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President Roosevelt regrets that he must decline J. Edward Simmons’ invitation to an event in honor of Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans, but asks Simmons to convey his highest regards to Evans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-05
President Roosevelt will read the notes with “great interest” and tells Rear Admiral Mahan that he will ensure that he is given authority to get the information he needs from Admiral Robley D. Evans. Roosevelt also comments on what a “ridiculous creature” journalist Edward Dicey is, and relates him to the “solemn mugwumps” who write about subjects they know nothing about.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-08
President Roosevelt asks Senator Platt if there is any chance for Robley D. Evans to be made vice admiral, and suggests it may be possible to pass a bill in order to accomplish this.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-17
President Roosevelt informs Representative Foss, Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, that he has sent Senator Thomas Collier Platt a bill that would create the grade of vice-admiral, with an aim to appoint Robley D. Evans to that position. He believes that the position should have been created before now, and hopes that it will be done.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-22
President Roosevelt has heard that the correspondent whose removal from the Atlantic Fleet was recommended by Admiral Robley D. Evans is habitually drunk onboard, and his behavior has been “emphatically condemned” by other reporters. Roosevelt thinks he should be removed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-22
Per the request of Governor Gillett and others, President Roosevelt would like to make Robley D. Evans a Vice-Admiral, but a law would have to be passed for him to do so.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-10
President Roosevelt believes that Albert L. Key’s main objections to his plan for the administration of the Navy stems from the fact that officers eligible for positions are too old. Roosevelt would like to promote younger men to higher grades in the Navy, but his experience attempting this in the Army has made it clear that he cannot successfully do so.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-10
President Roosevelt has read Lieutenant Commander Key’s reports with interest and thinks that Key, Cameron McRae Winslow, and William Sowden Sims have served well by calling attention to defects in the naval administration of the United States. In spite of this, however, Roosevelt thinks that some of the criticisms have been exaggerated and that the solutions Key has proposed may not work as well as he thinks. Roosevelt discusses the placement of armor belts on ships as one example of this. He also speaks about a proposed shift within the Navy that will give line officers more authority than they currently have and says that the suggested balance will actually accomplish very little and that what is required is more along the lines of a change in staff.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-26
President Roosevelt was pleased with Sydney Brooks’s article on the voyage of the American fleet, and additionally plans to read the article on Irish gentry. He is glad that Brooks liked his message. Roosevelt says that he wrote the message because he was concerned that the voices of people advocating short-term gain at the cost of long-term punishment would be louder than those who can face temporary unpleasantness in the pursuit of long-term goals. In a lengthy postscript, Roosevelt corrects Brooks’s statement regarding pension bills, saying that while there are undoubtedly some abuses, there are not any “padded and fraudulent” bills like Brooks has written about.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-21
President Roosevelt tells Rear Admiral Pillsbury that the letter from Rear Admiral Charles S. Sperry was very interesting, and he requests a special report on why the conditions of the USS Alabama and USS Maine are so poor. He also asks Pillsbury to remind him to send a message of congratulation to Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-21
President Roosevelt asks Secretary of the Navy Metcalf to find out about Admiral Robley D. Evans’s health when he visits the fleet. Roosevelt is afraid that he is not well enough to take the fleet to Australia and home.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-06
President Roosevelt protests a recent editorial in The Outlook, and tells Lyman Abbott that it condoned mutinous and insubordinate conduct in the Navy by defending Admiral Willard H. Brownson. He quotes a letter he received from General Grenville M. Dodge on the topic of Brownson’s resignation. Dodge opines that Roosevelt should have insisted Brownson obey the order and if he refused to then court-martial him instead of just accepting his resignation. Roosevelt explains why he did not follow this course, but says that this may have set a precedent for rampant insubordination in the armed forces, which The Outlook has not helped.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-17
Archibald B. Roosevelt is recovering well from his surgery and is excited to return to Groton. President Roosevelt was touched by the fondness Archie showed Kermit Roosevelt before and after the surgery. Roosevelt also tells Kermit about a walk he had taken with several friends in which they lost French Ambassador J. J. Jusserand in the woods and an enjoyably informal dinner with several hunters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-08
Archibald B. Roosevelt has been enjoying his time at the Groton School, greatly admires rector Endicott Peabody, and has been preemptively training younger brother Quentin Roosevelt as a fullback so he can join the Groton School’s football team when the time comes. The doctors are still not sure what is causing Archie’s poor health. Roosevelt is considering a sea voyage to improve it, but worries about such a trip’s effect on Archie’s education.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-30
President Roosevelt writes his son Kermit Roosevelt about the events of Thanksgiving week. His son Archibald B. Roosevelt has taken extremely ill, although he has had a good time at the Groton School. Roosevelt has gone on several outings with friends and plans to go riding with Henry Cabot Lodge the next day.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-30
President Roosevelt is impressed with Ambassador Tower’s report on the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Roosevelt does not believe Japan plans to launch an attack, but acknowledges rising tensions and cites the movement of the Great White Fleet as part of his efforts to be prepared. Roosevelt also asks Tower to thank the German officials and especially Emperor William II for their help and agrees that the U.S. should maintain the Open Door Policy with China.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-19
President Roosevelt is surprised by Henry Cabot Lodge’s claim that the Naval Board supported Rear-Admiral Harry H. Rousseau succeeding Admiral Robley D. Evans. He asks if Admiral George Dewey had told him this, as Dewey had told him that Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich should succeed Rousseau. After meeting with the Naval Board, Roosevelt concludes that Evans and those under his command have done their work well and that the Dewey camp are “entirely in error” to rally against Evans and Rousseau.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-10
President Roosevelt has read Secretary of the Navy Metcalf’s report on Admiral C. H. Davis’s response to the earthquake near Kingston, Jamaica, and wishes Metcalf to commend Davis on Roosevelt’s behalf. To Roosevelt, they represent the “best traditions of our navy in thus rendering distinguished service to humanity.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-01
President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that he has heard nothing except from Lodge’s telegram about U. S. Navy Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans’s retirement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-05
President Roosevelt concedes to Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte to continue the trial. He is primarily concerned that proceeding on anything less than ample grounds may result in captains becoming “timid” in managing their ships. In a postscript, Roosevelt agrees to appoint Rear Admiral Eustace Barron Rogers as Paymaster General. Additionally, he declares the men turned down due to “defective hearing” cannot be accepted to the Naval Academy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-08