Your TR Source
President Roosevelt agrees with Attorney General Bonaparte about Judge Peter Stegner Grosscup and has asked Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou to allow what Bonaparte suggests regarding Philip Lee Goldsborough.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-14
President Roosevelt greatly admires Governor Comer, and will read his speech with care. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte is meeting with Comer’s representative, and Roosevelt will reach a conclusion on the matter. They are hampered, however, by Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup’s decision in the Standard Oil case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-17
President Roosevelt tells Judge Speer that he has not closely followed Speer’s case concerning railroad rates in Georgia, which was recently overturned by Judge Don Albert Pardee, as he was concentrating on a decision concerning Standard Oil. Roosevelt has forwarded Speer’s complaint to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-14
Attorney Otto Gresham sends President Roosevelt a letter from Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Gresham shares his views, as well as the views of various local lawyers and judges, on Landis’s actions and the proceedings of the Standard Oil case. Gresham also summarizes the conversations he had with Landis regarding the potential reversal of the case and the imposition of the fine. After discussing the history of law in Britain, Gresham concludes that the people support Roosevelt in his actions to control the corporations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-04
Henry L. Sprague writes President Roosevelt that if Judge William J. Wallace retires, he would be interested in his position on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Sprague lays out his qualifications and his support for Roosevelt’s antitrust policies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-08
Abner Clarke Harding explains to President Roosevelt why he believes Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup should be impeached. Harding alleges that Grosscup used his position as judge to further his business interests in Illinois transit companies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-03
The arrival in Toledo, Ohio, of a private railroad car for federal judge Peter Stenger Grosscup sparked speculation whether the car belonged to Grosscup, was paid for by him, or was provided at the courtesy of the railroad. Grosscup declined to comment, but a railroad official revealed that the car was complimentary, to transport Grosscup’s invalid mother from Toledo to Fargo.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09
President Roosevelt agrees with Attorney General Bonaparte’s assessment that successful impeachments of Judges Peter Stenger Grosscup and Alexander Boarman are unlikely due to the current temper of Congress. Despite evidence of Grosscup committing blackmail, Roosevelt believes many congressmen will be glad to rule in favor of the judges to spite his administration. Roosevelt resolves to go over the matter carefully with Bonaparte before taking any action.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-11
President Roosevelt will tell Herman Henry Kohlsaat about Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup’s actions when they see each other. On a more pleasant note, Roosevelt finds Kohlsaat’s daughter, Katherine Kohlsaat, to be sweet and cunning, and is happy she enjoyed herself at his daughter Ethel’s dance.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-09
President Roosevelt is pleased that William Allen White liked his message. He had originally written more strongly about judges, and believes that while there are few judges who are actually corrupt, there are many who are not fit to remain on the bench.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-30
President Roosevelt sends Supreme Court Justice Moody an enclosed letter and article related to Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup for Moody to look over and return. Roosevelt wishes he could “say what ought to be said about Grosscup and his crowd.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-30
President Roosevelt encloses facsimiles of letters in which federal judge Peter Stenger Grosscup requests railroad passes. In particular, in one letter Grosscup mentions that his brother, Benjamin Sidney Grosscup, is referee on a rate case that the railroad is interested in. Roosevelt directs Attorney General Bonaparte to get more information from George W. Wickersham and Raymond Patterson, and to see if anything can be done about Judge Grosscup, whose presence on the bench is a disgrace.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-19
President Roosevelt has sent Attorney General Bonaparte a public statement regarding the recent United States Circuit Court decision in the Standard Oil Company, and asks him to consult with Frank B. Kellogg about it. Roosevelt feels Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis has hurt the case by imposing an excessive fine, but that the three who reversed the decision have hurt the “cause of civilization and property.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-23
President Roosevelt asks Attorney General Bonaparte to look into the actions of Circuit Court Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup. Roosevelt had previously thought that Grosscup was an “ultra anti-corporation man,” but now believes that these sentiments were only expressed in speeches, and that Grosscup’s judgments were often too favorable towards corporations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-06
President Roosevelt wishes for Nicholas Murray Butler to visit and concurs that William J. Calhoun is worthy of esteem. Roosevelt comments at length on an article in Collier’s Weekly, one he assumes was written by Norman Hapgood, and desires Butler to “know the exact facts.” On careful reading, Roosevelt believes the article was written with malicious intent due to its numerous falsehoods regarding the construction projects at the Capitol and the White House, the hiring of the architects completing these jobs, appointments of others to government posts, and other matters. In his explanation, Roosevelt makes analogies to many political situations, past and present.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-06-03
President Roosevelt has received Frank B. Noyes’s letter with the charges related to Thomas Nevin Jamieson’s character. He spoke with Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup who denied the charges had any foundation. However, Roosevelt will continue to investigate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-02-09
Attorney General Bonaparte responds to President Roosevelt’s request for information on any judges whose actions may warrant impeachment. Bonaparte describes the actions of Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup, who, in collaboration with clerk Marshall E. Sampsell, has used his position to solicit free rides from railroad companies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-07
Attorney General Moody writes President Roosevelt regarding charges against Judge Grosscup. He also refers to the investigation of Judge Kohlsaat.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-16
Secretary of War Taft forwards to President Roosevelt two newspaper clippings concerning Judge Grosscup. Taft notes that he is sending them to Roosevelt in the absence of Attorney General Moody.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-10
Charles H. Aldrich asks President Roosevelt to consider his charges of corruption in the Chicago legal system before appointing more Chicago district and circuit judges. Charges of misconduct are leveled specifically at Judge Kohlsaat and Judge Grosscup.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-24