Capitalists and financiers

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Cabot Lee

President Roosevelt has received George Cabot Lee’s letter and the enclosed magazine, although he takes issue with the fact that the article about trusts and stakeholders in it does not account for the facts as the administration has to face them. The stakeholders of a corporation are responsible for the actions of that corporation, and many corporations are owned in large part by their stakeholders. Thus it is the stakeholders’s responsibility to ensure that the corporation’s officials are behaving properly. The problem currently is that corporate organization shields guilty parties from facing responsibility for their actions, with agents being imprisoned for misconduct and the owners “go scot-free” or the corporation gets fined, even though it is their orders that lead to the wrongdoing. He does not believe in “letting bygones be bygones” and wants to abide by the statute of limitations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John L. Hamilton

President Roosevelt will give careful consideration to anything John L. Hamilton writes about the currency question. He is discouraged that, while all of the financial leaders in the country agree that something has to be done, they cannot agree on what should be done.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-16

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas F. Woodlock

President Roosevelt gives careful consideration to anything Thomas F. Woodlock writes about the currency question. He is discouraged by financial leaders of the country, who despite having the most knowledge of the subject, only unify in opposition to any of his proposed measures.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-16

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

President Roosevelt thanks Joseph Bucklin Bishop for his letter. Roosevelt found it interesting and delightful, especially Bishop’s analogy for Wall Street financiers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to St. Clair McKelway

President Roosevelt informs Dr. McKelway that he is wary of inviting Edward J. Berwind or other financiers to meet because they seem to misinterpret his words and because those not invited may resent not be included. However, Roosevelt is willing to meet with anyone who seeks a meeting with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Nelson Page

President Roosevelt tells Thomas Nelson Page that many people have urged him to hold private meetings with financiers. Roosevelt does not think that he should initiate such meetings, as it would be impossible to limit who ought to be included. However, if anyone requests a meeting with him, he will be more than happy to visit with them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to St. Clair McKelway

President Roosevelt reiterates to Dr. McKelway that he does not wish to initiate a meeting with the financier Edward J. Berwind but is more than happy to meet him if he proposes a discussion with Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Upton Sinclair

President Roosevelt disagrees with the contents of a letter that a preacher sent to Upton Sinclair in which he compared him to Leo Tolstoy, Émile Zola, and Maksim Gorky. Roosevelt believes that if the type of socialism advocated in Sinclair’s book were implemented, one of the first efforts made would be to eliminate starvation. He sites a work by Walter A. Wyckoff in which Wyckoff traveled the country doing physical labor and found that in many cases, it is possible to quickly gain a position with steady work that allowed him to save. He agrees with Sinclair that radical action must be taken to end the “arrogant and selfish greed” of capitalists. However, he thinks that it is more important to develop the hearts and minds of the working class.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alanson D. Brown

President Roosevelt thanks Alanson D. Brown for the letter, and for letting him know about the matter in question. He wishes enough successful businessmen would copy the type of work Brown wrote about.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler

Outside of New York City and Maryland, President Roosevelt is satisfied with the election results. Roosevelt blames the failure in New York on the wealthy capitalists that supported Tammany Hall and the Democrats. Referring to a recent conversation with Nicholas Murray Butler about reading habits and what books one should read, President Roosevelt attempts to list the books he has read during the last two years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-04

Letter from John Purroy Mitchel to Theodore Roosevelt

As Theodore Roosevelt suggested he do, John Purroy Mitchel writes to provide details about his requests for letters of introduction to American Ambassadors in several European countries. Mitchel also provides further details about his purpose in visiting the various European countries he plans to, explaining that he is trying to interest foreign capital in purchasing bonds backed by New York real estate, in order to make these funds more liquid.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-30

Letter from Daniel Moreau Barringer to Theodore Roosevelt

Daniel Moreau Barringer explains the reason that he cabled Theodore Roosevelt with a request for a letter of introduction to Ambassador Whitelaw Reid. Barringer hopes to start a company to pass down to his sons, and is looking for investors. Because he is unfamiliar with English society, he hopes Reid can advise him about men of high character who may be interested in joining the business.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-19

Letter from John Callan O’Laughlin to Theodore Roosevelt

John Callan O’Laughlin reports he returned home and left business negotiations in Victor L. Mason’s control. This attempt to secure foreign finance taught him the “tremendous power of the Morgans.” He is excited about the results of Theodore Roosevelt’s trip and discusses what states each presidential candidate expects delegates from. O’Laughlin notes that President William H. Taft does not know how to handle the worsening situation in Mexico. Congress will approve the reciprocity bill in the coming week.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-18

Letter from Albert R. Delmont to Theodore Roosevelt

Albert R. Delmont has been trying to compile the details of the matter concerning the manipulation of the New York Stock Exchange by capitalists. He does not want the “‘sleuths’ employed by the manipulators of Wall Street” to know of his interview with Theodore Roosevelt. Therefore, he proposes a meeting in Oyster Bay would be more discreet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-08-15

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge discusses legislation and other steps being taken regarding the Boston & Maine Railroad merger to prevent Edward Henry Harriman from gaining control of that railroad and consolidate it with his other holdings. Various other financiers would like to retain their stock in the Boston & Maine. In a handwritten postscript, Lodge says that he may not make it to the Republican National Convention in Chicago because his sister is dying.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-27

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 James Ford Rhodes to Theodore Roosevelt

James Ford Rhodes tells President Roosevelt that he is incorrect in his belief that his administration is not supported by “the cultivated class.” At a meeting of the Wednesday Club in Boston, Rhodes and many others defended the Roosevelt administration’s stance on combinations. Rhodes predicts that capitalists will “play fair” for twenty or thirty years, and that businesses will not be able to return to the “ante-Roosevelt conditions.” If business continues to improve, Rhodes believes that Republicans will be successful at the polls in the fall.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-18

Letter from Asa M. Steele to Theodore Roosevelt

Asa M. Steele reports that Wall Street forces hostile to President Roosevelt are planning to precipitate a panic. He urges Roosevelt to consider running for president, because the current Republican contenders do not have his popularity or support from the people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-14

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to Theodore Roosevelt

William Meyer Lewin had spoken with Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp about rumors that the receivership of the Western Maryland Railroad has been worked up to affect the public and Congress. This is one of several such receiverships aimed to reduce actual earnings, wrecking the finances of the company while ensuring that it could declare bankruptcy without its owners losing control of the property.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-16

Letter from William Emlen Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

William Emlen Roosevelt does not think the fault is purely to be placed on the Panama Railway Company, as the officials in Panama have not been able to closely follow all correspondence to which he has been privy due to a large change in the heads of the company. Roosevelt believes that the root of the problem comes from an honest desire to make an all-American cable, making the American government obliged to the company. He also updates President Roosevelt on the difficulties in the banking field this winter. The depression has hurt business. While Roosevelt supports some regulation, he urges his cousin to impose more moderate fines on corporations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-29