Cooley, Alford Warriner, 1873-1913

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge shares with President Roosevelt the points he went over with Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley and District Attorney Asa P. French regarding the investigation of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company and Charlie Morse’s supposed steamship monopoly deal. Lodge discusses his concerns about the severe decline in stocks, the possibility of a financial panic, and the potential impact on future election results.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-12

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte reviews “several matter of importance and delicacy” with President Roosevelt, including Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg’s handling of the New Mexico situation, Senator William Edgar Borah’s trial, and the progress of the Republican Convention. He shares how the press attacks him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-15

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on legal matters in several states. In North Carolina, Bonaparte has found that many of the jurisdictional problems in the Southern Railway case are due to political posturing, and that Bonaparte’s investigator, Edward Terry Sanford, has found that the federal judge in the case, Jeter Connelly Pritchard, has acted appropriately. Bonaparte encloses a letter regarding Japanese seal poachers and suggests sending naval reinforcements. Bonaparte has directed Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley to look into monopolistic actions of railroad and steamship companies in New England that are in possible violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte returns a speech with minor suggestions to President Roosevelt, and discusses his strategy in finding a case in which the government could convict and sentence the head of an industrial trust. In North Carolina, Roosevelt could not have altered the dispute between Federal and State authorities in the railroad rate case. Bonaparte passes along some clippings related to the case against Senator William Edgar Borah of Idaho. Bonaparte relates the progress in vetting William B. Sheppard for a judgeship in Florida. In New Mexico, Bonaparte says he has examined the charges against New Mexico District Attorney William H. H. Llewellyn, and believes he must be removed from office. Bonaparte will be in Oyster Bay on Friday.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-05

Letter from Herbert J. Hagerman to Theodore Roosevelt

Former New Mexico Territory Governor Hagerman has refrained from addressing President Roosevelt’s statements in his letters concerning Hagerman’s forced resignation because he felt that on further reflection, Roosevelt would correct his false accusations. However, Hagerman now feels compelled to answer the accusations Roosevelt has made against him and set the record straight. Hagerman includes a detailed timeline and description of events and persons involved in his forced resignation due to accusations of land fraud. In conclusion, Hagerman says that the entire affair has hurt the standing of the Republican Party in New Mexico and asks Roosevelt to take this into consideration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-19

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge is pleased that President Roosevelt agrees with him on the topic of inspectors under the naturalization legislation. Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley has placed the inspectors under the Civil Service, but Lodge hopes that Roosevelt can shift them so they can be selected by the District Attorney or who ever is in control. Lodge was surprised by Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf’s announcement regarding battleships being moved to the Pacific, and he hopes that “there has been no change in the situation which implies danger.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-08

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge’s friend Arthur Lord, president of the Plymouth Pilgrim Society, asked Lodge to ask President Roosevelt if he might visit Plymouth while he is in Massachusetts to visit Provincetown. Lodge also tells Roosevelt about a journal he is reading about Andrew Hamilton’s travels through the northern colonies in 1744. Lodge thinks it is a good read and recommends it to Roosevelt. Lodge would like to speak with Roosevelt about the appointment of inspectors to enforce naturalization laws. Lodge opposes nominating from civil service lists, as the people on those lists lack the specialized training and qualities required to do the job. Finally, Lodge expects to be attacked in the newspapers for his stance on the merger bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-03

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on several matters before him. Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley has been investigating the situation in Alabama, where Bonaparte deems it necessary for Roosevelt to “call down” several politicians who are complicating judicial confirmations and the workings of the attorney general’s office with concerns over political patronage. In Arkansas, Cooley reports that there are many well qualified men to replace Assistant District Attorney Ulysses S. Bratton, who has been involved in improper conduct in a case involving postal inspectors. Bonaparte has recently met with Census Director S. N. D. North and explains the problems he has encountered with obtaining an accurate census of Oklahoma Territory, resulting in problems with representation of citizens there, and makes recommendations to solve the problem. Bonaparte has requested summaries for the injunction regarding the picketing of the Allis Chalmers company in Wisconsin, and is appointing a special counsel to take charge of litigation against a prominent official there. Bonaparte is ready to move against the Tobacco Trust and James Buchanan Duke.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-18

Memorandum on the report of Hon. Alford W. Cooley, assistant attorney-general

A legal analysis of Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley’s report to President Roosevelt regarding the sale of public lands by New Mexico Governor Herbert J. Hagerman, leading to Roosevelt’s demand for Hagerman’s resignation. The author argues that Cooley’s report should not have been given as much weight in Roosevelt’s decision as it was for three reasons: the report was preliminary; the report was based on unspecified documents; Hagerman was unable to respond to said unspecified documents. The author says Cooley’s report reaches three conclusions regarding Hagerman’s actions: that the sale of more than one quarter of territorial lands to a single entity is illegal; that Hagerman presided over just such a sale; and that this action illegally usurped the power of the Territorial Commissioner of Lands. The author performs a detailed legal analysis of each point.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-18

Letter from Herbert J. Hagerman to Theodore Roosevelt

Former New Mexico Territory Governor Hagerman responds to President Roosevelt’s letter accepting his resignation in language that “should not be considered less forceful because of the absence of harsh language.” Hagerman says that in 1898, Congress placed restrictions on land leases in New Mexico Territory which were inappropriate to the landscape and climate of the territory, and ever since, individuals and businesses have worked to skirt these restrictions. When Hagerman became governor, he tried to get guidance from the federal government regarding these restrictions and the seemingly illegal contracts granted by his predecessor, but received none. Hagerman was left to either break deals made by his predecessor, or fulfill them if no harm would come to the territory, and the Pennsylvania Land Company deal was one such deal. Hagerman holds that the action he took was neither illegal nor improper, and refutes several specific points from Roosevelt’s letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-15

Letter from Clarence D. Clark to Theodore Roosevelt

Clarence D. Clark, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informs President Roosevelt that the Alford Warriner Cooley’s appointment as Assistant Attorney General will go before the committee at its Monday meeting. It and other nominations were delayed because of attendance. There is some question as to Cooley’s practical experience but this should not prevent his appointment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-07

Letter from William H. Moody to Theodore Roosevelt

William H. Moody responds to allegations made by Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock that in matters regarding certain land cases, Wyoming Attorney General Timothy F. Burke and other Department of Justice officials have acted inappropriately and therefore should be removed from office. Moody disputes this and says that the claims Hitchcock has made are too vague and broad, without naming specific people aside from Burke. While Moody acknowledges that it would be impossible to keep up to date with the details of every legal case in the country, he is certain that he would be aware if anything untoward was happening regarding land cases. He will have Burke’s case investigated, though he hopes that specific charges will be filed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-08

Letter from Herbert Parsons to Theodore Roosevelt

Congressman Parsons explains to President Roosevelt that he has written to Civil Service Commissioner Alford Warriner Cooley and expressed that he believes it would be “most unfair” to ask Deputy Surveyor Collin H. Woodward to withdraw at this late date. Parsons does not think Woodward’s leadership is as demoralizing as that of Assistant Postmaster Morgan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-07

Letter from John Grimes Walker to William Loeb

John Grimes Walker, Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission confirms receipt of William Loeb’s letter regarding scheduling a meeting with Civil Service Commission President John Charles Black or U.S. Civil Service Commissioner Alford Warriner Cooley to implement Civil Service Commission rules to the Isthmian Canal Commission. Walker has already been in contact with Black, but was told to postpone the meeting for some time because Black was going to be out of town. He will try to raise the matter again in a week.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-21

Letter from Richard Henry Dana to Theodore Roosevelt

Richard Henry Dana sends President Roosevelt a copy of a reply Dana wrote to Civil Service Commissioner Alford Warriner Cooley. Dana has written an article for the Boston Transcript which should appear soon. Dana is “indignant to see the facts so perverted as they have been by some of your opponents.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-03

Note on settling the O’Donohue case

Civil Service Commissioner Cooley urges a settlement of Mrs. O’Donohue’s case. O’Donohue is demoralizing the office and appropriations have been received to remove detailed clerks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-18

Letter from Henry C. Payne to Theodore Roosevelt

Postmaster General Payne was shocked at the clipping in the Washington Evening Star that stated that fourth-class postmasters are in the classified service, and believes that President Roosevelt is as surprised as he is. Payne had asked Charles J. Bonaparte to examine the Civil Service Act and rules and regulations to ascertain whether fourth-class postmasters were transferred to the classified service, and encloses the reply that he received. Payne balks at transferring the fourth-class postmasters to the civil service, as it would be a radical shift.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt informs Attorney General Bonaparte that he does not want to any action concerning the southern railroads without knowing all the facts and is confident of a win. He believes Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup’s decision will be vital to the issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-15

Mellen hurries Roosevelt

Charles S. Mellen, president of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company, has met with President Roosevelt hoping to expedite a government investigation into his railroads. Mellen asserts that his company has not broken the law and argues that the government has no right to stymie the proceedings of private businesses in any case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-07

Asks President to hasten probing

Charles S. Mellen has asked President Roosevelt to expedite an investigation into his railroad company’s planned merger. The article notes this request comes the day after the defeat of Henry Melville Whitney, who had been in favor of the merger, in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-07