Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Letter from Henry L. Stimson to Theodore Roosevelt

Referring to the libel case against the New York World, District Attorney Stimson agrees with President Roosevelt’s view that it is important to prosecute the “man at the top.” However, Stimson feels that even though Joseph Pulitzer can be suspected as knowing about the libel, there is not enough evidence to actually indict him. If the federal government’s case against Pulitzer is thrown out by the courts, it would cause any future successful prosecutions against the company or the actually responsible individual to lose its significance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-11

Letter from Douglas Robinson to John M. Bowers

Douglas Robinson has given President Roosevelt John M. Bowers’s message. After conferring with Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and Henry L. Stimson, Roosevelt feels that Bowers should talk to Stimson in New York. However, if Bowers would like to come to Washington, D. C. to see Roosevelt, an appointment can be arranged.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-29

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

President-Elect Taft advises President Roosevelt to veto the bill in response to Congress’s refusal to put the Census Bureau under the Civil Service Act. Taft believes that vetoing it will help to put an end to the “pernicious spoils system.” Taft reports that Representative Joseph R. Foraker claims Taft and Roosevelt have taken money from an emergency fund unlawfully and has requested that they make their expenditures public. Taft details the expenditures he has made over the past four years from the fund, most of which covered his travel expenses. Taft reasons it may not be in the best interest of the public to reveal all of the expenditures, but recognizes that failure to do so would “create such a row.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-13

Letter from Frank B. Kellogg to William Loeb

Frank B. Kellogg tells William Loeb that, upon reflection, he does not believe it is a good idea for President Roosevelt to mention Kellogg’s name in his communication with Senator Eugene Hale regarding the payment of special government attorneys. Kellogg explains the facts of the case to Loeb, and mentions that there are many other employees working for the government on similarly small salaries. He would prefer to avoid notoriety, and reiterates that, unless necessary, he would prefer to not be mentioned in the report.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-04

Memorandum from the Office of the Attorney General

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.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-09

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to Theodore Roosevelt

Alford Warriner Cooley informs President Roosevelt that he has written to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte tendering his resignation, which will take effect whenever Bonaparte sees fit. Cooley does this because he has been instructed by his doctor that, for his health, he should not do any work for some time, and he realizes that the department cannot keep him on in this manner indefinitely. Cooley hopes to be well enough to see Roosevelt again before he departs on his African safari after leaving the presidency.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-12

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge tells President Roosevelt that Henry C. Gauss, who has worked with both William H. Moody and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte when they were each Secretary of the Navy, would like to be made Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Both Moody and Bonaparte say he is a good man. Lodge also points out that if some ships that have been discussed were bought, they could be used to transport five million barrels of cement to the Canal. Those who oppose the purchase of the ships argue that it would be too expensive to transport the cement. However, they are not factoring in that if the ships do not transport the cement, they will be idle.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-23

Letter from William Dudley Foulke to Theodore Roosevelt

William Dudley Foulke details the conditions which led to a Republican slump in Indiana during the election. Men such as Lucius B. Swift who offered their services to the Republican committee were boycotted. Foulke also believes that editorials and false articles in papers such as the Indianapolis News also contributed to a distrust of President Roosevelt and William H. Taft. He details a telephone conversation he had with editor Delavan Swift about a letter that Roosevelt had written about him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-07

Letter from Robert Underwood Johnson to Theodore Roosevelt

Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of Century magazine, discusses several articles that they would like President Roosevelt to write. The main request is for Roosevelt to write a personal article about William H. Taft, including his personal anecdotes and assessments of Taft. The article will be part of the March issue of the magazine, which will be dedicated to the presidency. They will also be contacting Roosevelt about writing a “popular history of the Civil War” after he writes about his African safari for Scribner’s.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-28

Letter from Elihu Root to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of State Root presents his thoughts on matters discussed in President Roosevelt’s previous letters. Topics include whether to send a minister for Abyssinia, Japan’s rescheduling of their planned exposition, Ambassador William Woodville Rockhill’s report on the Lamas, the situation on the Mexican frontier, and the renomination of Governor Charles Evans Hughes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-23

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Jonathan Bourne asks President Roosevelt if he thinks they should try to get Congress to pass a federal incorporation bill. Bourne is in favor of the idea, and asks Roosevelt who he thinks would be the best person to introduce the bill. He suggests that Roosevelt ask Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte to prepare a bill, which could then be moved through Congress. John D. Archbold will have D. T. Watson prepare a bill when he returns from Europe. Bourne has been working very hard, and is thinking about taking a vacation soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-06

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Jonathan Bourne believes that a settlement of the Standard Oil matter will be made through the executives—President Roosevelt, Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte, and John D. Archbold—and not through the attorneys for the government and the company. Bourne agrees that working through him is inadvisable at this point, but he takes credit for having started negotiations and for convincing Archbold and others that Roosevelt would be fair to both labor and capital.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-07

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge asserts his views that Edward Henry Harriman’s attempt to gain control of the Boston & Maine railroad is a real threat, verified independently of Charles S. Mellen and T. E. Byrnes. The legislation introduced would allow the state to maintain control of the railroad. Lodge does not want Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte to direct District Attorney Asa P. French to stop the dividends of the railroad until it is possible to pass legislation protecting the state.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-30

Letter from William Dudley Foulke to Theodore Roosevelt

William Dudley Foulke understands that what is being written about President Roosevelt is false. Foulke has experience with Louis Ludlow, an Indiana journalist who published libel about him in the past. The article that Foulke sent to Charles J. Bonaparte “amounts to a charge of personal corruption” against both Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft, and Foulke believes that men who write libel should be held accountable for their actions. They could be charged under existing libel laws, but it is not customary for public figures to do so.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-17

Letter from William Dudley Foulke to Theodore Roosevelt

William Dudley Foulke tells President Roosevelt that he has heard from Elliot H. Goodwin about his interviews with Roosevelt and Charles J. Bonaparte. Foulke cannot pursue an investigation himself, and thinks that it should not be done until it can be done adequately. He comments on several newspapers in Indiana, and encloses an address he gave yesterday on the topic of criticism concerning Roosevelt’s attitude toward William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-07

Letter from Seth Low to Theodore Roosevelt

Seth Low forwards President Roosevelt a letter from Samuel Gompers, and comments on discussions he has recently had with many people about a bill currently under consideration. The present bill is very important to both the business and labor community, and Low is trying to navigate between the two forces.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-07

Letter from Victor Howard Metcalf to Eugene Hale

Secretary of the Navy Metcalf informs Senator Hale of the Committee on Naval Affairs about the circumstances leading to the approval of the plans for the battleships Delaware and North Dakota. Metcalf explains that the designs received consideration from many different sources, including the board on construction, the special board on designs, and the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. Metcalf was subsequently notified that there was some concern regarding the armor belt on these ships, but consulted with several sources and determined that the armor plating on the ships as designed seemed to be sufficient. He also invites Hale to examine some plans for a new type of ship that is to be used for scouting purposes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-09

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge does not think that President Roosevelt should bring a lawsuit against the New Haven Railroad until the Massachusetts case currently in the courts has been decided and they see whether they could be separated from trolleys by law. Roosevelt had asked Lodge to speak with U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Asa P. French about it before anything was done. Lodge is writing because he saw writing from Attorney General Charles Bonaparte that suggested he were about to bring suit against New Haven, and Lodge believes it would be a mistake to do this if they can accomplish the same result a different way.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-03

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge writes to President Roosevelt regarding the letter Roosevelt sent to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte, which he hopes will not be published even if the statements are true and the intentions are to help Secretary of War William H. Taft. Although Roosevelt can express certain views because of his position, he can not expect the same outcome if Taft were to say them. In doing so, he may raise concern about Taft’s conservatism or radicalism among certain supporters. If Roosevelt’s aim is to secure his policies, Lodge feels the letter would only weaken this goal by seeming reactionary, and if the aim is to relieve personal feelings, giving his antagonists the publicity would have the opposite of the intended effect. He feels strongly that his reasons are correct if imperfectly stated.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf

President Roosevelt and Secretary of the Navy Metcalf have reopened inquiry into an order declaring that naval medical ships be treated as hospital ships and placed under the command of medical officers. The writer asserts that this order is correct, and offers examples of times when medical ships under the order of a line officer, rather than a medical officer, have violated neutrality during times of war. All hospital facilities, whether ships or otherwise, should be under the command of surgeons rather than line officers. This practice would be in keeping with the army’s practice regarding hospital ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-04