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President Roosevelt encourages Attorney General Bonaparte to wire Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich. Roosevelt does not know Judge Edward Whitson, but he is sure that if they could get Judge William Henry Hunt the trial would be fair.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-04
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on various matters before the Department of Justice, specifically pertaining to the cases of William Edgar Borah and N. M. Ruick. Bonaparte also goes into great detail about the case of the People of Puerto Rico vs. the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church in Puerto Rico. He encourages Roosevelt not to get involved but instead to let the courts work it out. In a postscript, Bonaparte discusses the political considerations of federal appointees who run for elective office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-15
Attorney General Bonaparte informs President Roosevelt of his meeting with Charles B. Morrison regarding the Standard Oil case. Morrison reported that Standard Oil magnates had met with Frank B. Kellogg and himself confidentially to come up with a settlement that would “preserve them from a criminal prosecution.” Bonaparte told Morrison that the government could not deal more favorably with the Standard Oil Company as compared with the Drug Trust and that the whole matter would have to be presented to President Roosevelt for consideration. Bonaparte also mentions other matters, including correspondence from Governor Charles E. Magoon of Cuba and the present situation in Oklahoma Territory.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-08
Attorney General Bonaparte sends President Roosevelt letters from United States Attorney Edwin Walter Sims and Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch along with a clipping about Special Assistant U.S. District Attorney Grace Humiston (Mrs. Quackenbos). Bonaparte thinks his statement will suffice until he gets to Chicago, but the press will likely attack them anyway. It puzzles Bonaparte that Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis does not see that going back on the matter the would be exactly what Standard Oil wants.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-05
Attorney General Bonaparte tells President Roosevelt that District Attorney Edwin Walter Sims has asked for a postponement in Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis’s case, perhaps due to Landis’s behavior. The press covering Secretary of State Elihu Root and Thomas Fortune Ryan has been sensationalized, and Bonaparte feels it is unfortunate that Root is taking the blame on the whiskey situation. Bonaparte will get an update from Department of Justice Agent Peyton Gordon about Agent Ormsby McHarg. As he will be traveling, Bonaparte sends his forwarding address. He encloses telegrams from Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch regarding Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-04
Attorney General Bonaparte has heard from Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch that Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich has asked Judge William B. Gilbert to bring in another judge for the senator’s trial. Judge William Henry Hunt has been suggested. Bonaparte asks for President Roosevelt’s input before he responds to Dietrich.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-04
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich’s statements regarding Marshal Ruel Rounds, and on the situation in Idaho. Bonaparte thinks the lumber men could appeal to the Interstate Commerce Commission about the railroad rates, but he will have to look into the matter further. Many of the employees involved in the land fraud cases think highly of District Attorney N. M. Ruick and feel Senator William Edgar Borah is guilty, but the secret service men dislike Ruick. In Oklahoma, Bonaparte is still waiting for the election and the results of the census, and will give Roosevelt his feedback on the constitution after he has more information. William Randolph Hearst and the financiers have taken up rumors of Bonaparte’s resignation in the press again, perhaps because of Republican National Committee member Frank B. Kellogg’s visit to Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-01
William Allen White informs President Roosevelt that Judge Frank Sigel Deitrich is drawing his jury from U.S. Marshall Ruel Rounds’s list, which consists of men who will likely convict regardless of the presented evidence. White pleads with Roosevelt to remind Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte of his assurance that Rounds would not select the jury.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-29
Attorney General Bonaparte reports to President Roosevelt on a visit he had from John N. Steele regarding an Idaho judgeship. Steele, who represents the Guggenheim interests, recommended Frank Siegel Dietrich for the position, and did not seem to know anything about Judge James F. Ailshie.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-21
President Roosevelt writes to Attorney General Bonaparte, agreeing with his conclusions. Roosevelt mentions that he has given recess appointments previously for federal judgeships. He felt that there was not enough time to give serious consideration to the positions in California, southern Ohio, Idaho and northern Alabama before Congress adjourned. He mentions potential candidates for several of the judgeships.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-03
Attorney General Bonaparte writes to President Roosevelt about several matters he did not have time to speak with him about today. First, he has “serious objections” to Senator William Edgar Borah’s suggestion of a temporary judicial appointment. Until Bonaparte knows more about the situation, he will have “grave misgivings” about Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich and Judge Edward Whitson. However, Bonaparte does believe that N. M. Ruick will not cause a scandal as long as he does not know or suspect that he will lose his position. Second, Bonaparte spoke with Alford Warriner Cooley about Roosevelt’s desire to appoint Samuel L. Williams, a black man, as district attorney in Chicago, per Booker T. Washington’s recommendation. Edwin Walter Sims, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago, reported favorably about Williams to Bonaparte, and he recommends the nomination. Finally, Timothy L. Woodruff spoke with Bonaparte about Wyoming Senator Frank W. Mondell’s draft of a bill that would amend the coal-land-laws. Bonaparte entertains “very grave doubts” about giving amnesty to large corporations that break the law.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-27
Attorney General Bonaparte expresses his concern to President Roosevelt about how the Department of Justice gave the prosecution orders in the Moyer and Haywood case without his knowledge. He is trying to bring about order to the department, be he has been out with bronchitis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-23