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This editorial page from The Chicago Evening Post contains a highlighted article nominating Theodore Roosevelt to represent the United States as a distinguished lecturer in Japan to speak on the topic of peace. The lecturer from Japan is to be Doctor Inazō Nitobe.
Other editorials and news items on the page report on criminal cases, politics, notable articles, and society issues.
Pamphlet describing the work done by Mission to Lepers in India and the East, a charity founded in 1874. The Mission to Lepers emphasizes the need for “the provision of food, shelter, medical relief, and Christian teaching” of those suffering from leprosy as “surely a part of the white man’s burden” at their asylums, hospitals, and homes in India, Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Japan, Korea, Sumatra, and the Philippine Islands.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06
Gustav J. Karger reviews and praises President William H. Taft’s various achievements during the two years of his administration. By placing “the cause of the people above all other considers,” Karger finds Taft has reached the “heights of constructive statesmanship.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-30
Herbert B. Johnson sends a message for Theodore Roosevelt to pass along to his father, Theodore Roosevelt. Johnson offers several suggestions of topics that Roosevelt could address when speaking to the Federation of Japanese Churches if he decides to accept their invitation. Johnson hopes to speak with Roosevelt following the first Earl Lecture to discuss the matter in person.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-22
The Republican Club in Portland, Oregon, held a banquet in honor of Abraham Lincoln at the Commercial Club. At the club, various speeches were given. Dr. Andrew C. Smith warned about the lack of military protection on the West Coast and the danger of invasion from Japan. Judge William W. Cotton spoke in favor of President William H. Taft and criticized Theodore Roosevelt. He believes that current leaders are ignoring the tenets of the Constitution in a way that is just as bad as the South’s secession before the Civil War. Other speeches about Lincoln were also given.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-12
Ambassador Rockhill provides additional information pertinent to efforts to localize the war in the Far East, which would require neutralization of territories that does not seem possible. A statement shared between China and Japan affirms China’s desire to remain neutral, although Rockhill notes that the arrival of neutral forces would disturb the people of China as well as the Imperial Court. The British and German governments do not agree with an interpretation of the 1900 Anglo-German treaty that would allow for the neutralization plan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-02-06
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Baron Takahira for his kind letter. Roosevelt admires the Japanese people and is pleased with the praise from Takahira about his actions after the attempted assassination.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-11-25
A retired army officer, writing from France, reports confidentially on a conversation that occurred during a recent dinner with diplomats from England and Japan. A “man of some importance” from Japan described the expected ententes that will soon be formed among the French, English, Japanese, Russians, and perhaps the Germans. Once those alliances are in place, Japan will turn its attention to avenging the insults it has received from the United States. Japan will not only take the Philippine and Sandwich Islands, but will make a colony of California and the Pacific Coast. This is a typed copy of the handwritten original.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-11
President Roosevelt writes to journalist and explorer George Kennan regarding his article in The Outlook titled “The Sword of Peace in Japan.” He explains that Kennan’s analysis of Japan’s role in the peace agreement is incorrect, and supports his position with confidential facts. Kennan is told that none of the information in the letter is to be made public, but that he may use it to draw more accurate conclusions. Roosevelt explains that he himself did not force Japan into peace, and that he was not interested in boosting his own reputation through the negotiations. Japan willfully asked for the peace agreement, and also for Roosevelt’s involvement. Despite Kennan’s claims, Japan was in no position to demand an indemnity. The cost of the war, both literal and figurative, was too great for Japan to bear, and so they chose to negotiate for peace. They do not want these facts revealed for fear of embarrassment, Roosevelt explains. He supports Japan’s decisions, although he believes they could have fought harder in the agreement for the ownership of the northern half of Sakhalin Island. He quotes a note from Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to support his claims.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-10-15
Reports indicate General Pavel I. Mischenko of Russia and his Cossack troops have deliberately invaded neutral territory in China. Because China seems unwilling to enforce its neutrality, it is believed that Japan must protect itself against the Russian raids that violate neutral territory.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01
President Roosevelt stands on “neutral ground” in the center of a variety of fights. Some of the fights include New York Senator Thomas Collier Platt and New York Governor Benjamin B. Odell; “Stand Pat” and “Reciprocity”; “Russia” and “Japan”; and “Uncle Sam” and “the trusts.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-27
This cartoon illustrates President Roosevelt’s routine of wrestling with a Japanese instructor through a variety of vignettes. A man is told to return to meet with Roosevelt and waits for “one hour of refreshments” as Roosevelt wrestles. In the last vignette, Roosevelt wrestles the man. Caption: “He will now be able to wrestle with the questions of the day more effectively.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-26
Uncle Sam holds a revolver in one hand and points to a sign that reads “Peace on Earth and goodwill to men” with his other hand. “France,” “England,” “Germany,” “Austria,” “Russia,” “Italy,” and “Japan” all look at the sign.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-12-25
President Roosevelt carries a tray that is barely balanced and includes a teapot of “Jap. Treaty Rights,” “T. R.’s Western popularity,” and his big stick. Meanwhile, a dog–“Western legislature”–is tangled in his feet. “Japan” says, “My tea, please.”
With less than a month remaining in his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt continued to prioritize the troubled relations between the United States and Japan. Specifically, the largely local San Francisco-area friction related to Japanese immigrants and residents was a matter that he refused to ignore, instead recognizing its malignant prejudice and injustice, its immediate effect on diplomatic and trade relations between the two nations, and the dangers of provoking long-range strategic and even military responses in the future.
President Roosevelt holds a book of “Jungle Stories” and watches two boys–“Japanese” and “Californians”–stick out their tongues at one another while sitting in a “California Legislature” bed with “anti-Japanese legislation” covers. Roosevelt says, “Stop it, I say, stop it!”
At the end of President Roosevelt’s administration, anti-Japanese sentiment, never completely quieted, flared up in California. Two years earlier Roosevelt exerted enormous pressure and much time — diplomacy with the offended Japanese government and cajoling of California officials — to address the problems. Some Americans resented the pressure on jobs and the economy caused by Japanese labor; and nativist prejudice was involved as well. In some districts Japanese children were forbidden to enroll in public schools. In Japan there arose riots and protests against American residents.
A young boy–“California”–falls out of bed and says, “Help! Help! Papa, the Japs are comin’!” President Roosevelt says, “Hush, son, it’s only a nightmare.” Caption: He’s dreaming again.
Nelson Harding borrowed from a popular comic strip in a competitor of his own Brooklyn Eagle for this cartoon. He was hardly giving free advertising to a rival (New York Herald) because the comics strip Little Nemo in Slumberland had swept New York City and much of the nation, appearing not only in Sunday funny papers, but in reprint books, games, and toys; and at the time of this cartoon was transformed into a lavish Broadway operetta with a cast of hundreds of actors and animals, and music by Victor Herbert.
William H. Taft packs his suitcase with stamps from “Japan,” “Philippines,” “Cuba,” “Panama,” and “China” as the Republican elephant looks on. On the ground are several books, including Winning the West, and a “time table” and “Taft’s stump itinerary.” On the wall is a picture of Taft giving whistle-stop speech from the back of a train. Taft says, “Well, now I guess I will be at home in this traveling stunt!”
William H. Taft unfortunately was known for his lassitude, frequently falling asleep during his presidency, even during daytime meetings. The cause might have been a variety of narcolepsy, occasioned by his bulk of up to three hundred and forty pounds.
Emily Tyler Carow thanks President Roosevelt for the Saint-Gaudens medallion. Carow likes it because she believes the medallion is “strong yet artistic.” She also remarks on the peace prospects between Russia and Japan. Several foreign diplomats, including the Japanese minister, have complimented Roosevelt. Carow believes they are grateful for Roosevelt’s “moral support.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-23
This article, identified as a “specimen of the utterances of the ultra element,” was sent to President Roosevelt with a letter on educational and cultural trends in China. The main article presents a translation of a pamphlet that had circulated in China lamenting the current international situation China finds itself in. The author highlights China’s former glory and present weakness, and lays out the steps it will be necessary to take for the preservation of the country and the resumption of strength. The reverse side of the page contains an interview with Japanese Prime Minister Saionji Kinmochi, a discussion of Australian trade with China, a report of a robbery in Hongkou, China, and a portion of an article on two new steamships.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-12
Japanese businessman Kōjirō Matsukata addresses honorary commercial commissioners from the United States Pacific Coast. He expresses the admiration and appreciation that Japan has for the United States, and hopes that the friendship between the two nations can continue. In particular, Matsukata hopes that trade relations between the two countries will improve.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-01