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In addition to Henry Lee Higginson’s letter, President Roosevelt received many communications from individuals and businesses concerned about the economic downfall and panic. Roosevelt mostly agrees with Higginson, but is confused by some of his points. Roosevelt thinks the global economic circumstances have little to do with any action by his administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-12
After talking with George Horace Lorimer, President Roosevelt went back and read The Plum Tree through all the way, after previously having read only half of it. The ending of the book reconciles Roosevelt to many of the problems he had with it throughout, but he still holds many issues with the book which he lays out for Lorimer. The author, David Graham Phillips, falls into the trap of overstating the sort of corruption that is present in politics, and while Roosevelt freely admits that corruption is present–which, he points out, he is working against–there are also many good people working in politics as well. In a postscript of several days later, Roosevelt comments on several of Phillips’s articles on the Senate, in which he acts similarly by taking “certain facts that are true in themselves, and […] ignoring utterly a very much large mass of facts that are just as true and just as important.” Roosevelt criticizes Phillips for working with William Randolph Hearst to achieve notoriety.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-12
President Roosevelt had recently finished Owen Wister’s book Lady Baltimore, and sends Wister his thoughts and criticisms of the work. While he enjoyed the story, Roosevelt believes the book is unfairly critical of northerners and uncritical of southerners. Similarly, Roosevelt points out that while the book lauds the past at the expense of the present, there are many examples of violence, brutality, greed, and other vices in the past. Roosevelt also remarks on the status of African-Americans, and while he agrees with Wister in certain regards, believes the work has gone too far in the racist stereotypes. He hopes that Wister will be able to visit him soon. In a postscript, Roosevelt mentions a number of other books he has read or is reading that similarly make readers “feel that there is no use of trying to reform anything because everything is so rotten that the whole social structure should either be let alone or destroyed.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-27
Judge Edgar Aldrich from the District Court of New Hampshire requests President Roosevelt read an enclosed opinion from Fisher v. Concord Railroad by Charles Doe, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Doe opined that courts moving slowly against railroad companies only help the railroad companies, not the public, and it is not a court’s duty to be slow.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-16
Ambassador Reid writes to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt about events in England following news of the death of Secretary of State John Hay, including the Fourth of July reception held by the embassy there. Reid shares information about the Kings of England and Spain and hopes that she will share the news with President Roosevelt. Reid also expresses some nervousness about speeches being printed verbatim in Europe, and remarks about the volume of speeches he is asked to give. He includes several songs that were sung at gatherings he attended.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-10
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt between January 1879 to December 1883. Notable events include Theodore Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee, his appointment to the New York State Legislature, and his first visit and buffalo hunt in North Dakota.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
Moore, Robert J. (Robert John), 1956-; Theodore Roosevelt Association
A trial is taking place at the U.S. Supreme Court where the regular justices have been replaced by hayseed justices. In the foreground is a “Waiting Pen for Gold Bugs and Millionaires” where “W. Rockefeller, J. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Astor, Sage, Vanderbilt, [and] Gould” are waiting. Caption: If the silverites ever get a chance to put their populistic and revolutionary platform into force.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1896-09-09
Eight stagecoaches stand in a procession, each jammed with passengers. Riding in the first coach, labeled “Republican Harmony Coach,” are Chester Alan Arthur, Roscoe Conkling, James Gillespie Blaine, John Alexander Logan, Ulysses S. Grant, J. D. Cameron, George William Curtis, John Sherman, John F. Miller(?) and an unidentified man. Riding in the second coach, labeled “Dem. Love Feast Coach” and “One Republican thrown in to please Mr. Dana,” are Charles A. Dana, Benjamin F. Butler, Edward Cooper, Rutherford B. Hayes, Franklin Edson, Samuel J. Tilden, John Kelly, and Hubert O. Thompson. Riding in the third coach, labeled “Heavy Hack,” are Cardinal John McCloskey, Robert Green Ingersoll, “Jacobs, Potter, Storrs,” Howard Crosby, Henry Ward Beecher, and Theodore Tilton. Riding in the fourth coach, labeled “Monopoly,” are William H. Vanderbilt, Russell Sage, Cyrus W. Field, Jay Gould, and a box labeled Henry Clay. Riding in the fifth coach, labeled “Thespis,” are Lester Wallack, Rose Coghlan, Marie Geistinger, “T.P., J.E. Pearson, Levy,” Dion Boucicault, Edward Harrigan, and Tony Hart. The sixth coach is labeled “Homeopathy”; the seventh coach is labeled “Allopathy”; and the eighth coach is labeled “The Bruiser.” The horses pulling this last coach wear boxing gloves. Caption: [If this takes, we will have another one next year.]
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-06-13
A large group of politicians and others stand in a cemetery on Memorial Day. Each seems to be grieving at gravestones that bear special messages. Pope Leo XIII stands in front of a stone that states “Here lies my Irish Influence.” Ulysses S. Grant places a wreath labeled “Tho’ Gone Not Forgotten” at a monument that states “Here Lies the Third Term 1880.” Stephen Dorsey and Thomas Brady, arm in arm, stand in front of a stone that states “[Star] Route Here Lies Our Hope of Acquittal.” James G. Blaine places a wreath on a stone that states “[He]re Lies My South American Policy.” Samuel J. Tilden and Charles A. Dana stand in front of a stone that states “Tilden Boom 1876 Rest in Peace.” Clustered around Grant are Roscoe Conkling holding a tattered military standard labeled “Stalwart Battle Flag 1880,” J. D. Cameron on crutches labeled “1882,” John A. Logan as a drummer with number “306” on his drum strap, and Thomas Collier Platt as a little girl. Also grouped before a stone that states “Here Lies Democratic Consistency on the Tariff” are Benjamin F. Butler, Winfield Scott Hancock, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Stephen B. Elkins. Others depicted are Simon Cameron, John Kelly, Jay Gould, George W. Childs, George M. Robeson, David Davis, Robert Ingersoll, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, and a man identified as “Campbell.” Caption: They deck with flowers, this Day of Decoration, full many a blighted hope and reputation.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-05-30
A large procession crosses the newly-completed Brooklyn Bridge. At the front, dressed as policemen with nightsticks, are several newspaper editors. Among them are James Gordon Bennett, Oswald Ottendorfer, Whitelaw Reid, Murat Halstead, Joseph Pulitzer, Charles A. Dana, and Carl Schurz. Puck follows at center on a white horse, with a group of dandies on the right, one labeled “Freddie,” and a group of “Political Tramps” on the left, including George M. Robeson, Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas Collier Platt, James G. Blaine, and Roscoe Conkling. John Kelly is at the lead of the “Tammany Heelers,” followed by Hubert O. Thompson with the “New York Street Cleaning Department.” Behind them comes “Puck’s Monopoly Target Company” with Russell Sage, William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Cyrus W. Field. On the left is a masonic group labeled “F. & A.M.” carrying a goat on a pedestal. Beneath the bridge is a boat labeled “The Dynamiter” filled with angry anarchists. Caption: Puck follows the example of the illustrated newspapers, and gives an accurate picture of the event one day before it takes place – and don’t you forget it!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-05-23
At a dog show, a variety of breeds are competing. In the upper left corner, labeled the “Judges’ Stand,” are several newspaper editors, including James Gordon Bennett, Whitelaw Reid, Murat Halstead, Charles A. Dana, Henry Watterson, and George W. Curtis. They are judging two dogs, Winfield Scott Hancock and Samuel J. Tilden. Other dogs depicted are “Sesquipedalian Sleuth Hound Evarts, Mulligan Mongrel, Rossa Runt – take care dangerous, Lap Dogs Monopoly Breed”, also Chester A. Arthur, William Mahone, Thomas Collier Platt, Roscoe Conkling, James D. Cameron, John Logan, “Pointer Bayard, Tammany Tarrier, House Dog Edson, Dachshund, Toby Dog, Poodle, Water-dog,” David Davis, U.S. Grant, “Tewksbury Ratter, Hoar-Hound, Hybrid Hayes” and at center, “Puck’s entry Cleveland [and] S. Low.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-05-09
At left, on the sidewalk outside a gambling room labeled “Monopoly Club Shades,” James G. Blaine and Benjamin F. Butler corner a “Workingman” and try to steer him into the gaming room. On the right, sitting around a table with playing cards, are Russell Sage, William Walter Phelps, George M. Robeson, Jay Gould, and John Roach, and standing is Cyrus W. Field. On a shelf is a bust of William H. Vanderbilt beneath a sign that states “The Public Be D–” and notices that state “No Straight Flushes in this House” and “This is a Bluff Game – No Limit.” On either side of the bust are boxes of “Brag Chips” and “Bluster Cards.” Caption: Hungry Ben – “How are you, Mr. Workingman? What! – don’t you remember me? Why, I’m your old friend! Say – just you let me put you onto a nice little scheme-” Workingman “No, sirree! I’ve been there before.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-08-20
A mechanical wind-up toy railroad set, with large key, has Jay Gould circling on tracks that lead through a tunnel labeled “Court House” with openings labeled “Front Door” and “Back Door.” As Cyrus W. Field turns a crank at center, Gould moves along the track and enters at the “Back Door” of the tunnel, then exits, ahead of a foot labeled “Judge,” at the “Front Door.” Caption: “The Gould Game” – Kick him out of the front door, and he comes in at the back.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-01-10
A costume ball is underway. Among the recognizable faces are Jay Gould, William H. Vanderbilt, Ulysses S. Grant, and possibly William W. Phelps. Caption: Mrs. Knickerbocker gives a fancy dress ball, and, following the practice of the English nobility, requests her guests to appear in the costumes worn by their ancestors a hundred years ago.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-02-07
William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and Cyrus W. Field escape in a small boat from cannibals on an island where they have built a railroad but refused to give the natives a reduced fare rate. The cannibals are angry and demand “5-cent fares.” Caption: “After all we have done for them, Brothers, they insist on having 5-cent fares. Let us leave the cannibals to their fate!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-02-28
Puck stands in the Senate chamber, among many senators sick with “Presidential Fever.” Puck is offering a spoonful of “Anti-Presidential Quinine” to John Sherman. Among the senators present are Wade Hampton, George Frisbie Hoar, J. D. Cameron, William Mahone, Warner Miller, Daniel W. Voorhees, John Alexander Logan, George F. Edmunds, John Sherman, George Graham Vest, Thomas F. Bayard, John P. Jones, and David Davis. Peering over the chamber walls are George M. Robeson, Jay Gould, and Roscoe Conkling.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-02-21
Republican revelers in the foreground make music as they pass a reform ark being constructed in the background. Depicted are John Sherman playing pipes labeled “Southern Outrages,” John Logan playing cymbals labeled “Pensions,” Whitelaw Reid playing pan pipes labeled “Monopoly,” James Blaine playing a lyre, George Robeson riding on a donkey labeled “Surplus,” with George Hoar, John Roach, Joseph Keifer, and Roscoe Conkling among them. Among the crowd that follows are Ulysses S. Grant, Jay Gould, and possibly Rutherford B. Hayes, also a man playing a tambourine labeled “Bossism” and another carrying a standard labeled “Spoils,” and one with a sign labeled “River & Harbor Frauds.” In the background, John Carlisle stands at the head of those building the ark. Also shown are Henry Watterson with hammer and chisel, William Morrison holding up “Morrison’s Tariff Reform Plan,” and Abram Hewitt holding “Hewitt’s Free Trade Plank.” The ribs of the ship are labeled “Tariff Reform, Raw Materials Free, Lower Iron Tax, Lower Tax on Woolens, [and] Works of Art Free.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-05
Puck’s stereotypical Irishman labeled “Democracy” appears in the role of “Bottom” from Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with Puck holding the head of an ass above him. He is holding a paper that states “Free Protection for Revenue Only. Free Revenue Reform for Protection Only. To the Civil Service Reformers belong the Spoils!!!” A host of fairies, insects, and minions of the night are gathered around him, including Theodore Roosevelt as a fairy standing on a snail labeled “N. Y. City Reform,” John Logan as a mushroom, John Kelly as a spider on a web labeled “N. Y.,” William Evarts as a bird with a long beak, unidentified man as a frog, James Blaine and George Robeson as owls, David Davis, Samuel J. Tilden as a grasshopper, Roscoe Conkling as a bird, Whitelaw Reid labeled “3 cts” and another man labeled “2 cts” as moths, and a diminutive Chester A. Arthur peering from behind Bottom’s feet. Jay Gould appears as a snake in the bushes. Among the fairies are “Randall, Carlisle, Dana, Cleveland, Cox,” and Henry Watterson. Uncle Sam and Columbia observe from behind a tree. Includes Bottom’s lines “I have had a dream – past the wit of men to say what dream it was. … But man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had” from the play.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-02-20
Illustration, reminiscent of Thomas Nast’s cartoon of the same title published in Harper’s Weekly, October 7, 1871, hence “That trick is very stale”, shows a group of monopolists and Blaine supporters scattering on the street in response to the cry “Stop thief!” Joseph Keifer carries a sign that states “Beware of Cleveland the Monopolist” and Cyrus Field waves a sheet that states “Down with Cleveland the Monopolist.” Among the pursuers and those being pursued are William W. Phelps, Benjamin F. Butler carrying a bag of “Monopolist Fees”, Robert Ingersoll, Keifer, George M. Robeson, Whitelaw Reid throwing “Dust” in the eyes of workingmen, Alonzo Cornell, Field, James G. Blaine carrying a bag of “$ from Monopolists” and “R.R. Stocks,” Russell Sage, John Roach, and Jay Gould, as well as a dog with the face of John Kelly(?), and with a teapot labeled “Alliance with Monopolists” tied to its tail; all are determined to look like pursuers, instead of the object of the pursuit. Carl Schurz, dressed as a policeman, is standing on the sidewalk at far right. Two laborers are standing on the left, next to a sign that announces “Friend of the Workingman Meeting at Monopoly Hall To Night – J. Gould, C. Field, R. Sage, Robeson.” Caption: Level-Headed Workingman – “Too thin! That trick is very stale. I guess we know a monopolist when we see him!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-08-06
Several wealthy men, “Gould, W. K. Vanderbilt, W. H. Vanderbilt, Sage, Cornell, [and] Cornelius Vanderbilt,” some dressed as women, hold ticker tape and dance around a may pole. Cyrus W. Field, dressed as a woman, sits on a safe next to the pole. Sitting on a bench to the left are Chauncey M. Depew playing cymbals labeled “Monopolist Music” and Whitelaw Reid playing a horn labeled “Tribune.” Behind them is William M. Evarts looking out a window in a building labeled “Millionaires Snug Harbor,” and in the background is a “Monopoly Mill” labeled “Stocks” and “U. S. Bonds.” Lambs gambol nearby. Includes verse.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-04-29