Governmental investigations

President Roosevelt informs Joseph Bucklin Bishop that he met with Edward H. Van Ingen and agrees with their plan of action via letter. Roosevelt has already written to District Attorney Henry L. Burnett about the letter and plans to meet with Burnett, Van Ingen, and William Williams together. He also comments on the trust legislation and the actions of Congressmen George Frisbie Hoar and Charles E. Littlefield. Roosevelt encloses a letter to New York Police Commissioner F. V. Greene and discusses the information he provided Greene.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-02-17

President Roosevelt informs District Attorney Burnett that Edward H. Van Ingen and William Williams visited him regarding Edward F. McSweeney. They presented him with evidence that McSweeney is lying, and he does not see clemency as an option.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-02-12

The Laurel Ledger prints an article discussing Senator Tillman’s criticism of the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. The article speaks highly of President Roosevelt and also describes where a “woman’s place” should be, claiming that if Morris had been in her place “attending to her duties at home” rather than “trying to influence the government in her hen-pecked husband’s behalf,” there would not have been an incident.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-20

Two newspaper articles, one regarding the sentiment and reactions of Republicans to Senator Benjamin R. Tillman’s speech in Congress. The other article discusses the removal of Mrs. Minor Morris from the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-21

Record of the Senate vote regarding Senator Tillman’s request for an investigation of the removal of Mrs. Minor Morris from the White House. The motion carried by a vote of 54 to 8.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-18

Private Jacob P. Frech describes his involvement in removing Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. Frech claims that Morris was uncooperative, even kicking him in the groin. A witness claims that the guards used a reasonable amount of force considering the manner in which Morris protested her removal, calling her a “large, strong woman.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-19

W. S. Couch writes an article detailing Senator Tillman’s verbal attack on President Roosevelt and call for investigation on the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-18

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop regarding the secretary of the Commission. Roosevelt says he has never been fond of the secretary, but does not want to push the issue because he is unsure of the Commission’s future.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1905-05-31

Lengthy news articles reporting on the Mrs. Morris incident and the Hamilton Bill, as well as a series of short news stories and satire.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-11

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop to thank him for a cartoon he sent and for his editorials. Roosevelt mentions appointing extra men to the Commission and encloses a copy of a letter from Secretary of War Elihu Root.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-08-19

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop regarding a remark made by Walter Wellman in the Chicago Record-Herald about the appointment of former President Cleveland to the Coal Strike Commission.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-06-25

President Roosevelt thanks Joseph Bucklin Bishop for his telegram. He writes that he is anxious about the outcome of the Pennsylvania Coal Strike, but hopes that recent actions have put them closer to a resolution. Roosevelt also gives his opinion on the appointment of the commission.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1902-10-14

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop about negotiations between the miners and operators in the Pennsylvania coal strike. He describes his plan to get the miners back to work and to set up a commission of inquiry. Roosevelt told John Mitchell to stop the violence, or he would do so. He encloses for Bishop a letter from former President Grover Cleveland.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1902-10-05

President Roosevelt thanks Joseph Bucklin Bishop for his telegram and editorial. Roosevelt discusses the commission created to look into the Pennsylvania Coal Strike and mentions John Mitchell’s acceptance as a positive action. 

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1902-10-16

Theodore Roosevelt tells John Callan O’Laughlin that he has nothing to fear about Congress investigating the “Steel Corporation matter,” the Sugar Trust, or the Panama Canal because every action was made public knowledge from the beginning. Roosevelt expected some public uproar about the Steel Corporation once the danger had passed.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1911-06-02

Theodore Roosevelt acknowledges receipt of letters returned to him by John Callan O’Laughlin. The letters are ones Roosevelt previously wrote to O’Laughlin, responding to questions about the William Lorimer case. Roosevelt does not believe the letters should be published because they contain his personal opinions and his report of what various Senators thought, and they were sent to O’Laughlin confidentially. Roosevelt, however, is willing to speak to the Committee if they would like to ask about his actions regarding the Lorimer case.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1911-07-29

Charles M. Schwab, as Napoleon, sits on a rock in the middle of the ocean, looking back at the setting sun labeled “Business Reputation.” He is holding in his right hand papers labeled “Investigation Ship Building Scandal,” and other papers labeled “Steel Trust” are in his coat pocket.

comments and context

Comments and Context

The depiction of Charles M. Schwab as an exiled Napoleon represents a troubled period in the career of an otherwise colorful success story of an American business icon. The steel executive who had worked for Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan became a steel-industry entrepreneur with the acquisition of Bethlehem Steel.

North Dakota House of Representatives bill that will authorize an investigation into the proposed Roosevelt Park in Billings County, North Dakota.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

Elmer Dover reports to George B. Cortelyou that, after reading the investigation he ordered done into Fred A. Randall, who sent letters to the White House, he is satisfied that his first impression that Randall is “a crank of the first water” is correct.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-15

Secret Service Chief John E. Wilkie informs George B. Cortelyou that they have investigated James Seldon Cowdon at his request. Cowdon is a clerk in the Treasury Department and has characteristics of “a harmless crank.” Cowdon is interested in political economy and flying machines, and talks about both “with fluency and a total disregard of facts.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-13