Your TR Source
President Roosevelt appreciated E. Evelyn Smith’s letter and asserts that he only carried out his duty regarding Bryan R. Dorr’s case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-12
President Roosevelt sends Senator Hale reports from the various governmental departments on the use of special attorneys, special agents, and investigators, as Hale requested. Roosevelt believes it is Congress’s right and duty to investigate these things, but also says that the system of using these special investigators is necessary to safeguard the popular interest. To prove his point, Roosevelt highlights several instances where these agents have been used, and says that even when adhering strictly to their duty, they can discover facts that expose other elements that deserve investigation. Roosevelt uses the recent case involving the sale of Oregon lands in which Senator Benjamin R. Tillman was involved as an example of this.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-05
President Roosevelt wants Senator Hale to present Roosevelt’s previous letter about investigations concerning Senator Benjamin R. Tillman’s Oregon land sale and franking privilege scandals to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which Hale chairs. Roosevelt respects Hale’s request to not publicize the letter prematurely and encourages Hale to do it instead, as the letter is now in his possession.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-07
William Wingate Sewall tells President Roosevelt what he thinks of Senator Benjamin Tillman, accusing Tillman of having an Ananias club and saying that “when he threw something at Dorr”–a land agent whom Tillman had accused of being a swindler–“he forgot it was a boomerang.” Sewall hopes the stockings he sent suited Roosevelt and hopes to see him while in Washington.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-16
Postal Inspectors Clement and Riches send Inspector in Charge Linn details of their investigation into a case of alleged mail fraud involving Bryan R. Dorr and real estate agents Reeder & Watkins using the mail to solicit applications to purchase government land in Oregon. After a thorough investigation involving many different parties, Clement and Riches found no evidence that either Dorr or Reeder & Watkins were acting in bad faith, and that Dorr’s circulars stating that Senator Benjamin R. Tillman was an applicant for purchasing the land were not untrue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-27
Clement, Edland C. (Edland Clyde), 1863-1952; Riches, Oliver C. (Oliver Cromwell), 1868-1911
This document, marked “Exhibit A,” advertises the purchasing of timber land in Western Oregon. The St. Paul and Pacific Timber Syndicate claims to have attracted the interest of Senator Benjamin R. Tillman, who will help lend weight to the lawsuit against the Southern Oregon Company, which it claims currently holds the land illegally. By sending the St. Paul and Pacific Timber Syndicate an application and $200, the syndicate promises that it will be able to secure a quarter section valued at at least $5000 for the applicant. A map showing the area of the land in question is also included.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-04