Corruption investigation

President Roosevelt wants Commissioner of Labor Neill to report to him the specific charges made on the second page of Charles Stedman Hank’s letter so he can determine if Henry C. Adams has done anything “wrong in form or anything that is wrong in substance”. Roosevelt would also like to know the actions taken by the Interstate Commerce Commission if there has been any wrongdoing. He would like Neill’s report to inform him if any offenses discovered are trivial or serious in nature.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt asks Otto Gresham if he can show his letter to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and Justice William H. Moody. He is confident that the allegation of George B. Cortelyou taking campaign contributions from the meat packers is false. However, he would like to look into the allegation that Assistant Attorney General Charles Henry Robb immediately went to Mr. Miller when beginning his investigation into Judge Christian C. Kohlsaat.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Idaho Governor Gooding laments to President Roosevelt that most people associated with the prosecution of the alleged murderers of Governor of Idaho Frank Steuenberg have been indicted and accused of connection with the alleged timber land frauds in the state.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-15

Creator(s)

Gooding, Frank Robert, 1859-1928

Billings F. Cash informs Attorney General Bonaparte that he is convinced that Calvin Cobb and Governor Frank Robert Gooding were involved in timber fraud. The special agents involved in this case – Gorman, Goodwin, and O’Fallon – connected this timber fraud case to a senator who is serving as the prosecution in the trial of the murder of Governor Frank Steunenberg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-23

Creator(s)

Cash, Billings F. (Billings Franklin), 1859-1924

Paul Morton, President of Equitable Life Insurance, does not want President Roosevelt’s position on the railroad to be misunderstood. Morton explains that railroad officials are being threatened by legislators who want their special privileges to continue. Morton clarifies that at the end of the letter he did mean the Harriman investigation, but Roosevelt knows the best course of action to pursue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-25

Creator(s)

Morton, Paul, 1857-1911

Benjamin F. Sparhawk of the General Land Office testifies in court as to certain “wrong and irregular” acts by colleagues in his department, including improper approvals of land lieu selections and favoritism in the selection and promotion of employees. Sparhawk particularly implicates John McPhaul, his division chief.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-19

Creator(s)

Sparhawk, Benjamin F., -1917

When it was announced that President Roosevelt would create a committee to investigate the conditions at Ellis Island, the author was convinced that there would be no results to show for Roosevelt’s efforts. However, after seeing initial evidence from witnesses after they testified, the author reverses his opinion on the effectiveness of Roosevelt’s committee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903

Creator(s)

Unknown

President Roosevelt says that E. G. Lewis is attempting to threaten and blackmail himself and George B. Cortelyou by claiming he has information on Judge Goodwin. Roosevelt will be ordering an investigation into Judge Russell P. Goodwin, but will not reconsider the order that Lewis’s publications be revoked. He is indifferent to Lewis’s threat.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

William Loeb acknowledges receipt of Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp’s letters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-16

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

President Roosevelt orders the United States Justice Department to make any government documents requested available to Mark Goode of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to aid his investigation of the corrupt practices of Martin J. Bentley.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Following multiple reports of fraud, nepotism, and misconduct which he has not taken actions to correct, President Roosevelt informs William S. Leib that he is hereby removed from his position as Assistant Treasurer of the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt informs Cyrus Northrop, President of the University of Minnesota, that Third Assistant Secretary of State Peirce is formulating charges against Consul General to Shanghai Goodnow regarding his diplomatic service. Roosevelt has summoned Goodnow back to the U.S. for a hearing to respond to the charges against him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Charles J. Bonaparte sends President Roosevelt a report by an expert accountant on a defalcation discovered in the Navy Pay Office. Bonaparte is concerned about the laxity of supervision and perfunctory discharge of duty in the Pay Department, as well as its failure to adopt up-to-date methods of bookkeeping and accounting. Bonaparte recommends that a new Paymaster General be selected and that the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts be relieved of its accounting duties.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-28

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

A memorandum from an investigation taking place in Toledo, Ohio, August 14 and 15, 1906, detailing the investigation of illegal practices by railroad companies. Since 1897, the Toledo Ice & Coal Company has been unfairly benefiting from free or discounted rates on the transportation of materials, the shipment of ice, and tourist railroad tickets from the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. Many of the stockholders of the Toledo Ice & Coal Company are employees of the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. The Toledo Ice & Coal Company also undercut its competitors and sold ice to hospitals at a discounted rate far below the legal published rate for ice shipments. The Pere Marquette Railroad Company similarly provided favors to an individual in Milford, Michigan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-14

Creator(s)

Unknown

James R. Sheffield would like to ask President Roosevelt to urge Joseph H. Choate to accept the position as chief counsel for the New York Legislature’s committee investigating the Equitable Life Assurance Society. Sheffield asks Barnes’s advice whether he should approach the president on such a matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-04

Creator(s)

Sheffield, James R. (James Rockwell), 1864-1938

This is a detailed report of the investigation into the corrupt sale of the typesetting machines in the Governmental Printing Office. It includes testimonies, court transcripts, and the committee’s conclusions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-04

Creator(s)

Keep, Charles Hallam, 1861-1941; Hitchcock, Frank H. (Frank Harris), 1867-1935; Murray, Lawrence O., 1864-1926; Garfield, James Rudolph, 1865-1950; Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946

William H. Moody requests approval from the President to give a speech concerning the origin and status of the beef investigation that led to indictments.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-18

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson informs President Roosevelt that he has given the charges in the cotton matter to the Secret Service, dismissed the man who was under suspicion (Edwin Sanford Holmes), and sent the papers to Attorney General William H. Moody. He will help Moody push criminal charges.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-12

Creator(s)

Wilson, James, 1835-1920

James Bruns describes the corrupt practices, investigation, and trial of August W. Machen, a high ranking official of the Post Office Department. Bruns details the various schemes, bribes, and kickbacks that enabled Machen to become a rich man on a meager salary, and he covers the 1904 trial that led to Machen’s conviction, along with others involved in his schemes. Bruns highlights President Theodore Roosevelt’s pleasure in the outcome of the investigation and trial.

The essay is illustrated with seven courtroom drawings by Clifford Kennedy Berryman and one political cartoon.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

Postmaster General Henry C. Payne informs President Roosevelt that the Post Office Department inspectors investigating the Post Office scandal have been assigned to duty as requested. Payne mentions Perry S. Heath’s involvement with the scandal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-17

Creator(s)

Payne, Henry C. (Henry Clay), 1843-1904