Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte
President Roosevelt writes Attorney General Bonaparte regarding the federal prison employment situation of Joseph L. Merrell. Merrell was the Sheriff of Carroll County, Georgia in 1901 when he stopped a white mob from lynching a black prisoner, and subsequently lost his reelection bid as a result. Georgia Representative Charles William Adamson brought the situation to Roosevelt’s attention. Roosevelt secured Merrell a position for “$1200 a year as custodian of the grounds of the Federal Prison at Atlanta,” and hopes to get him a raise if he has done well at his job.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-12-17