Your TR Source
President Roosevelt shares editor of the Churchman Silas McBee’s interest in and puzzlement over the sermon of Bishop Charles Henry Brent of the Philippines, which he analytically criticizes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-27
Emily Tyler Carow describes her experiences in Egypt, including her concern about an “undercurrent of hostility” that seems to be present in the Egyptian Arab people. Carow tells Roosevelt about her conversations with Lord Evelyn Baring Cromer and his dinner guests, which have been about topics such as the British occupation of Egypt, the American occupation of Cuba and the insular possession of the Philippines, whether Roosevelt will run for president again, and the natural beauty of the desert.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-01
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary is unaware of quotations from Henry Labouchère regarding Roosevelt. He will be unable to provide the other opinions on Roosevelt requested by Elizabeth Towne, as they do not keep clippings which reference Roosevelt. The secretary suggests numerous people whom Towne could contact for these opinions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-10-03
Theodore Roosevelt will read the pamphlets F. V. Greene sent with interest. He liked Evelyn Baring Cromer’s Ancient and Modern Imperialism. Despite being “thoroughly thrashed,” Roosevelt will “see this thing through.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-11-09
President Roosevelt informs F. R. Wingate of his plans to go on safari in the British territories in Africa. He lists the places he intends to visit and the animals he intends to shoot. Most of the specimens will be donated to the Smithsonian Institute, although Roosevelt and his son Kermit may keep a few trophies for themselves. Roosevelt assures Wingate that he intends to travel as a private citizen, and does not want the leaders of any of the territories making special arrangements for him. He adds that he is interested to see how Wingate and others have managed the British possessions in Africa.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-29
President Roosevelt was very interested in John St. Loe Strachey’s article about American ex-Presidents, although he is not sure if he entirely agrees with him about his own particular position. After leaving the presidency Roosevelt is looking forward to being an entirely private citizen once more, and says it would be “an unpleasant thing to be pensioned and given some honorary position.” He plans to go on a hunting safari in Africa, write for The Outlook, and, in the case of war, would like to serve in another volunteer cavalry division if he is still physically fit. Roosevelt does acknowledge, however, that his position is somewhat unique, and that the issue of how to support ex-presidents still stands in the abstract. He hopes to see Strachey sometime when he visits England, as well as Evelyn Baring Cromer and Frederick Courteney Selous.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-28
President Roosevelt tells General Wood that Evelyn Baring, Lord Cromer, praised Wood’s administration of Cuba as “the most striking and successful of all colonial administration” in recent years.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-27
President Roosevelt received the book on the Bible and appreciated what John St. Loe Strachey said about Ecclesiasticus in the introduction. He also appreciated Strachey’s quote from Proverbs, but wished he had applied it to the people, and not just Prime Ministers and Kings. He is glad to hear what Strachey says about Evelyn Baring Cromer and wishes he could speak with Strachey about the Romanes Lecture.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-06
President Roosevelt asks F. R. Wingate several questions regarding his upcoming African safari, including where to find the best game, the best way to travel up the Nile, and when the best time would be to start writing to make arrangements for hunters, equipment shipments, and so on. Roosevelt emphasizes that he expects no special favors or treatment and that he is “no game butcher.” He intends to get hunting trophies for the National Museum of Natural History and perhaps a bull elephant of his own if “entirely proper.” Roosevelt is eager to see how the British are governing Egypt and East Africa, having recently read Modern Egypt by Evelyn Baring Cromer, and sympathises with the difficulty of colonial rule.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-29
President Roosevelt thanks John J. McCook for the book by Evelyn Baring, the Earl of Cromer. He looks forward to reading it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-10
President Roosevelt confirms receipt of two letters from John J. McCook, and says that he wrote to the Earl of Cromer, Evelyn Baring, at once. He asks McCook to give his greetings to another person when he writes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-18
President Roosevelt is pleased with the letter Emily Tyler Carow has sent him about Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer, and wishes to have him visit America one day. Roosevelt agrees with Carow that British occupation in Egypt should continue for the sake of “civilization”, however, he does not expect Egypt’s social and religious customs to reconcile with permanent English rule. Roosevelt sees improvement in Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt’s health and comments on a recent visit the family made to see Ted and Kermit.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-27
President Roosevelt requests aid from Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon in passing a tariff bill for the Philippines. Roosevelt notes that he usually acquiesces to Cannon’s judgement but that the opinion of many who have been in the Philippines makes it clear to him that this bill is necessary.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-02
President Roosevelt sends Ambassador Reid an excerpt of a letter from General Leonard Wood expressing the hope that no legislation allowing Chinese labor in any form will ever be passed in the United States. Wood says that British colonies developed by “coolie labor” face problems and have to be defended by “white men brought from somewhere else.” Roosevelt believes that Wood’s assessment is correct.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-23
President Roosevelt has seen the petition for the United States to give political independence to the Philippines, which Charles William Eliot has signed. Roosevelt writes that the Republican convention will not consider it, and if the Democrats do, they prove hypocritical. Roosevelt believes granting independence to the Philippines is the easy way out, while the right thing to do is to remain involved in the Philippines for the betterment of its people. Roosevelt cites other examples, such as Egypt and Cuba, and refers to Arthur Twining Hadley’s Freedom and Responsibility. Roosevelt asks if Eliot would see Secretary of War William H. Taft about the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-04-04
President Roosevelt responds to a request from Senator Lodge that he comment on an article about Egypt written by Charles Francis Adams. Roosevelt observes that Adams was apparently not aware of many of the issues related to holding colonies before traveling to Egypt. Comparing the British occupation and control of Egypt and India with the relationship of the United States to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and particularly the Philippines, Roosevelt asserts that the goal of the United States must be to administer the islands for the good of the natives with an eye towards eventual self-government (whereas this has not always seemed to be the goal of the British). Roosevelt also quotes a letter from General Leonard Wood regarding the condition of British colonies and the topic of Chinese labor. Roosevelt believes that the United States has acted much more benevolently towards its island holdings than the British have towards their colonies, and praises the efforts that the United States has made in reducing corruption and increasing the effectiveness of the governments of these dependencies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-30
F. V. Greene enjoyed dining with Theodore Roosevelt and sends the two articles he promised, one on Abraham Lincoln and the other on the “Situation in the Orient.” He plans to read Ian Hamilton’s book and asks if Roosevelt has read the book by Evelyn Baring, Earl of Cromer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-11-06
John St. Loe Strachey approves of President Roosevelt’s recent article on ex-presidents, and opines that if Roosevelt were the only man to ever become an ex-president, then there would be no worry, but that people have to consider normal men rather than only Roosevelt. If the United States were to retain the services of ex-presidents by paying them, it would forestall any chance that an ex-president would take a job that seems unsuitable for an ex-president. Strachey extended his earlier invitation to Roosevelt not to set a definite date to visit, but merely to make sure that Roosevelt’s calendar did not fill up. Recent accusations against Roosevelt in newspapers by Joseph Pulitzer disgust Strachey, and he hopes that Roosevelt’s sister and brother-in-law, Corinne and Douglas Robinson, have not been worried by the attack.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-19
General Wood tells President Roosevelt how much he enjoyed his visit to Washington, D.C. He is very interested in what Roosevelt quoted him from Evelyn Baring Cromer’s letter, and asks if Roosevelt could put it in a memorandum for him. Wood would value such a statement from someone with Cromer’s ability and standing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-23
John St. Loe Strachey is pleased that President Roosevelt liked his “little book,” and agrees with Roosevelt’s assessment that he should have applied Proverbs 29:12 to the people as well as rulers. He congratulates Roosevelt on president-elect William H. Taft’s victory. He also hopes that when Roosevelt is in England following the Romanes Lecture, he and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt will have time to spend a weekend at his house in Surrey.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-17