Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940

Letter from Ralph M. Easley to Theodore Roosevelt

Ralph M. Easley informs President Roosevelt that labor leader John Mitchell will be publishing a letter in the Mine Workers’ Journal next week which will repudiate the hand bill and telegram that are being circulated with an interview he did not endorse. Easley believes that this will lead to attacks on Samuel Gompers for violating instructions. Easley also reports that he has been given information that William H. Taft is being criticized on Catholic and Unitarian matters, although he is being defended by Homer C. Stuntz, who was in the Philippines during the Taft administration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-16

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Bourne argues that President Roosevelt must run for another term as President, using excerpts of letters, newspaper clipping, and his own strong opinion on the matter to convince Roosevelt not to leave office at this critical point in history.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-07

Letter from Robert P. Porter to Theodore Roosevelt

Robert P. Porter encloses memoranda regarding the matter he brought to President Roosevelt’s attention yesterday. Roosevelt had said he would take the matter up with Secretary of State Elihu Root and Treasury Secretary George B. Cortelyou. Porter believes that action could bring economic prosperity back to a district that has been hit hard by recession.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-28

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge has received the letter which President Roosevelt wrote to Judge Alston Gordon Dayton, which he has instructed Lodge and Chairman of the Republican Committee Frank H. Hitchcock to show to delegates if necessary. Lodge does not believe it will be necessary. Lodge discusses the nomination for the Vice-Presidency. Although he believes that the candidate should be from New York, he is obligated to nominate Massachusetts Governor Curtis Guild. In a handwritten postscript, Lodge writes that he feels sorry for Guild and will do his best for him. He also read about Roosevelt’s fall in the paper, and is glad that no harm was done.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-03

Letter from James J. Conway to Theodore Roosevelt

James J. Conway praises President Roosevelt and his accomplishments at length, recounting all the times he has seen the him speak or gotten close to him. He then details his extensive service as a steward on various ships and steamers and tells Roosevelt that he has been denied positions in the transport service due to his age. As an American citizen, Conway believes he should get priority for such positions over immigrants, and asks Roosevelt to take up the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-08

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft writes that the note from Governor Albert Baird Cummins indicated “a desire to be counted on the side of the Lord.” He called on Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou to try to straighten up the situation between them, and discussed the matter with Cortelyou’s wife, who was home at the time. He wonders what William Loeb would think of Assistant Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock, and says Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield will talk to Roosevelt about it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-20

Newspaper article about Clayton measure

A newspaper article discussing reasons why President Roosevelt unexpectedly reiterated his decision not to run for a third term. Pen marks emphasize a rumored plot involving three southern Republican politicians and the assistant postmaster Frank H. Hitchcock to renominate President Roosevelt as a candidate in an effort to retain political power.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-11

Letter from Richard W. Austin to William Loeb

Richard W. Austin writes to William Loeb to tell him about some of his activities related to the upcoming election. Austin addressed a large crowd at Jacksboro, Tennessee, launching his personal congressional campaign. He also organized a club in support of Secretary of War William H. Taft’s presidential bid. He has encouraged the formation of further clubs in the state. Other Tennessee politicians have announced that President Theodore Roosevelt would accept re-nomination, or have mentioned a possible candidacy of Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou. Austin advises against listening to Nathan W. Hale, Edward Terry Sanford, and Robert S. Sharp in their attempt to have President Roosevelt influence Assistant Attorney General Sanford to become a candidate for Governor, as it would not be in the interest of the Republican party, and the President should not intervene in a local contest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-12

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to William Loeb

Commissioner Francis E. Leupp informs William Loeb about a trader in the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota who has been taking advantage of Native Americans through his trading. Leupp asks Loeb to speak to President Roosevelt informally about the situation, especially because Egbert J. DeBell has spoken to South Dakota Senator Robert J. Gamble. Leupp requests that Roosevelt not interfere, or at the very least, reach out to Leupp for a report. Thus far, Leupp has informed DeBell that his trading license will be revoked in the coming months and has tasked two men, including Charles L. Davis, with looking into the DeBell situation and traders’ accounts in general.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-12

Letter from John Mitchell to Theodore Roosevelt

John Mitchell thanks President Roosevelt for his comments that Mitchell should continue as a trustee for the Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace, and confirms that he plans to remain in the position. Mitchell also compliments Roosevelt on a letter he had recently written to Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou which had been made public. Mitchell believes that Roosevelt’s statements will promote confidence among working Americans in the nation’s economic institutions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-19

Letter from Peter A. Porter to William Loeb

Peter A. Porter informs President Roosevelt of the results and Republican victories of the recent elections in New York. Porter wants Roosevelt to know that many purported loyal Republican officeholders displayed treachery by working to prevent Republican wins.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-08

Letter from Paul Morton to Theodore Roosevelt

Paul Morton recommends that all antitrust cases and investigations should be put on hold until the current financial crisis has been resolved. The condition in New York City is slowly improving but hindered by continuing problems in the rest of the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-13

Letter from Paul Morton to Theodore Roosevelt

Paul Morton updates President Roosevelt on the situation in New York in the wake of the financial panic. Investors are hoarding money in safe deposit boxes, and more companies will probably have to close their doors by the week’s end. Morton suggests that Roosevelt advise the public not to hoard cash. As bad as the situation is in New York, the West is doing just as poorly and is getting worse.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-03

Letter from Paul Morton to Theodore Roosevelt

Paul Morton wishes President Roosevelt a happy birthday and commends Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou for his handling of the current financial crisis. Morton recommends currency reform and amending the Sherman Act as ways to facilitate recovery from the crisis, which he warns could take over a year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-27

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge discusses several items of concern with President Roosevelt. Lodge does not believe that Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf are applying the act of 1904 as Congress originally intended, particularly as Bonaparte is basing part of his argument on an English law of dubious applicability and potentially dangerous implications for the United States. Lodge is also concerned about the fact that the Great White Fleet is relying on British ships to supply coal, which could be a dangerous liability in wartime, and commends Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou’s handling of the current financial crisis.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-28

Letter from Alexander Lambert to Theodore Roosevelt

Alexander Lambert asks President Roosevelt to enlist Cornelius Newton Bliss and Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou to recommend Lambert’s brother Adrian V. S. Lambert for a vacant position at the New-York Hospital. Lambert describes the feeling in New York after the Knickerbocker Trust Company failed and recommends that President Roosevelt take the legal steps he needs to, but that he refrain from talking about it in the press. Lambert has received bear skins and has sent them to John Murgatroyd, a taxidermist.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-29

Letter from William Emlen Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

William Emlen Roosevelt congratulates President Roosevelt on his recent bear hunt, and jokes that all the bears have “fled into Wall Street for safety.” More seriously, Emlen finds that the situation is quite grave and offers some thoughts on how he feels Roosevelt might proceed. Emlen also provides an update on life at Oyster Bay.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-22

Letter from Pearl Wight to Theodore Roosevelt

Pearl Wight tells President Roosevelt that his Nashville speech, in combination with other recent speeches, gives a clear outline of Roosevelt’s policies and should help the public understand he is not responsible for the current financial situation. Wight has met with Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou about taking up the leadership of the Internal Revenue Service, but feels he is unable during this time of economic crisis due to his many business interests. Nevertheless, Wight wants to be updated on the situation as it unfolds and is looking forward to seeing Roosevelt in December.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-23

Telephone message from George B. Cortelyou

Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou leaves a telephone message for President Roosevelt. The president’s letter is good and he should release it to run in Sunday’s newspapers. Cortelyou will return tomorrow morning and try to meet with Roosevelt in the afternoon or evening.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Letter from Arthur I. Vorys to William Loeb

Insurance Commissioner Vorys of Ohio hopes to reach William Loeb in Washington, D.C. Although Vorys has heard that Chicago’s leaders will support the state administration, there are a few who will cause problems. The Cincinnati Enquirer has been alleging that Vorys’s conversation with President Roosevelt was concerning Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou and his friends, and Vorys has responded publicly to dispute such rumors.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-03