Bonds

Thomas T. Chaloner asks Theodore Roosevelt why rich corporations do not give the public a square deal and gives the example of his attempts to sell his train stop device to railroad companies. Chaloner knows his device could save lives, yet the railroad companies do not want to pay to install the device and therefore turn Chaloner away. Chaloner believes railroad companies are selling all the stock and bonds to foreign nobles, catering to them rather than making railroads safer for Americans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-18

President Roosevelt writes to Secretary of War Wright that although the bond issue will have to be taken care of, putting it off might be best for the campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-14

Charlemagne Tower tells Secretary of State Hay he relayed Hay’s question about the Venezuelan bonds to the German minister.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-21

This transcript presents a governmental interview of William Worthington Russell regarding the Mercado affair, wherein government officials were accused of profiting off of economic transactions and the sale of Venezuelan salt bonds. Russell is interviewed by Secretary of War William H. Taft, Assistant Secretary of State Francis B. Loomis, and Herbert Wolcott Bowen regarding his position as Secretary of Legation in Venezuela, and regarding Loomis’s conduct when he was the Minister to Venezuela. Russell testifies that in the Mercado claim he acted in a friendly, unofficial capacity, and did not personally profit off of anything.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-09

Leslie M. Shaw has looked into reports of forty bank failures in Iowa last year, and the facts do not support that claim.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-20

Robert John Thompson encloses a letter to President Roosevelt in which he suggests the issuance of a series of small denomination bonds could finance the building of the Panama Canal and help prevent bank failures in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-17

Henry W. Taft concurs with Elihu Root about a possible visit to Cuba by Secretary of War Taft. Root is worried that Cubans would see such a visit as pressure on their government to pass certain legislation. The United States has denounced a proposed bond issue in Cuba and that is all that can be done at the moment. If Taft were to visit, it could be seen as a military threat.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-01

President Roosevelt and Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou hold a “U.S. Treasury” pipe that is sending bonds and notes swirling around to large crowds of people.

comments and context

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Theodore Roosevelt’s Secretary writes J. LeRoy Lancaster that a complete explanation of Roosevelt’s actions regarding the Alton bonds and the “groundless and malicious charges raised against him by the Appeal to Reason” in editorials published in The Outlook on April 24, 1909 and July 24, 1909.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-06-12

William Loeb returns to Douglas Robinson the power of attorney for the exchange of the Dakota Extension six percent bonds, which President Roosevelt has executed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

President Roosevelt has considered Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou’s proposal and approves the issuing of currency and Panama bonds. He has also received word of a currency bill being considered in Congress that would help settle the situation. Roosevelt emphasizes, however, that business conditions in the United States are still fundamentally sound, and that citizens should not panic, stop trusting banks, or start hoarding savings. As long as people go about their business as usual, everything will be fine and circulation will return to normal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-17

In the draft of a letter marked “Canceled” at the top, President Roosevelt tells Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou he approves the issuing of currency and Panama bonds as proposed. Roosevelt has also received word of a currency bill being considered in Congress that would help settle the situation. He emphasizes, however, that business conditions in the United States are still fundamentally sound, and that citizens should not panic and stop trusting banks, or start hoarding savings. As long as people go about their business as usual, everything will be fine and circulation will return to normal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-16

President Roosevelt reviews Edgar R. Champlin’s article and finds it to be mediocre. The thesis of this article is twofold: to increase the American naval presence in the Pacific and to avoid buying Japanese bonds. Roosevelt believes that these are serious blunders that would repeat Russia’s mistakes in the Russo-Japanese War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-22

President Roosevelt trusts Secretary Shaw’s judgment in financial matters and is reluctant to interfere in the Treasury Department. Shaw’s arguments regarding the Philippine bonds case are suitable from a financial prospective but Roosevelt but general administrative policy must be of prime importance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-24

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt asks Douglas Robinson to look into a matter concerning $4,000 in bonds.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1897-09-27

Elbert F. Baldwin asks President Roosevelt about the possibility of United States Bonds being sold by the federal government to purchase permanent resources including waterways, watersheds, and streams, with the interest on those bonds being paid from the use of such resources. Baldwin congratulates Roosevelt on a recent meeting on conservation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-09

Secretary of War Wright encloses a letter from General Charles E. Magoon, Occupation Governor of Cuba, discussing an issue with early bond in Cuba. Speyer & Co have offered to finance the matter but Wright would like to wait until Roosevelt is back in Washington to discuss it. Wright sends a second letter from Magoon indicating a misunderstanding on the topics of the creation of a Cuban army and the Liberal party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-13

Douglas Robinson encloses a power of attorney for President Roosevelt to sign. He would like to exchange bonds for Roosevelt, and would be able to get a good rate if Roosevelt takes action quickly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-08

Andrew Carnegie updates President Roosevelt on matters in Great Britain. Carnegie says Roosevelt’s handling of the “Japanese flurry” was masterful, and says Japan will not make any more trouble due to her financial status. Carnegie notes that many countries are restricting entry to Japanese citizens, and that Roosevelt has solved the problem. Carnegie comments on the stances of Great Britain and Germany at the International Peace Conference at The Hague.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-31

Treasurer of the United States Charles H. Treat addresses the condition of currency laws in the United States, and proposes several ideas to help the elasticity of currency and avoid panics and large fluctuations. While Treat does not say that any of the plans suggested in the speech are the best, he emphasizes that there should be a system across all banks to safeguard the value of United States bonds, and that the government should work to regulate tax rates on credit so that the taxes are not a burden to borrowers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-18