Evans, Henry Clay, 1843-1921

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-25

Creator(s)

Cortelyou, George B. (George Bruce), 1862-1940

Recipient

Southwick, W. R., Mrs.

George B. Cortelyou informs Mary Emily Rogers that, as Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt cannot take part in government affairs, her letter will be brought to the attention of Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans./p>

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-16

Because Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt cannot take part in government affairs, George B. Cortelyou informs May Zeikman that her message will be referred to Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-05

George B. Cortelyou has brought Elise Arndt Bleke’s letter to the attention of Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans since Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt cannot take part in government affairs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-30

George B. Cortelyou explains to Charles J. Abbott that Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt does not involve herself in government matters. Abbott’s letter has been brought to the attention of Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-05

Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans’s retirement will not lessen the safeguards against fraud at the Pension Bureau. Evans has served for five years and President Roosevelt would be wise to convince Evans to serve for longer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-03

Commissioner Henry Clay Evans is clearly resigning from the Pension Bureau due to pressure on President Roosevelt from the Grand Army of the Republic. This resignation is not complimentary to the “Roosevelt backbone.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-03-03

Henry Clay Evans has served successfully as Commissioner of Pensions and it is hoped that his successor will continue his policies. There is some disappointment in President Roosevelt for not supporting Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-02

Finding a capable successor to Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans will be difficult because the Pension Bureau is always under attack by those who prey on the country or on veterans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-09

An example letter of how President Roosevelt could have handled Commissioner Evans’s resignation without creating controversy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-14

Evidence that Commissioner Evans’s resignation was not voluntary.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-03

The unnamed author believes that President Roosevelt handled Commissioner Evans’s resignation poorly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-02

President Roosevelt suggests Commissioner of Pensions Ware follow the same protocol with Congressman Jacob A. Beidler as he does with other congressmen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-15

A man labeled “Pension Agent” holds a small club labeled “Fraudulent Claims” and shakes his fist at Henry Clay Evans shown as a watchdog wearing a collar labeled “Pension Commissioner Evans,” sitting in front of a building labeled “U.S. Treasury.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

For decades after the Civil War, the Pension Bureau, a necessary agency established to serve the inordinate number of wounded Union veterans, was also a controversial institution that allowed plunder on a large scale. The Grand Army of the Republic, predecessor of subsequent veterans and lobbying organizations, continually fought for greater benefits, fewer tests of legitimate claims, and against reforms and inquests. Politicians “waved the bloody shirt” (the phrase for appealing to veterans and their families) and funded the Pension Bureau extravagantly. President McKinley appointed Henry Clay Evans as commissioner in 1897, and as a reformer he served until 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Consul-General to Great Britain in 1902.

President Roosevelt walks with a man of the Grand Army of the Republic as Roosevelt points his finger at Henry Clay Evans. Caption: The president: Get out, Evans. “But have I not been a faithful officer?” “Yes, none better. But my dear old G.A.R. friend here does not like you.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-01

President Roosevelt hopes that Eugene F. Ware will accept the position of Commissioner of Pensions. Henry Clay Evans, the current Commissioner, will be receiving a promotion to the diplomatic service in Spain.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-02

President Roosevelt’s general rule is to fill consular positions through promotion but it is not an invariable rule and has been overlooked as with Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09-11

As Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt cannot involve herself in government affairs, she has asked George B. Cortelyou to pass Catherine L. Rains’s letter to Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-07

George B. Cortelyou informs Abigail Brodt that Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt does not take part in government affairs. Brodt’s letter will be brought to the attention of Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-06

Because Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt does not involve herself in government affairs, George B. Cortelyou advises Mrs. Thomas Goulden to take her matter up with Commissioner of Pensions Henry Clay Evans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-04