Corporations

We need those clothes badly, Mr. Roosevelt

President Roosevelt shakes hands with William Jennings Bryan, who stands beside a shabbily-dressed  “Democratic” woman wearing attire labeled “Bryan’s coat.” Roosevelt holds a number of new, fancier, pieces of clothing, including a “federal license for corporations” dress, “Democratic principles” and “fixed rates” ribbons, “Sherman Law” shoes, and “anti trust law” and “anti rebate law” stockings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-27

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Leis

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary thanks Joseph Leis for the pamphlet concerning the German monopoly of petroleum sent to Theodore Roosevelt. He writes that Roosevelt is pleased with the work King Carol I has done to curb Standard Oil Trust in Romania.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-05-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles G. Washburn

Theodore Roosevelt plans to read the letter from Charles G. Washburn with interest and believes that corporations should be regulated wisely. Roosevelt also mentions Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt’s recent fall, from which she is slowly recovering.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Wilson Knott

Theodore Roosevelt thinks Richard Wilson Knott’s editorial was admirable and that the decision was the only way for the law to work, but a different method must be used to effectively deal with the big corporations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Michael H. Kiley

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Judge Kiley for his letter and agrees with his opinion that there should be a sharp distinctions between good corporations and those that “do ill.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-02-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt agrees with Lyman Abbott’s position, and says that he went as far as he thought he could go in his public criticism of Judge Daniel Thew Wright. Roosevelt thinks that Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis helped corporations by imposing excessive fines, and that Wright did the same service for the worst labor leaders.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Knox Smith

President Roosevelt encloses the New York Board of Trade and Transportation’s protest, which is largely aimed at the Hepburn bill. The main complaints are about legalizing boycotts and blacklists. Roosevelt would favor a modification to the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Augustus Buchtel

President Roosevelt was glad to hear from Governor Buchtel of Colorado about United States Attorney Thomas J. Ward. He says that there has been some doubt about him because of his connections with big corporations that the government may eventually have to act against. Roosevelt has forwarded Buchtel’s letter to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt forwards to Attorney General Bonaparte the Interstate Commerce Commission’s report, letters, and a map on the Edward Henry Harriman matter. He suggests that Bonaparte publish the report at the same time he announces the law suit. In a postscript dated July 11, Roosevelt responds to a letter he received from Bonaparte in the meantime. He expects to be “in an awful row” regarding Ulysses S. Bratton. He discusses the timing of Alexander McDonald McBlair’s and Mary Tayloe Key’s marriage, as it relates to McBlair’s responsibilities in the Oregon land fraud cases. He praises Bonaparte’s handling of the tobacco case. Finally, he alerts Bonaparte that Senator William Peters Hepburn wants to speak with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Allison

President Roosevelt wishes John Allison’s article could be published. While Roosevelt believes that former Attorney General Richard Olney is an exceptional man, he is “one of the most extreme pro-corporation men in the entire country,” and Roosevelt believes his article was merely for the benefit of “ultra-reactionaries among the great financiers.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles William Eliot

President Roosevelt thanks Charles William Eliot for his thoughts on James H. Hyde. Because Roosevelt believes Hyde needs more diplomatic experience, he will start Hyde in a minor position and then transfer him to France, if he does well. Roosevelt appreciates Eliot’s compliments on his message and believes questions about industrialism outweigh questions concerning the tariff, remarking that “sooner or later the nation must undertake the regulation of all the great corporations engaged in interstate commerce.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Beattie

President Roosevelt rebukes John Beattie for quoting a private conversation with him, especially two years after the event. Because the president meets many people, he did not remember meeting Beattie, but emphasized he said nothing to warrant Beattie representing Roosevelt as taking “a definite stand on a matter of such importance as that to which you refer.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leonard Wood

President Roosevelt is shocked by the result of the election, particularly in carrying Missouri. Even though the campaign had been extremely dishonest in Roosevelt’s opinion, he still won by “such a landslide.” Roosevelt tells Major General Wood that he realizes he will have difficulties during the next four years, but at least there will not be “criminal blunders” regarding the Philippines, the Army and Navy, or foreign policy in general.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ray Stannard Baker

President Roosevelt does not understand how his refusal to sanction “the tyranny of capital over labor” could be contradicted by his refusal to allow labor to tyrannize. He highlights “a square deal for every man” and clarifies his stance on issues, particularly unions, for Ray Stannard Baker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon

Elihu Root has made the same point that Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon made, and President Roosevelt has made a “complete alteration” of the issue in his letter. Roosevelt will send Cannon’s idea concerning the railway and labor corporations to Republican National Committee Chairman George B. Cortelyou and believes that the outlook is “favorable,” though the candidate himself is the least competent to judge.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herman Henry Kohlsaat

President Roosevelt writes to newspaper publisher Herman Henry Kohlsaat to say he agrees with Kohlsaat about “the religious freedom business” but wants it understood that he is not against unions or corporations but against “abuses in both.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt responds to a recent letter from Lyman Abbott and addresses a number of Abbott’s inquiries. Roosevelt references a book he sent to Abbott, most likely Presidential Addresses and State Papers, and provides specific page numbers regarding tariffs, the Philippines, Panama Canal, and labor. Roosevelt reiterates that his administration is “neither against corporations or labor unions” and concludes that his record is one of fulfilled promises.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-23

As President Roosevelt sees it

This newspaper article discusses President Roosevelt’s re-election campaign platform.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Watson Gilder

President Roosevelt calls Richard Watson Gilder’s attention to an article in the Sun which attacks Seth Low for his supposed improper favoring of the labor unions. Roosevelt believes that the article is actually complaining that Low would not improperly favor corporations. Roosevelt also complains to Gilder about a recent article in Century magazine which criticizes his actions in settling the Anthracite Coal Strike. He views these articles as part of a concerted effort from “Wall Street people” to discredit Low and himself.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild

President Roosevelt has convinced Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody, Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw, and Senator Joseph Benson Foraker to campaign in Massachusetts. Roosevelt also encourages the Massachusetts Republicans not to go on the defensive but aggressively attack the Democrats, especially Richard Olney and Gaston.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-20