying his debts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-19

Creator(s)

Davis, Jeff, 1862-1913

Littauer, gloves

The writer provides details of the bankruptcy hearing of Edmond R. Lyon. Evidence presented in the case implicates Lucius Nathan Littauer in entering into government supply contracts specifically forbidden to members of Congress by federal law. Lyon had collaborated with Littauer in contracts for gloves through Littauer Bros., a firm owned by Littauer with his brother. It is alleged that Littauer would learn of the contracts to be let, buy up all the deerskin, and make it unprofitable for anyone else to bid.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-01

Creator(s)

Unknown

Memorandum from Lucius Nathan Littauer

Representative Littauer summarizes the business relationship between Littauer Brothers and Edmond R. Lyon. Littauer Brothers had several contracts with Lyon to produce leather gauntlets. Lyon was a general contractor with the United States Army and supplied the gauntlets as part of various army contracts. Littauer Brothers only produced gauntlets and was not a party to the larger army contracts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-01

Creator(s)

Littauer, Lucius Nathan, 1859-1944

In the matter of the bankruptcy of James K. Jones

Pamphlet detailing the 1868 bankruptcy of Senator Jones. A section of the pamphlet presents evidence that Jones used $3500 belonging to Sallie Eaton Smith, who was Jones’s ward at the time, for his own purposes and used bankruptcy on this claim without ever repaying Smith.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-17

Creator(s)

Unknown