China

Letter from Alvey A. Adee to William Loeb

Second Assistant Secretary of State Adee updates William Loeb on the appointment of Wu Tingfang as China’s Ambassador to the United States. The Chinese Foreign Office has not asked the American government for an opinion on the appointment. Adee sees no harm in waiting for First Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon to return before addressing the matter. Adee informs Loeb that the Chinese objected to the appointment of Henry W. Blair and he was recalled to Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-28

Letter from Arthur William Merrifield to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur William Merrifield hopes he is fulfilling his duties as United States Marshal and promises to get the money he owes President Roosevelt. He suggests Secretary of War William H. Taft visit Thomas M. Laffin while in Japan. Laffin is a loyal American who has insight about Japan, since he has lived there for twenty-seven years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-07

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Bourne believes conflict with Japan is likely in the future. He hopes President Roosevelt will send the Atlantic Fleet to the Pacific as it will accomplish much regarding foreign policy. His wife, Lillian Elizabeth Wyatt Bourne, recently visited Japan. He includes a lengthy excerpt from one of her letters in which she provides social commentary on the Japanese.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-09

Letter from Arthur William Merrifield to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur William Merrifield describes a trip he and his wife recently took to Japan and China, including the wreck of their ship the SS Dakota. He has some information which he will share with President Roosevelt before Secretary of War William H. Taft sails to Japan. Merrifield thanks Roosevelt for the opportunity. He is very busy now with his work as United States Marshal in Montana.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-29

Letter from Edward Grey to Theodore Roosevelt

British Foreign Secretary Grey informs President Roosevelt that Ambassador H. Mortimer Durand will be replaced, and while he understands Roosevelt’s desire to have Arthur Lee in his place, that is politically impossible. Temporarily, Esmé Howard will be sent to Washington as Councillor to the Embassy. Grey appreciated Roosevelt’s explanation of his telegram to German Emperor William after the Portsmouth Peace. Grey explains that his foreign policy is not anti-German, but to be independent he feels it necessary to strengthen the entente with France and come to an agreement with Russia. Grey believes that his generation has had enough of war, and the British people feel a special bond with the United States. Grey hopes the dispute between Canada and the United States over Newfoundland will soon be settled. He also adds that many in Great Britain are upset over reports of slavery and plunder in the Belgian Congo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-04

Letter from George von Lengerke to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Meyer is reporting to President Roosevelt the state of affairs in Russia after having found St. Petersburg quiet. Meyer traveled throughout Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine. The letter examines the situations in many different cities and other topics including removing Jews from Russia, revolution and revolutionaries’ tactics, a pheasant shoot, military escorts, history, travel, and Russian construction quality.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-28

Memorandum from Paul Charlton to William H. Taft

War Department legal counsel Charlton informs Secretary of War Taft that based on the Platt Amendment and the subsequent treaty between Cuba and the United States, in his opinion, the President can decide to intervene in Cuban affairs in order to preserve a stable government. This intervention should not be deemed a declaration of war because it is in the United States and Cuba’s best interests and within the jurisdiction of the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-16

Letter from Adolphus Andrews to Theodore Roosevelt

Vice Admiral Adolphus Andrews writes to President Roosevelt from Chefoo, China, to inform him that he has taken command of the USS Villalobos. Andrews reports that things are presently quiet in China, but there is an “underground current of trouble which is growing stronger each day.” Andrews thanks Roosevelt for his photograph.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-18

Letter from Charles W. Russell to William H. Taft

Acting Attorney General Charles W. Russell has reviewed the agreement that Secretary of War Taft sent to him regarding the hiring of Chinese laborers to work on the construction of the Panama Canal. Russell notes the contract specifies that the laborers will work ten hour days, with additional time to be considered overtime, and clarifies that this clause does not present any issues, as Congress passed an act stating that previous acts limiting the hours of laborers in the United States does not apply to foremen and laborers employed in the construction of the Panama Canal. Further, Russell finds no issue with the provision stipulating that the laborers will be deported from Panama at the conclusion of their contract. Russell concludes that the agreement is “within the ‘authority of the Commission and according to law'”–an opinion with which Attorney General William H. Moody agrees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-12

Letter from Anna Roosevelt Cowles to Theodore Roosevelt

Anna Roosevelt Cowles is glad President Roosevelt is at Sagamore and done with all of the hand shaking. Her husband William S. Cowles was home for the Fourth of July but has returned to Washington, D.C. Cowles recommends to her brother the volume Heretics by G. K. Chesterton. The Chinese minister mentioned while visiting that he plans to give suffrage to land owners based on a conversation he had with Roosevelt. Cowles’s son William Sheffield Cowles Jr. has been homebound much of the summer to avoid catching the whooping cough which is being passed around children in town, although he is canoeing, playing tennis, and vegetable gardening. The Chinese minister and Cowles both agree that horses are preferable to automobiles, as she is “in deadly terror of running into some one.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-08

Letter from Elihu Root to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of State Root updates President Roosevelt on several topics, including the Chinese boycott of American products, the change from legation to embassy in Turkey, the customs administration bill’s effect in Germany, issues between Great Britain and Canada, problems with Newfoundland fisheries harassing American fishermen, and issues in Central America.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-03

Letter from Yamei Kin to Theodore Roosevelt

Yamei Kin thanks President Roosevelt for his kind reception and asks if he will introduce her to William Woodville Rockhill. Kin has been traveling in China and updates Roosevelt on the conditions there including the schools, rivalry between the French and English for trade opportunities, relationships with the Japanese, public opinion on recent legislation, the effect of different sects of missionaries and available sightseeing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-28

Letter from William Woodville Rockhill to Theodore Roosevelt

William Woodville Rockhill regrets to inform President Roosevelt that John Gardner Coolidge, who has been Secretary for the American Legation in China, would like to resign his position and return to the United States. Coolidge has no specific date in mind and will remain at his post until his successor arrives, but hopes that the successor will arrive within a few months. Rockhill recommends William Phillips, the current Second Secretary, for the position even though Phillips is still quite young.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-15

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft forwards President Roosevelt two letters that illustrate the current economic conditions in the Philippines. Taft states China is boycotting Filipino products due to the fact that the Philippines now belong to the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-24

Letter from Modesto Reyes to William H. Taft

Modesto Reyes writes to Secretary of War Taft about a tariff reduction on goods from the Philippines. Reyes goes on to discuss some of the difficulties facing agriculture and the market for Filipino goods; such as China including goods from the Philippines in their boycott of American goods and the hostility of the American market. Reyes hopes Taft has success in obtaining “justice for the Philippines in the question of the tariff.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-16

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid writes to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, describing three dinners he recently attended which were hosted by the Chinese Minister, the Pilgrim’s Society, and the Royal Geographical Society, respectively. Reid includes anecdotes about British politicians like Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Winston Churchill, Augustine Birrell, John Morley, and George Curzon. Reid also references issues associated with the education bill, the administration of India, “trouble” in Natal, and negotiations with Russia over Seistan. Reid felt that the details he included might be of interest to Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-12

Letter from Van Leer Polk to Theodore Roosevelt

Van Leer Polk advocates for the use of Chinese laborers in building the Panama Canal. Polk believes Chinese workers are the most efficient labor force and that workers from areas in China with a similar climate to Panama would be the most suitable choice. Polk describes the nature of recruitment and employment of Chinese laborers by the French government and makes suggestions for how to secure satisfactory results from Chinese laborers. He encloses several documents, including a copy of a Chinese Labor Contract.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-09

Letter from Kato to Eki Hioki

Kato writes to Eki Hioki about the possibility of political unrest in China and asks for the involvement of all interested parties in urging the Chinese government to check and suppress this discord.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-15

Letter from Charles Denby to Elihu Root

Charles Denby advises Secretary of State Root that a matter involving the Chinese Minister and the members of the Chinese Commission should be given no further attention in order to avoid possible offense by the Peking government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-27

Letter from Elihu Root to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of State Root sends President Roosevelt a memorandum from Charles Denby concerning the Chinese measuring incident.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-29