Congo (Democratic Republic)

Roosevelt to be an editor next?

The New York Times has heard on good authority that President Roosevelt has made a contract to become an associate editor of The Outlook after he retires from the presidency. It has been announced that Roosevelt has signed an exclusive contract with Charles Scribner’s Sons to publish his account of hunting big game in Africa. The author of the article speculates that Roosevelt may be intending to travel to the Congo Free State to report on stories of cruelty in the rubber trade there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-19

Cruelty in the Congo country

Booker T. Washington writes about the poor conditions currently existing in the Congo Free State. Léopold II, King of the Belgians, has created a state of extreme cruelty by removing African’s ability to independently gather and trade goods, essentially enslaving an entire nation. Washington quotes a passage from a report by William H. Sheppard to illustrate this, in which Sheppard has met with a tribe of cannibals who had been employed by the state to raid villages who had not harvested the required amount of rubber. Washington hopes by writing this article to call the attention of civilized nations to this treatment in order to improve conditions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-04

Newspaper clipping from The Times

A clipping from London-based newspaper The Times (with no author credit) sent to President Roosevelt by second secretary in the American Embassy at London John R. Carter. The article talks about recent activity in the Congo. The article mentions the Belgian government’s annexation of the area. The clipping ends with a long quote from Walter Runciman, 1^st Viscount Runciman of Doxford, regarding the British government’s opinion of the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-20

Germany’s aim in foreign politics

Arnold White writes about the international situation in Europe, addressing first Russia’s desire for a warm water port, and then his impression of Germany’s goals with regards to Europe. Germany, White says, is the only nation with something to gain from a European war, and that the push for war is coming from the Jewish influence in Germany. With President Roosevelt’s election and friendship towards Germany, the United States has been removed as a potential deterrent toward German aggression. White ends with a prediction that if war happens, it will come through German aggression towards the Netherlands moving towards a collision with Great Britain, and he admonishes his reader that Germany must be watched.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04

Address by Curtis Guild Jr. on Grant Day in Des Moines, Iowa

Lieutenant Governor Guild of Massachusetts delivers a speech at an event commemorating President Ulysses S. Grant in Des Moines, Iowa. Guild reminds Iowans of their special connection to Grant, as Iowa regiments were key in his first great victory of the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Donelson. Guild points out how Grant’s administration saw the beginnings of a lot of contemporary issues, like the fight between the gold and silver standard, the corruption of machine politics, and the ills of the spoils system. Guild does, however, defend Grant against his harshest critics, stating that Grant did punish many of the instigators of scandals like Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey ring, and that Grant’s idea to annex the Dominican Republic seems less extreme in light of recent South American upheavals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild

President Roosevelt chides Governor Guild for being involved with a petition that recently came to Roosevelt’s desk on behalf of Africans in the Congo Free State. Roosevelt receives hundreds of such petitions on a variety of topics based on whatever the current social cause is. If he had absolute power, and the United States were “prepared to embark on a long career of disinterested violence on behalf of all sufferers outside its limits,” then Roosevelt would gladly intervene, but as it stands he does not have any authority to intervene in any of the cases presented to him. Moreover, as the United States would not actually go to war in any of the cases, Roosevelt feels that the government should not “put itself into the ridiculous position of making a fuss which it does not intend to back up.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to R. J. Cunninghame

President Roosevelt gives R. J. Cunninghame permission to manage the caravan for his upcoming safari in whatever way he sees fit. However, he warns Cunninghame that he intends to do all of his own shooting, and does not want anyone to kill his game for him. Roosevelt discusses the animals he would like to shoot and some potential scheduling for the trip, but does not want to decide on details until he arrives in Mombasa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to F. R. Wingate

President Roosevelt sympathizes with the concerns that F. R. Wingate, Governor General of the Sudan, has about not getting the necessary money for developments. He is grateful for the work that Wingate and other Englishmen are doing to help him organize his safari. Roosevelt is desperate for a chance to shoot a white rhinoceros, and wants the same permissions that Winston Churchill did on his hunt. Although the first pair of white rhinoceros he shoots are promised to the Smithsonian Institution, Roosevelt wants Ambassador Whitelaw Reid to ask if the British Museum wants a second pair, should he be lucky enough to shoot one.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to F. R. Wingate

President Roosevelt will be happy to accept F. R. Wingate’s offer of a boat and guide to take him up the Nile River to Khartoum. He clarifies that he would like permission to shoot in officers’ game reserves only if there are animals there that he cannot get anywhere else. He is particularly interested in shooting elephants and a white rhinoceros, and discusses the timing of trips that may allow him to get them. Roosevelt is also excited to visit the Congo to see Wingate’s administrative accomplishments there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alfred E. Pease

President Roosevelt updates Alfred E. Pease on his thoughts about various supplies that he needs for his upcoming safari. He explains that he only wants to hunt in British East Africa and Nyanza, and then travel from Gondokoro to Khartoum. The animal he wants to get the most is a lion. He has decided to take Frederick Courteney Selous’s advice and hire a white man to manage his caravan so that he is free to enjoy his trip. He intends to hire William C. Judd unless Pease objects.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jules Renkin

President Roosevelt thanks the Belgian minister of colonies, Jules Renkin, for the letters he just received. He appreciates the Belgian government’s generosity, and will not abuse their hospitality. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to R. J. Cunninghame

President Roosevelt reiterates that R. J. Cunninghame has full authority over the caravan management for his safari. Roosevelt has already cabled about hiring Leslie J. Tarlton, but wonders if Tarlton could initially be hired for only the first part of the trip. Roosevelt knows himself to be an inexpert marksman, but he does not want others to kill the game for him. After updating Cunninghame on the permissions he recently received from the Belgian government, Roosevelt outlines his hunting goals and tentative schedule for his first few weeks in Africa. He encloses a paraphrased letter he just received from a “Boer sympathizer” who has made a potentially advantageous offer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to F. R. Wingate

President Roosevelt attempts to assuage F. R. Wingate’s embarrassment about previously addressing him by the wrong title, saying that “not one in ten” Americans know his proper title. Roosevelt is touched by the effort so many English people have made to help with preparations for his safari, both his friends and also various officials he is not acquainted with. He sympathizes with Wingate’s feeling about the lack of development in the Sudan, comparing it to American improvements in the Philippines, where ambitions were high, but a lack of funds disrupted the projects. Roosevelt will communicate with Wingate from Nairobi, and relates his plans for traveling and hunting. Roosevelt reflects that he “ought to feel melancholy over leaving the Presidency,” but the excitement of his upcoming safari dwarfs any such feelings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt asks Ambassador Reid if he would be able to petition Lord Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes to write to officials in Uganda that Roosevelt would appreciate being given a guide and information that would allow him to hunt a white rhinoceros or elephant. The current unrest in India concerns Roosevelt, and asks what the feelings of British officials are towards it. Roosevelt also remarks briefly on his plans to leave immediately after William H. Taft’s inauguration as president, and comments on a controversy that arose at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, which is still fostering some resentment between the two nations. If Roosevelt can secure a third specimen of the white rhinoceros, he would be happy to send it to the British Museum.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James J. Harrison

President Roosevelt thanks James J. Harrison for writing to Frederick Courtney Selous. He is interested in Harrison’s suggestion that he should not waste time hunting for elephants in British East Africa, and should instead go to Uganda, and then on the Nile.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry Johnston

President Roosevelt tells Harry Johnston that he might see “exceedingly odd” information about Roosevelt in the papers in the next ten days. Roosevelt wants to know when Johnston can have dinner with him. He would like to discuss a lot of things with Johnston, from reformed spelling to the status of Black people to biological nomenclature to his books and several African countries he has visited.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alfred E. Pease

President Roosevelt thanks Alfred E. Pease for helping him prepare for his Africa trip. He will follow through with Pease’s suggestions. Regardless of the sizable game, Roosevelt does not want to visit the Congo Free State for fear of controversy. A lion is Roosevelt’s primary goal. Per Frederick Courteney Selous’s advice, Roosevelt will hire “a white man who knows the country.” William C. Judd has been recommended several times. Selous will order all of the equipment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clarence R. Slocum

President Roosevelt thanks Clarence R. Slocum for mementos from the Congo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

Roosevelt expresses to Senator Lodge his thoughts and concerns for the upcoming gubernatorial and congressional elections. Roosevelt is worried about Hearst’s influence in New York and the changing attitudes in the labor movement. Roosevelt also gives updates on activities of Secretary of State Elihu Root and Attorney General William H. Moody, as well as his son, Ted, whose letter is enclosed. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob H. Schiff

President Roosevelt tells Jacob H. Schiff that he had already begun to discuss the matter with Secretary of State Elihu Root before receiving Schiff’s telegram. Roosevelt does not wish to say exactly what has been done about the matter and on behalf of the Jews in Russia, as “the efficacy of anything that is done depends largely on there being no symptom of offense to the Russian authorities.” He explains the difficulty there is in trying to influence policy in Russia on behalf of the Jewish population there, and says that while the government is doing everything it can do, it “would not only be utterly futile, but would put this nation in an undignified position, and would be a harm instead of a help” for the government to attempt any direct action.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-22