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Charles J. Bonaparte and Holmes Conrad feel that the District Attorney should have laid the case before the Grand Jury. President Roosevelt would like to discuss the matter with Attorney General Knox and asks that Morgan Beach and Charles Henry Robb be invited to attend if possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-10
President Roosevelt informs Ray Stannard Baker the District of Columbia is better off than the rest of the country regarding homicides. The president includes a copy of a letter from United States District Attorney Morgan H. Beach to William Loeb listing the number of homicides, acquittals, and convictions in the District of Columbia during the past ten years, and adds his own handwritten note that there were no lynchings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-05
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson asks William Loeb for a letter Wilson sent to Theodore Roosevelt regarding Edwin Sanford Holmes’s allegations that the Bureau of Statistics manipulated cotton statistics.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-25
William H. Moody prepares for a case in Chicago regarding beef trusts and interstate commerce.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-29
Attorney General Moody is following the case of Edwin Sanford Holmes closely. District Attorney Morgan H. Beach is doing everything within his power in the case, and believes no one else is incriminated in the scandal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-09
Attorney General Moody updates President Roosevelt on the investigation of the cotton scandal and the various employees in the Department of Agriculture involved in the case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-21
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson responds to two letters recently received from President Roosevelt concerning scandal surrounding the cotton report leak. Wilson describes Edwin Sanford Holmes, assistant statistician in the Department of Agriculture, as a “scoundrel.” Holmes has been accused of leaking information to New York brokers who used it to speculate on the market. Wilson provides background information concerning the status of the case. He discusses potential guilt and the possible removal of John Hyde, chief of the Bureau of Statistics in the Agriculture Department.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-17
Attorney General Moody writes to President Roosevelt regarding District Attorney Morgan H. Beach’s investigation into the Department of Agriculture. Moody shares a report from Beach in which he writes that Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson is making the investigation difficult by not cooperating with John Hyde, who he appointed to assist in the investigation. Moody trusts Wilson and does not believe that any action should be taken yet, but wanted to inform Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-17
As per Attorney General Moody’s suggestion, Acting Attorney General Hoyt takes the matter of Jasper Wilson up directly with President Roosevelt. He clearly states that he does not know anything discrediting Jasper Wilson, and the suggestions to his disadvantage are merely unfounded rumors. However, he finds that Jasper “surrounds his father (Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson) with an anxious degree of surveillance and intervention” beyond that of a concerned son. Hoyt updates Roosevelt on the situation. Morgan H. Beach, special assistant to the Attorney General, will shortly call Secretary Wilson and Jasper Wilson before the Grand Jury, after which they will supposedly tour the forest reserves. It is a delicate matter, and no one wants to do Jasper any personal injustice, but it is best to study the Department of Agriculture situation during his absence. The sudden departure of John Hyde, statistician for the Department of Agriculture, is suspicious, and his escape is frustrating. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture W. M. Hays is ready to take charge if needed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-25