Holt, George C. (George Chandler), 1843-1931

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt requests Secretary Root send back his letter related to the recalling of Minister Bellamy Storer. Roosevelt thinks that they should support Thomas I. Chatfield for a judge position in Brooklyn largely based on support from members of his cabinet and congress. The president tells Root that he will appoint Chatfield unless the secretary feels “there are very strong reasons to the contrary.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Collier Platt

President Roosevelt has received Senator Platt’s letter, and while he is not yet ready to announce his decision to nominate Charles M. Hough for a judgeship in New York, he disagrees with Platt’s assertion that his preference of J. Addison Young should be enough to tip the scales in Young’s favor. He furthermore does not understand how Platt can say that Roosevelt’s preference for Hough over Young is an “affront,” and rebukes Platt, saying that his duty as the president is to nominate a candidate, and the Senate’s duty is to confirm or not confirm that candidate, with both bodies trying to find the best person for the position. Neither Platt nor Roosevelt himself should let individual preferences affect who they determine to be the best candidate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry W. Taft

President Roosevelt reports that it is questionable whether he will pass by Connecticut. If he does, he thinks that he would probably promote George C. Holt. He concludes that he may not because its two senators “have made it rather a point to be unfriendly” toward him and Secretary of War Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Mark Sullivan

President Roosevelt describes to Mark Sullivan the considerations that have gone into his selections for federal judgeships. Roosevelt reviews his appointments in detail, noting that some were made at the request of the local organization and some against their wishes. The goal in each case was to appoint someone “of the high character, the good sense, the trained legal ability, and the necessary broad-mindedness of spirit…essential to a good judge.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles C. Burlingham

President Roosevelt passes along Charles Burlingham’s note to Representative Herbert Parsons, who is also a lawyer. Assuming Roosevelt nominates Judge George Holt, he has asked Parsons to discuss the matter with District Attorney Henry Stimson and Judge Charles Hough.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Gherardi Davis

President Roosevelt promises to see if he can comply with Gherardi Davis’s request about a bell. He explains to Davis that he received many suggestions regarding who to appoint as judge and, not feeling competent to decide on their merits himself, chose to rely on the judgement of various other judges and people versed in legal matters. Roosevelt agrees with Davis’s opinion of William Randolph Hearst.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Moody

President Roosevelt comments to Attorney General Moody on the state of several cases currently being prosecuted, potentially being brought to trial, or being appealed. He was disturbed by the judgement of Judge George C. Holt that Moody referred to, and feels that while it is inevitable that “even a good judge will go wrong in a percentage of cases,” this was an important case in which Holt missed the larger Governmental questions. Roosevelt would like to prosecute other cases without reference to the one Holt decided, and wishes to use the case as an example to argue for the right of appeal, so long as he can do so without offending Holt. He would be glad if there is reasonable ground to proceed against Standard Oil in antitrust suits, as several special counsels think there is.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles M. Hough

President Roosevelt congratulates United States District Judge Hough on his confirmation. He sends some copies of his correspondence with Senator Thomas Collier Platt for Hough to read and return, asking that he keep them strictly confidential, and only show them to United States District Judge George C. Holt and Charles C. Burlingham.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Collier Platt

President Roosevelt wishes he could have seen Senator Platt before Platt left on vacation, as he would have liked to discuss the question of the New York judgeship with him. Roosevelt does not believe Robert C. Morris fits the requirements of the position, but is reluctant to appoint Charles M. Hough because of his ties with the Pennsylvania Railroad. Roosevelt comments on some other candidates as well, and guesses that he will be able to write to Platt on the matter more definitively in a couple days.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Parsons

Representative Parsons’s dispatch regarding Robert C. Morris crossed President Roosevelt’s dispatch about the same matter. Roosevelt says he will take up the situation again with Secretary of State Elihu Root. However, he notes that Judge George C. Holt believes that Morris’s conduct is “entirely satisfactory.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James R. Sheffield

President Roosevelt regrets to inform James R. Sheffield that after consulting with a number of people, as well as letters from three judges, he will have to appoint Robert C. Morris as Henry L. Burnett’s successor for U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Julius M. Mayer

President Roosevelt provides Judge Mayer with a line to help remind Judge George C. Holt of the previous letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Collier Platt

President Roosevelt strongly disagrees with Senator Platt’s assessment of George Chandler Holt. Holt has received a great deal of support, and Roosevelt will most likely appoint him as judge.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Collier Platt

President Roosevelt has been going over the judgeship situation and is convinced that George Chandler Holt is the better man. Roosevelt regrets that their opinions on the matter differ.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Collier Platt

After additional consideration, President Roosevelt continues to favor George Chandler Holt over Matthew Linn Bruce for the vacant judgeship.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin B. Odell

President Roosevelt does not believe that Matthew Linn Bruce has the backing of the bar and has been impressed with the sentiment in favor of George Chandler Holt’s candidacy for the federal judgeship in the southern district of New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Austin V. Cannon to Theodore Roosevelt

Austin V. Cannon invites Theodore Roosevelt to deliver the annual address at the convention of the Commercial Law League of America. Cannon briefly mentions a history of the organization, those who have delivered the address in the past, and some of the prominent members of the organization.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-06

Creator(s)

Cannon, Austin V., 1869-1934

Letter from Charles M. Hough to Theodore Roosevelt

Judge Charles M. Hough has shown Judge George C. Holt and Charles C. Burlingham the correspondence President Roosevelt sent him, and now returns the letters. Hough does not understand Senator Thomas Collier Platt’s conduct, as he had previously written letters suggesting that he had no objections to Hough’s nomination to the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. He admits that he had previously been unable to fully understand “the political or quasi-political qualifications” surrounding the selection of a judge, and thanks Roosevelt for the confidence he has placed in him in spite of his previous connections with railroads.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-06

Creator(s)

Hough, Charles M. (Charles Merrill), 1858-1927

Letter from John Ellerton Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

John Ellerton Lodge writes to Theodore Roosevelt to apologize for a miscommunication on his part which caused writer Maxim Gorky to believe he could visit Judge George Chandler Holt’s residence.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-23

Creator(s)

Lodge, John Ellerton, 1876-1942

Letter from William Halpin to James Sullivan Clarkson

William Halpin compares the process of naturalization as it is undertaken by the New York State Supreme Court and the United States District Court in another district and argues that the District Court process is much more efficient. He requested that the District Court take over the naturalization process in New York and informs James Sullivan Clarkson that in New York a person must be a citizen for ninety days in order to vote. Halpin writes that the Republican Party has a two month window to help people become citizens and vote in the upcoming election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-11

Creator(s)

Halpin, William, 1865-1937