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Gifford Pinchot writes to President Roosevelt to provide information regarding controversial government appointed positions in Oregon, before Senator Fulton arrives in Washington, D.C., with an alternate view on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-23
Benjamin Ide Wheeler congratulates President Roosevelt on the peace between Japan and Russia. Wheeler also discusses a speech he presented to the Educational Congress at the Portland Exposition as well as the public opinion of Francis J. Heney in Portland, Oregon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-01
William H. Moody informs President Roosevelt that he has authorized the use of deputy marshals but limits the involvement of the government to simple protection of commerce in the railroad dispute. Moody does not have an objection to the appointment of Thomas A. McBride as district attorney, but it would be unfortunate to allow Francis J. Heney to dictate the appointment.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-17
Attorney General Moody informs President Roosevelt that Judge William Ball Gilbert has designated a judge for the trials of the Oregon land fraud cases following the death of Judge Charles B. Bellinger. Moody questions whether Gilbert has the authority to do this.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-01
Senator Fulton thanks President Roosevelt for the answer to his prior letter, and suggests that Roosevelt may misunderstand his attitude regarding the issue of the Oregon land fraud trials. He seeks to clarify his stance, noting that he does not maintain the innocence of everyone, but rather only spoke on behalf of U.S. Marshal Walter F. Matthews. He has hardly spoken about anyone else involved with the trial, other than a comment about Senator John H. Mitchell.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-22
Various forms of graft, fraud, and bribery were committed by San Francisco mayor Eugene Schmitz and members of the Board of Supervisors. Following trials of many offenders, a report is published on the causes of the corruption and recommendations made on how to prevent municipal corruption in the future.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-01-05
Secretary of War Taft responds to President Roosevelt’s letter regarding the candidacies of different Republican Party candidates. Taft thanks Roosevelt for talking to Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou and believes that Philander C. Knox would be a more independent president than his supporters believe. Taft believes Charles Evans Hughes is likely to be the man in the field against him and observes that he has received many expressions of good will while traveling across the continent. Taft mentions that he will set sail for the Pacific tomorrow and encloses a clipping on his speech in Seattle regarding capital and labor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-11
President Roosevelt asks Seth Low to give the enclosed letter to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Abbot Low Mills. Roosevelt says that the situation in Oregon justifies extreme measures, and believes United States Marshal Walter F. Matthews will have to be removed from office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-24
This document, marked “Exhibit A,” advertises the purchasing of timber land in Western Oregon. The St. Paul and Pacific Timber Syndicate claims to have attracted the interest of Senator Benjamin R. Tillman, who will help lend weight to the lawsuit against the Southern Oregon Company, which it claims currently holds the land illegally. By sending the St. Paul and Pacific Timber Syndicate an application and $200, the syndicate promises that it will be able to secure a quarter section valued at at least $5000 for the applicant. A map showing the area of the land in question is also included.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-04
Theodore Roosevelt appears as “Mikado Roosevelt” with a large cast of characters standing behind him: “Pish Tush Root,” “Landis,” “Pooh Bah Taft,” “Burroughs,” “Heney,” “Cortelyou,” “Steffens,” “La Follette,” “Folk,” “Garfield,” “Riis,” “Loeb,” and “Koko Bonaparte,” who is holding a large sword labeled “Department of Justice.” John D. Rockefeller labeled “Flim-Flam Business,” and Edward Henry Harriman labeled “Flim Flam Finance,” are kneeling on the stage awaiting execution. Caption: “My object all sublime / I shall achieve in time — / To let the punishment fit the crime — / The punishment fit the crime. — / And make each prisoner pent / Unwillingly represent / A source of infinite merriment, / Of infinite merriment.”
Cartoonists in Puck and rival magazine like Judge and Life, as well as newspaper political cartoonists, frequently turned to operas, mythology, and Shakespeare for metaphorical and allegorical setting for their cartoons. Despite their current popularity, the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan seldom inspired the cartoonists to parody.
President Roosevelt informs journalist Lincoln Steffens that he sent Steffens’s letter to Secretary of War William H. Taft as that is the best way to get at the matter and Francis J. Heney will be coming to lunch tomorrow.
1908-12-22
President Roosevelt tells journalist Lincoln Steffens he learned that Francis J. Heney was responsible for statements about Attorney General William H. Moody and that upsets Roosevelt. Roosevelt encloses a letter from William C. Bristol and says it seems to be “literally inexplicable” and makes him “profoundly uncomfortable.” He says he never received a sufficient explanation about Bristol’s supposed misconduct and it makes him uncomfortable to think this letter is before the Senate committee voting on Bristol’s confirmation as district attorney.
1907-11-04
Attorney General Knox defends the integrity of C. A. S. Frost, who he appointed as assistant to Francis J. Heney, chief prosecutor of the Oregon Land Fraud trials. In 1901, Frost had been convicted of involvement in a conspiracy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-12-02