Hitchcock, Ethan Allen, 1835-1909

Senator Mitchell of Oregon tells George B. Cortelyou, Chairman of the National Republican Committee, of the work that Henry Waldo Coe has done in the organization of the Roosevelt League of Oregon, in addition to his professional work in Portland, Oregon. Mitchell relays some details of a contract that Coe is interested in with the government, and would like to assist him if at all possible, and asks Cortelyou to speak with Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock or President Roosevelt on the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-17

Creator(s)

Mitchell, John H. (John Hipple), 1835-1905

Arthur C. Wade tells New York Lieutenant Governor Higgins that Harry B. Bouton, Special Pension Commissioner at Erie, Pennsylvania, is being transferred to a position in Washington, D.C. Wade, among many other citizens, considers Bouton “one of the strongest and most influential men in our County,” and has signed a petition to allow Bouton to remain at his current post. Thus far, this petition has had no effect, and Commissioner of Pensions Eugene F. Ware, “has treated him very abruptly and given him no consideration.” Wade asks Higgins to bring the matter to the attention of President Roosevelt or Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-21

Creator(s)

Wade, Arthur C., 1852-1914

Frustrated over newspaper articles chronicling tensions between the pension office and the Department of the Interior, Pension Commissioner Eugene F. Ware encloses letters from Bishop John Ireland and Colonel Charles Young as samples of the many letters he has received. Ware exclaims that the newspaper reports are unfounded.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-26

Creator(s)

Ware, Eugene F., 1841-1911

Correspondence regarding the formation of the Yuma County Water Users’ Association and their desire for the construction of irrigation works on the lower Colorado River. Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock responds with the requested information on the cost and character of potential irrigation works.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-03

Creator(s)

Unknown

Charles L. Davis, superintendent of Sullys Hill National Park, encloses for George W. H. Davis a report from Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock which will shed light on the park’s status. Davis notes that Hitchcock did not request appropriation for the park. He believes that the North Dakota delegation should demonstrate more interest in the park and makes the case for the park’s importance. It has geological and historical significance, and with the right financial support it could become a popular recreation site for North Dakotans.

Collection

White Horse Hill

Creation Date

1905-01-24

Creator(s)

Davis, Charles L. (Charles Logan), 1860-1942

James G. Lewis explains how deforestation in China became a central part of President Theodore Roosevelt’s last annual message to Congress in December 1908. Lewis notes that Roosevelt’s conservation efforts had been increasingly thwarted by Congress in the last two years of his administration, and Roosevelt decided that he needed to make a strong case to Congress in his last message. Roosevelt used the example of what had happened to China’s soil, rivers, and climate after massive deforestation had rid many of its mountains of trees and vegetation. Roosevelt relied on evidence, eyewitness accounts, and photographs supplied by Frank Nicholas Meyer and Willis Bailey to emphasize the damage done in China. Lewis notes that Roosevelt was the first president to add photographs to his annual message. 

Five photographs appear in the article, including three of deforestation in China, a similar scene from Utah, and one of Meyer. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

A composite image in which President Roosevelt sits on horseback, surrounded by Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock, and General Henry Clark Corbin.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1901-11-15

Creator(s)

Clinedinst, Barnett McFee, 1862-1953

President Roosevelt would like Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp’s opinion of Assistant Attorney General James Clark McReynolds before deciding if the disagreement between the two should be referred to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

In this chapter excerpt from his book John Muir and His Legacy: The American Conservation Movement, Stephen Fox examines efforts to expand Yosemite National Park, the battle between preservationists and conservationists over the use of forests, and provides portraits of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, John Burroughs, and Theodore Roosevelt. He looks at the work undertaken by the conservation movement to preserve Niagara Falls, the redwood forests of California, and Mount Desert Island in Maine. Fox concludes the chapter with a look at the battle over the city of San Francisco’s desire to build a dam at the southern end of Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park. In addition to looking at the life and work of Muir, the chapter provides information on many lesser known figures in the turn of the twentieth-century conservation movement.

A listing of the officers and the members of the executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of the excerpt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1981

David Eugene Conrad examines the relationship between President Theodore Roosevelt and retired naval officer George T. Emmons. Roosevelt made Emmons “his principal adviser on Alaska,” and tasked him with helping to resolve a boundary dispute with Canada and with examining the condition of Native American tribes who were suffering at the hands of white settlers and miners. Conrad notes how Roosevelt used Emmons to go around the federal government bureaucracy, especially in the Department of the Interior. He stresses Emmons’s concern for the plight of the native tribes of Alaska, and he notes that some of his recommendations to Roosevelt were made into law by acts of Congress. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

Creator(s)

Conrad, David E. (David Eugene), 1928-2019

President Roosevelt looks out of his office at members of his cabinet standing on stumps: Secretary of Commerce and Labor Oscar S. Straus, Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson, Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf, Secretary of War Luke E. Wright, and Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Roosevelt says, “Durn the luck.” Caption: Every member of his cabinet on the stump and he can’t get into the game.

comments and context

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-24

Indian Commissioner Leupp informs William Loeb that Oklahoma Representative Dennis T. Flynn told Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock about the “shocking” habits of Frank C. Frantz, who may be made governor of Oklahoma. Flynn said that he would tell President Roosevelt the same story and make the accusations to Frantz’s face. Leupp hastily suggests that, as Flynn is leaving town tonight and Frantz is arriving tonight, Roosevelt invite both men and have them face each other today.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-23

Creator(s)

Leupp, Francis E. (Francis Ellington), 1849-1918

William J. Arkell introduces William G. Tiffany to President Roosevelt, and vouches for his character. Tiffany wishes to get water from Walker Lake in Nevada for Tonopah and Goldfield, but needs consent from President Roosevelt and Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Arkell mentions that Governor John Sparks of Nevada is also anxious for this to occur, and believes that although Sparks is a Democrat, granting this would bring benefits to Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-24

Creator(s)

Arkell, William J., 1856-1930

Former New Mexico Governor Herbert J. Hagerman sent many private telegrams at public expense, which this newspaper article suggests reveals his corruption. Several personal telegrams are reprinted. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-15

Creator(s)

Unknown

Stanford University President Jordan tells Schuyler Colfax Hain that he has been informed by Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock that the Pinnacles have been withdrawn from sale, with the aim of designating them as a public park.

Collection

Pinnacles National Park

Creation Date

1904-05-23

Creator(s)

Jordan, David Starr, 1851-1931

Dr. Jordan forwards to Congressman Needham a petition from several residents of San Benito County, California, to set aside lands containing the Pinnacles and establish them as a National Park. Jordan encloses a map of the proposed park, the book A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean by George Vancouver, who describes the area, and a book of photographs of the area. Jordan endorses the effort to create this National Park and asks Needham to pass along the request to Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock.

Collection

Pinnacles National Park

Creation Date

1904-04-23

Creator(s)

Jordan, David Starr, 1851-1931

The Oregonian states that Theodore Roosevelt is in favor of Representative John F. Lacey’s bill to transfer “the management and control of forest reserves from the Interior to the Agricultural Department, and to create and maintain game preserves in the public land states.” The article concludes that Roosevelt will soon announce the addition of land that will double the area of Yellowstone Park and extend the Teton forest reserves in Wyoming in order to protect big game animals that live there.

Collection

Crater Lake National Park

Creation Date

1902-04-04

Creator(s)

Unknown

Representative Tongue informs W. G. Steel that he received a letter from Gifford Pinchot stating that Theodore Roosevelt is in favor of the Crater Lake bill. Pinchot has seen Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock, who said he will speak with David Bremner Henderson about giving the bill a chance. Tongue acknowledges that times are critical for the bill, but he is doing the best he can.

Collection

Crater Lake National Park

Creation Date

1902-04-18

Creator(s)

Tongue, Thomas H., 1844-1903

The Oregonian relays the content of President Theodore Roosevelt’s speech to the Forestry Association in Washington, D.C. Roosevelt declares the forest problem to be “the most vital internal problem of the United States.” In addition to preserving the beauty and habitats of forests, he calls for preservation because it will maintain and increase the nation’s prosperity in the agriculture, mining, lumber, transportation, manufacturing, and commerce industries. He asserts that conservation hinges not on government policy but on the American people’s belief that “forestry is the preservation of forests by wise use,” not the discontinuation of that use.

Collection

Crater Lake National Park

Creation Date

1903-04-10

Creator(s)

Oregonian News Bureau

Senator Lodge discusses introducing Rodolphe Louis Agassiz to the Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Lodge also mentions that Inspector Arthur Tinker from Boston is being investigated. Lodge attests to his character and asks Roosevelt to review the case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-31

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924