Elections--Corrupt practices

Letter from William H. Taft to William Loeb

William H. Taft has asked the Kentucky lawyer William Marshall Bullitt to write to William Loeb regarding the situation with Internal Revenue Collector Edward T. Franks. Taft has visited Colorado and outlines the situation there for Loeb: Archibald McNichol Stevenson has attempted to manipulate both Chairman of the Republican City Organization John F. Vivian and Taft’s campaign manager Arthur I. Vorys, and he has advocated for the removal of Internal Revenue Collector Frank W. Howbert. Taft has had positive meetings with both Vivian and Governor Henry Augustus Buchtel. They will support whoever President Roosevelt supports.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-31

Letter from William H. Moody to Richard Wilson Knott

Attorney General Moody responds to Richard Wilson Knott regarding jurisdictions involved when investigating election fraud. Knott had written to President Roosevelt and Moody is responding at Roosevelt’s request.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-01

Letter from Richard Wilson Knott to Theodore Roosevelt

Richard Wilson Knott asks President Roosevelt to support a federal investigation into charges of voter fraud and voter intimidation in Louisville, Kentucky.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-14

Mr. Hearst’s contest

The writer of an editorial expresses support for a speech in which Isthmian Canal Commission Chairman Theodore P. Shonts suggested naming the completed interoceanic canal in Panama the Roosevelt Canal. President Roosevelt has been a champion of the canal as vital to the carrying out of the Monroe Doctrine since he was governor of New York, and as President he is its most powerful supporter. Other editorials on the page discuss the political situation in Chicago and William Randolph Hearst’s attempts to settle the disputed New York City mayoral election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-13

Letter from Frank Harper to John Milliken Parker

Frank Harper sends a letter that was received by Theodore Roosevelt regarding a man that was “bluffed out of his vote.” Harper asks if anything can be done in the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-11

Letter from Frank Harper to Horace Marchand

Frank Harper agrees that Horace Marchand appears to have been cheated out of his vote. The matter will be brought to the attention of the Progressive Party managers in Louisiana. Theodore Roosevelt appreciates Marchand’s letter and hopes some good will come out of the inquiry.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Isaac L. Hunt

President Roosevelt assures Isaac L. Hunt that he will certainly investigate if any member of the Department of Justice has been guilty of improper conduct, but he does not think he can do much else. He has not interfered, nor will he interfere, in the nomination in any Congressional district. Roosevelt will forward Hunt’s letter to Sherman.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-13

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt authorizes Secretary of War Taft to warn Panama President Manuel Amador Guerrero that the United States will intervene and install Jose Domingo de Obaldia as president if the election is fraudulent. He also approves Taft’s proposed action regarding Jackson Smith.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis J. Heney

President Roosevelt tells Francis J. Heney that he believes William Randolph Hearst is one of the most dangerous men in America, and that if it is true that Hearst paid ballot box stuffers, those facts should be made known to the public. Roosevelt asks Heney for more information about the situation addressed in several telegrams that have been sent to him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Julius M. Mayer

President Roosevelt hopes that New York Attorney General Julius M. Mayer will grant William Randolph Hearst’s application for quo warranto proceedings to investigate the New York mayoral election of 1905, and move forward with the process quickly and firmly. Roosevelt wishes “to make it evident that we tolerate no fraud, whether for or against Democrat, Republican, or independent.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt comments on recent press coverage by Lyman Abbott in The Outlook. Roosevelt acknowledges the article captures his “mental attitude” exactly regarding racial discrimination, black suffrage and equality before the law. He names John Sharp Williams of Mississippi as a prime example of how “whites have suppressed this colored vote so absolutely by force, by fraud, by every species of iniquity.” Roosevelt explains that although the race question was not part of his acceptance speech, if the issue is forced upon him in the upcoming campaign “I shall certainly not hesitate to meet it.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to F. V. Greene

President Roosevelt’s two disappointments in the election were Arthur P. Gorman and the victory of Tammany Hall in New York. Roosevelt would like to meet with Francis V. Greene to discuss the local Republican situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-05

Telegram from Joseph M. Dixon to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Dixon will be sending multiple statements on irregularities during the New York primaries. He suggests that Theodore Roosevelt use these incidents in upcoming speeches.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-03-26

Telegram from Joseph C. S. Blackburn to Theodore Roosevelt

Governor Blackburn relays the results of his investigation into the upcoming election in Panama. While the majority of people prefer candidate Jose Domingo de Obaldia, current president Manuel Amador Guerrero supports candidate Ricardo Arias and is attempting to rig the election in his favor. In particular, Amador Guerrero has dispatched police to suppress voting, and removed three provincial governors who supported Obaldia and installed three partisans who will support Arias. Blackburn has made it clear that the United States will not recognize a president elected through corrupt practices.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-05

Telegram from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Citing further evidence of a plot to commit fraud to secure the election of Ricardo Arias in Panama, Secretary of War Taft asks President Roosevelt if he should go to President Manuel Amador Guerrero and warn him that the United States will intercede in future elections if the current election is unfair.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-10

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft sends President Roosevelt the text of cables from William Nelson Cromwell and George W. Goethals regarding measures to be taken to ensure fair elections in Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-18

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft reports to President Roosevelt on his visit to the Panama Canal Zone. Taft was investigating reports of poor conditions in the Subsistence Department to head off a scandal. As a result, Jackson Smith has resigned from the Commission, and Taft suggests personnel and organizational changes. Taft also reports on attempts to rig the upcoming election in Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-16

Letter from William H. Taft to Manuel Amador Guerrero

Secretary of War Taft informs Panama President Amador Guerrero that the United States is aware of plans to fraudulently rig the upcoming election for Ricardo Arias over Jose Domingo de Obaldia. Taft warms Amador Guerrero that if this occurs, the United States will be forced to intervene in the election. He includes a quotation from President Roosevelt stating as such.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-12

Translation of cablegram received at 12:47 p.m.

Secretary of War Taft relays conditions in the Canal Zone, detailing two main points. First, he describes the self-serving actions of Jackson Smith and recommends he be removed from service. Second, Taft outlines the political situation in Panama and a plot by Manuel Amador Guerrero and his supporters to steal the election from Jose Domingo de Obaldia, creating the risk of another revolution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-09

Telegram from Joseph Benson Foraker to Theodore Roosevelt

In light of recent news from Cuba, Senator Foraker feels compelled to tell President Roosevelt that under the United States’ treaty with Cuba for the maintenance of a government, the power to intervene lies with the United States not solely the President.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-26