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President Roosevelt assures U.S. Marshal Arthur William Merrifield that he will support Judge William Henry Hunt and U.S. District Attorney Carl L. Rasch, and that he trusts their judgement in regards to the cases that Merrifield mentioned.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-28
President Roosevelt tells Representative Jenkins that he is expecting a written opinion from Secretary of State Elihu Root regarding the charges against Judge Lebbeus R. Wilfley. Once Roosevelt receives the opinion, he will send it to the Committee on the Judiciary, along with the information that the executive department has that is relevant to the inquiry the committee is conducting.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-25
President Roosevelt thanks Judge Gage for the letter, and says that he has received a great deal of support from judges in the southern United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-03
President Roosevelt accepts Nathaniel Ewing’s resignation as judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-14
President Roosevelt promises William Allen White he will look into the matter concerning Judge J. T. Dickerson. Roosevelt asks if White received his earlier letter enclosing a note from J. J. Jusserand about White’s book.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-23
President Roosevelt encourages Attorney General Bonaparte to wire Judge Frank Sigel Dietrich. Roosevelt does not know Judge Edward Whitson, but he is sure that if they could get Judge William Henry Hunt the trial would be fair.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-04
President Roosevelt writes confidentially to Supreme Court Associate Justice Moody that he has read and enjoyed District Court Judge Charles Fremont Amidon’s address to the American Bar Association in support of the education of the courts. Roosevelt feels that John Marshall and Roger Brooke Taney differed primarily in their interpretation of the Constitution. Enclosed, Roosevelt sends a draft of his Saint Louis speech along with a letter from Alexander. If what Alexander has said is true, Roosevelt’s dislike of him may be wrong, and he asks Moody for a comment on the speech.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-03
President Roosevelt approves of Attorney General Bonaparte’s letter to United States Attorney Edwin Walter Sims, and feels they are prepared for any attacks. A Missouri correspondent has just sent an attack upon Roosevelt regarding Standard Oil. If the judge fights them, Roosevelt will publish a statement. Along with the publication of Bonaparte’s previous communications, this will prove that the record did not warrant the statements.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-03
President Roosevelt agrees with Attorney General Bonaparte on the appointment of Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch in the Idaho land fraud case. On the New Mexico issue, Roosevelt details Attorney General William H. H. Llewellyn’s rise as an attorney. In light of Judge James H. Beatty’s letter, Roosevelt feels there is no need to be involved. Although Roosevelt does not trust rumors, it does seem based on recent behavior that Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis may be suffering a breakdown. In a post script, Roosevelt comments on William Randolph Hearst’s recent supposed sympathy toward Bonaparte after his siding with Wall Street. In Roosevelt’s view, the recurrent rumor about Bonaparte resigning to appease financiers has actually shown the public that Bonaparte alarms those who are corrupt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-31
President Roosevelt congratulates Judge Hundley and thanks him for writing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-16
President Roosevelt is grateful to Benjamin Ide Wheeler for the information he provided about Judge William C. Van Fleet. He is sorry to hear of the political corruption in San Francsico and Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz’s involvement in it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-06
President Roosevelt tells Judge Campbell that there are no charges being brough against him, and will clarify the matter when they meet in the spring. Roosevelt also notes that the recent fights in Idaho and Colorado were in the name of “civilization.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-17
President Roosevelt writes Senator Clark strongly recommending Alford Warriner Cooley for the position of Assistant Attorney General, and he encourages Clark to share this letter with the rest of the Judiciary Committee. Roosevelt writes that Cooley was suggested by Attorney General William H. Moody, and he is also favored by Secretary of the Navy Charles J. Bonaparte. Roosevelt outlines Cooley’s education and career, which includes time as judge for various courts in New York and Washington DC; positions at the Department of Justice; and a member of New York City’s Corporation Counsel. Roosevelt concludes that he doesn’t believe it “would be possible to obtain a better man for the place.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-07
President Roosevelt tells Judge Holt that he is grateful there is a judge on “the Federal bench” who “not only rendered such an admirable decision, but had so admirably stated the reasons therefor.” Roosevelt is glad Holt has “such a high opinion of” New York District Attorney Henry L. Stimson.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-06
President Roosevelt confirms receipt of Attorney General Moody’s recent letter to William Loeb, and returns Charles B. Morrison’s letter. He is not sure how to respond regarding promised indictments, and worries that the public will blame the his administration and the government rather than Judge J. Otis Humphrey for the result. If further steps become needed, Roosevelt believes it may be necessary to issue a statement directing responsibility for the actions at Humphrey’s decision.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-27
President Roosevelt thanks Claudius Buchanan Spencer for the nice editorial and letter, and responds to the statement by Syracuse University Chancellor James Roscoe Day. Roosevelt believes that, “in a broad sense, if the chancellor is correct in his position, then from Lincoln down every President who has striven to act decently should be condemned,” and rejects Day’s position that the courts must not be criticized. He also protests against Day’s stance that Roosevelt should not personally advocate for legislation, and defends his record of helping pass beneficial legislation over the past several years. Roosevelt goes on to similarly condemn several other points Day tries to make.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-23
President Roosevelt tells Senator Nelson that his memory of the matter Nelson referred to was the same, and that during the discussions of the bill establishing the Department of Commerce and Labor they agreed that the bill in the House did not provide the department with enough power, leading to Roosevelt asking Attorney General Philander C. Knox to prepare an amendment for Nelson to introduce. No one involved with the bill, however, expected a decision like the recent one made by Judge J. Otis Humphry in the beef trust case. If Congress passes a law granting the government the right of appeal, Roosevelt assures Nelson that it will be used in this case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-21
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-21
President Roosevelt asks Attorney General Moody if it would be possible to send some people to Alaska to investigate North Dakota Senator Porter J. McCumber’s allegations against Alaska District Judge James Wickersham. Roosevelt mentions he may also ask Moody to send some men to Oklahoma to investigate the situation there, as Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock has taken a disliking to Oklahoma Governor Frank C. Frantz and has sent an agent to investigate him who in the past has made a “yellow-magazine report.” He does not wish these sorts of investigations to become over-zealous. Roosevelt does not wish to interrupt Moody’s vacation, but asks him to find out about these two matters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-06
President Roosevelt thanks Harry B. Kirtland for calling his attention to the actions of Judge Reynolds R. Kinkade and Prosecutor Lyman W. Wachenheimer. Roosevelt feels that their action in prosecuting wealthy offenders is admirable, and confidentially asks Kirtland if there are any appointments coming up in Ohio, as he would like to give Kinkade a position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-28