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Thomas L. Dalton appeals to Theodore Roosevelt to support an “International Relief Fund” to help and support those afflicted by disaster throughout the world. He quotes Christian theology and encourages Roosevelt to use his position of power to relieve suffering.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-27
An old and haggard “Justice” sits in a chair on a rock in the East River. Cobwebs have grown over her sword, scales, and an “Indictment.” In the background, the steamship General Slocum is engulfed in flames. (It burned on June 15, 1904, with a loss of over 1,000 lives.) Caption: “Slocum? Slocum? Where have I heard that name?”
This front-page cartoon is a brutal and stark presentation of the fact that the East River fire and sinking of the excursion boat the General Slocum — a maritime accident still recorded as one of worst disasters in New York City and United States history — had gone relatively neglected by investigators and responsible agencies. The public was properly outraged at the time of the sinking, but many properly thought that justice lagged.
President Roosevelt deeply sympathizes with Mrs. H. H. Runington, as does America, over the disaster. He thanks her for the suggestions to which he complies. Not knowing whom to direct it to, Roosevelt wrote the letter in general terms.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-25
On behalf of America, President Roosevelt sincerely thanks the officials of the Infirmary at Salisbury for generously caring for the Americans involved in the recent “lamentable train wreck.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-25
President Roosevelt had a difficult time at first believing the news of the disaster that struck San Francisco, California, and sends his sympathies to the people of California and San Francisco. Roosevelt asks California Governor Pardee to let him know if there is anything the national government can do to assist with the situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-18
President Roosevelt hopes that the University of California has not suffered as much damage as it has been reported to have suffered. He tells Benjamin Ide Wheeler that he shares “the horror and grief of the country at the disaster that has befallen California.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-19
On behalf of the American people, President Roosevelt thanks King Edward VII for his message of sympathy in the wake of the Bennington disaster.
On July 21, 1905, while at San Diego, California, the boilers of the gunboat USS Bennington exploded, injuring or killing most of the crew.
Zappulla Emanuele was an English-speaking guide at Messina. After a disaster in which he lost everything, he and his family moved to Catania. The charity they receive is not enough and he asks if Theodore Roosevelt can help him. He wanted to see Roosevelt in Messina.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910
William Emlen Roosevelt tells President Roosevelt that he agrees it would be unwise for the President to speak out on the strike matter and the “other questions at the present time.” The San Francisco disaster has pushed everything else out of mind for the past few days. Emlen Roosevelt was also in Oyster Bay and went over the land. He hopes Ted is all right, but has been unable to determine if he needed a second surgery.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-23
Commissioner Murray submits to President Roosevelt the findings of the United States Commission of Investigation upon the disaster to the General Slocum.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-08
President Roosevelt offers sympathy to Mayor Beck after the tragedy that has befallen Chelsea, Massachusetts. He asks if government aid is needed in connection with the navy yard or military and naval establishments in Boston. (A large portion of Chelsea was destroyed in a fire on April 12, 1908.)
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-13
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt advises Secretary Long that monitor ships ought to be put into commission to maintain parity with the Spanish Navy. Recent events, including the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana, Cuba, have highlighted the need for a strong naval force. While Congress may balk at increasing the size of the Navy, Roosevelt cautions that “it may be held against us for all time to come, not merely by the men of today, but by those who read the history in the future” if the Department does not recommend it.
Massachusetts Historical Society
1898-02-16
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt urges Secretary Long to advise President McKinley not to conduct a joint investigation with Spain into the sinking of the USS Maine. Roosevelt believes that, in spite of opposition, Long should recommend that Congress authorize the building of as many as four battleships.
Massachusetts Historical Society
1898-02-19
The “Black Horse Cavalry,” under the leadership of “Woodruff” wearing the red suit of the Devil, is about to charge through a valley toward the “People’s Heavy Artillery,” with the “Taft National Battery” on one side and the “Hughes State Battery” on the other. Overlooking the scene is a cloud with the face of Theodore Roosevelt. Caption: Woodruff’s Albany Dragoons have a hunch that “some one has blundered.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1910-04-06
The Greek mythological figures of fate are represented in the form of a man (representing Lachesis) labeled “Commercial Lawlessness,” sitting with a pile of money on his lap and handing money labeled “Bribery” to a man (representing Atropos) wearing a uniform labeled “Crooked Inspection.” The latter holds a pair of scissors labeled “Disaster,” and is about to cut a thread that extends from the businessman to the figure of Clotho labeled “Human Life” standing between them. At their feet, on the left, are railroad and steamship accidents, a building fire, and dead bodies, and, on the right, is a ticker tape machine.
The Muckraking era, once enlivened with spirits of zeal and righteousness, focused on corrupt areas of American life that were not inevitable curses. Institutional corruption — bribery, lax enforcement of laws, and favoritism — had cancerous effects on American life despite laws and reform. In his career, for instance, Theodore Roosevelt encountered overcrowded and unsanitary tenements were cigars were made, when he was a crusading Assemblyman in the 1880s, and “arrangements” between policemen and saloon owners when he was a crusading police commissioner in the 1890s. Rules and regulations could be irrelevant on the street.