Your TR Source
President Roosevelt would like the United States Civil Service commission to make an exception for William Norman, who has been captain of the presidential yacht the Sylph for two years. Roosevelt would like Norman to be made Assistant Inspector of Hulls in the Steamboat Inspection Service in New Orleans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt tells Carl Ethan Akeley that he is thinking of hiring an Englishman named Judd to manage his caravan for the African safari, but that if he does not, he may hire R. J. Cunninghame. He asks for Akeley’s opinion of Cunninghame.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-06
President Roosevelt asks Ted Roosevelt to keep him updated on his job, and says the papers will soon give up discussing him. The enclosed letter to Ted, with its offer of a job selling cravats to students in Madison, Wisconsin, is delightful and amusing. Although Roosevelt’s leg has been mostly keeping him inside, he has been too busy to go out much anyway.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-02
President Roosevelt tells General Wood about the plans for his African safari, and asks if Wood might release Edgar Alexander Mearns to go. Mearns is an army surgeon who promised to accompany Wood wherever he was posted, but Mearns’s skill as a surgeon and a naturalist would be great additions to the expedition. Roosevelt thinks Wood will have a friend in Secretary of War Luke E. Wright.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-16
President Roosevelt tells Charles E. Hunter that it is out of the question to appoint Mr. Wright, due to some of the editorials that he has published in his paper.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-15
President Roosevelt tells William D. Miles that he will try again to find him a government position, but he reminds Miles that he never said he would not allow him to suffer because of his testimony. Roosevelt has already taken up the matter with the Department of Agriculture, but government positions pay less than jobs in private enterprises, so he may not be able to find something that Miles will take.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-14
President Roosevelt forwards to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp a letter that William H. Taft received from Egbert J. DeBell. DeBell seems to be trying to blackmail Taft, perhaps seeking to have his license as an Indian Trader reinstated. Roosevelt believes that what DeBell has claimed is a total fabrication, and that if he is found on any reservation, he should be forced out.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-13
President Roosevelt recalls Lloyd Collis well and is concerned to hear about his recent loss of a government contract at West Point. While Roosevelt is sure that Collis could fill many positions well, he is unaware of any vacancies at present. Collis should not apply generally, but ought to seek a position in which he is interested.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-13
President Roosevelt sends William H. Taft an editorial from the New York Times that he thinks is very good. Roosevelt also approves of the selection of George Rumsey Sheldon as treasurer of the National Republican Committee. Sheldon helped both Roosevelt and Charles Evans Hughes during political campaigns, and was recommended by Cornelius Newton Bliss, a former treasurer of the National Republican Committee. Appointing someone from Wall Street would have been a mistake.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-10
President Roosevelt congratulates George Rumsey Sheldon on his appointment as Treasurer of the Republican National Committee, and thinks that it was a very wise decision. Roosevelt thinks that the appointment of someone from Wall Street would have been a mistake. Since Sheldon has connections both to Roosevelt’s campaign and Charles Evan Hughes’s campaign, he was the best choice that could have been made for this position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-10
President Roosevelt asks his sister, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, to inform Justine Bayard Ward that he never said he approved of Cabot Ward for a position on the Philippine Commission, and he did not ask William H. Taft to appoint him. Cabot Ward does not have the experience to warrant putting him on the commission, and seats on the commission are not positions for which someone can apply. At present there are not many opportunities for a position in South America, but Roosevelt thinks that is something for which Ward could apply. Roosevelt mentions that the biography of him by Francis E. Leupp seems to him the best of its kind.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-09
President Roosevelt sends Charles D. Walcott an enclosed letter from Frank M. Chapman. Roosevelt thinks it may be good if he is able to get a taxidermist who has been to Africa before, and wonders if it would be possible to get the man whom Chapman mentions. It would be nice to get a taxidermist who knows something about medicine as well, but Roosevelt is not sure of the chance of that.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-07
President Roosevelt understands the troubles that William H. Taft faces in selecting people to help run his campaign, and comments that it is very rare to find people who are both disinterested in advancing themselves and interested in providing efficient service. Roosevelt reflects on many of the people and appointments that he has had to deal with through his political career.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-07
President Roosevelt thinks that William H. Taft is correct, and is glad that they have spoken to Frank B. Kellogg and William L. Ward, as it appears that Frank H. Hitchcock is becoming the favorite. Roosevelt believes Hitchcock will be a very good choice to help run Taft’s campaign. Roosevelt also responds to a letter from Taft regarding Frank Maximilian Steinhart, and comments on some business involving telephones.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-02
President Roosevelt asks Acting Secretary of the Interior Frank Pierce to detail Henry Gannett to Roosevelt, once he is finished assisting with the Cuban Census. If Pierce does this, Roosevelt will assign Gannett to help the National Conservation Commission create a report detailing the natural resources of the United States. Roosevelt believes that Gannett will be a great help, and so is sending a copy of this letter to Secretary of War Luke E. Wright, to whom Gannett is currently detailed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-02
President Roosevelt informs William D. Bynum that he believes Attorney General Bonaparte did not intend to fill the vacancy Bynum asked about, but that he forwarded Bynum’s letter in case there are any opportunities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-02
President Roosevelt was pleased to be able to appoint Ellen Grant Sartoris’s son, Algernon Edward Sartoris.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-01
President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Taft that, while he is sure that Frank H. Hitchcock would do a satisfactory job of running Taft’s campaign, the best person would be Frank B. Kellogg. Roosevelt thinks that if Kellogg is asked, there is a chance he would accept, but advises Taft to speak with Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte first to see what the provisions would be for finding a substitute in the current case Kellogg is involved in.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-29
President Roosevelt comments on an article that George Horace Lorimer recently published in The Saturday Evening Post, which commented on America’s Envoys Extraordinary. Roosevelt thinks that the article had some good points, but wishes that the article did not also misrepresent several other facts. He acknowledges that there have been some people in the past who have not been fit for their positions, but maintains that ambassadors and envoys currently appointed are by and large good men who are qualified for their positions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-26
President Roosevelt responds to a letter from Attorney General Bonaparte, and comments on the actions of Senator Jonathan Bourne in trying to involve Roosevelt in a matter involving Standard Oil. Roosevelt plans to explain to Bourne and John D. Archbold that it does them no good to speak with him, and they need to communicate with Bonaparte and Frank B. Kellogg. Roosevelt suggests having Alford Warriner Cooley stop by Idaho on his way from Alaska and take care of some business involving United States Attorney Lycurgus H. Lingenfelter. In his postscript, Roosevelt says that he is glad that Bonaparte wrote to Meyer about Mr. Levely, as he had not heard anything about the matter. Roosevelt is glad that Bonaparte thought of John Carter Rose as a person to potentially be appointed, as Roosevelt thinks it is a very good suggestion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-26