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William Loeb explains to Justice Harlan who is invited to the four White House receptions. He will add the suggested individuals to the list of invitees.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-01
Interstate Commerce Commissioner Prouty believes that the federal government should not establish interstate commerce rates at this time. Some states would bitterly stand against President Roosevelt should he change these policies. States in the South and West, in particular, are confident that the states are already charging fair rates and the national government will increase those rates.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-16
President Roosevelt was pleased to appoint Justice John Marshall Harlan’s son James Shanklin Harlan. Upon reviewing the protests with Attorney General William H. Moody, Roosevelt found no reason not to make the appointment.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-03
President Roosevelt authorizes Secretary of War Taft to use funds to stable the cavalry at Boise, Idaho as General Fred C. Ainsworth mentioned. Roosevelt additionally comments on several appointments, saying he believes that Walston H. Brown should be allowed to carry out his proposal, that he has decided to appoint James Shanklin Harlan to the Interstate Commerce Commission, and that he is inclined to appoint Horace H. Lurton, which will necessitate appointing a new Circuit Court Judge. Roosevelt also writes at length about some recent articles by Poultney Bigelow which contain some “slanderous falsehood,” but about which he believes some response should be made.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-17
President Roosevelt tells Supreme Court Justice Harlan that he does not plan on taking action on an appointment until he is able to discuss the matter with some Cabinet officers and Senators. Roosevelt also clarifies a statement he made in a previous letter that some Senators have mentioned to him that Supreme Court Justice David J. Brewer seems to have been setting the stage to address whether an act is unconstitutional, and that if that is the case it would not be good for the son of a justice to be “holding an office under an act upon the constitutionality of which his father, as one of the justices, was to pass.” Roosevelt does not know how much weight he gives the argument, but tells Harlan that it is a matter that he must consider.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-21
President Roosevelt tells Senator Crane that he is already considering James Shanklin Harlan and Lawrence O. Murray for a position, and therefore does not believe he can consider Mr. Scales for the position. Roosevelt also comments that while he has occasionally appointed a man as a representative of a certain class, he does not like to have to do so.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-04
President Roosevelt thanks Supreme Court Associate Justice Harlan for the note, and promises to read the article he sent. Roosevelt confesses to trouble with trying to appoint Harlan’s son, James Shanklin Harlan, to the Interstate Commerce Commission, as there is resistance to him appointing someone to the Commission, “whose father on the Supreme Court will pass on his actions.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-28
President Roosevelt has had letters both for and against appointing James Shanklin Harlan to a judgeship in Chicago, but tells Frank B. Noyes his is the first letter against Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-14
President Roosevelt corrects newspaper reports regarding the appointment of circuit court judges in Chicago for Victor F. Lawson of the Chicago Daily News. Roosevelt outlines his thinking regarding the decision between appointing several men, and future plans for potential appointees who are not appointed at this time.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-13
William H. Taft debates the possibilities of encountering a conflict of interest if Justice John Marshall Harlan’s son, James S. Harlan, serves on the Interstate Commerce Commission. Taft will have a discussion about this with Justice Harlan while they golf.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-19
Supreme Court Justice Harlan is surprised that President Roosevelt has been having trouble appointing his son, James Shanklin Harlan, to the Interstate Commerce Commission because of his familial connection. Such objections if followed, Harlan points out, would preclude any family member of a Justice from being appointed to any sort of federal or state judgeship. Harlan feels that Supreme Court Justices recognize the weight of their office and would be able to impartially judge the actions of family members, and moreover act as one of a group, which would not allow them to act unilaterally in any case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-05
Robert Wilson Patterson, editor of the Chicago Tribune, asks William Loeb to update President Roosevelt on the status of the Chicago mayoral race, saying John Maynard Harlan is unlikely to win due to his poor campaign style and the fact that he is “too conservative for the radicals and too radical for the conservatives.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-14