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Senator Knox’s views on Alton B. Parker and the Democratic Party platform are discussed and generally praised. Knox’s point that Parker’s advocacy of the gold standard is actually a testament to a Republican achievement and is an affront to many Democrats who support William Jennings Bryan is particularly commended.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-15
A note directing a document to be filed under “Knox.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-15
The Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph discusses Senator Knox’s business in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and shares a portion of an interview in which Knox talks about Alton B. Parker and his candidacy for president.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-14
President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop to discuss meeting with Secretary of War William H. Taft and Henry Clay Frick. Roosevelt says he is unsure of Frick’s position on the railroad rate matter and he has asked Senator Philander C. Knox to come down in hopes of communicating with Frick through Knox. Roosevelt also mentions that, according to William Loeb, the Washington Post will not be sold.
1905-06-08
President Roosevelt thanks Joseph Bucklin Bishop for his letter and comments on Senator Joseph Benson Foraker’s amendment, saying it has good elements and bad. Roosevelt says he asked Attorney General Philander C. Knox to release a statement saying the amendment was not presented at the right time. He also mentions the dishonest reporting of the Evening Post.
1904-02-02
President Roosevelt asks Senator Lodge to stop any delegates who will try to nominate Roosevelt for president instead of Secretary of War Taft. Roosevelt has also spoken to Illinois Senator Hopkins and Kansas Representative Campbell about the issue. Roosevelt stipulates that the letter is not to be shown unless absolutely necessary. He closes by criticizing Pennsylvania Senator Knox’s Memorial Day address at Gettysburg. This is a typed copy of the original.
1908-06-01
President Roosevelt says the Republican National Convention meets the next day, and he is sure to be nominated to run for President again. He adds that he is proud of all he has accomplished as President and that no family has enjoyed the White House as much as the Roosevelts have. He also says that he and Edith spent Sunday at Philander C. Knox’s farm.
1904-06-21
President Roosevelt stops Attorney General Philander C. Knox from cutting down a tree labeled “The Trusts” with an ax labeled “Anti-Trust Laws.” A chip of wood labeled “Merger Decision” lies on the ground at the base of the tree.
Foreshadowing a theme of the upcoming presidential contest — as Puck shifted back toward its Democratic roots — President Roosevelt, the “Trust Buster,” is depicted in this cartoon as suddenly deciding to “go easy” on trust prosecution. Only months earlier, the Roosevelt administration won the Northern Securities anti-trust case in the Supreme Court (the “merger decision” chip on the ground), but, as the Democrats developed a campaign theme, the Republicans did not want to offend big business and its possible campaign contributions.
Puck offers a large axe labeled “Repeal of Beef Tariff” to Philander C. Knox who is holding a tiny sling-shot labeled “Sherman Anti-Trust Law.” Standing in the background is a large bull labeled “Beef Trust.” Caption: Puck (to Attorney-General Knox) — You’ll never hurt that animal until they give you this ax!
Evidently the bombshell that was the anti-trust suit against the Northern Securities was not enough for Puck. It was a bombshell because the action of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Attorney General, Philander C. Knox, not only took other cabinet members by surprise, but the Wall Street titans — sometime rivals but collaborators to form this railroad monopoly — J. P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman, and James J. Hill, likewise had no inkling of the government’s suit. Morgan transmitted to Roosevelt his accustomed method of dealing with federal scrutiny: “If we have done anything wrong, send your man to my man and they can fix it up.” But Roosevelt wanted the backroom methods, and not the mere combination of the Northern Pacific; Great Northern; and Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroads, “fixed.” The suit to dissolve the trust was settled in the government’s favor in 1904, but this cartoon by Joseph Keppler, Jr., appeared only two months after Knox filed the Great Northern suit. Puck wanted the government to continue its serious trust-busting with hardly a delay.
Attorney General Knox drives the Republican elephant, carrying President Roosevelt, on the road of prosperity, knocking a car labeled Grinding Monopoly off the road. Caption: Roosevelt to Knox–Keep the elephant along the line of common sense regulation, Knox, but clean out the illegal combinations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-03
![[Hey, diddle, diddle]](https://theodorerooseveltcenter.s3.amazonaws.com/TRC/LC/thumbnails/476/0300/Crop476-0300/0355b.jpg)
The “trusts” play a cello with a scroll of Attorney General Philander C. Knox’s head. In the background, a cow labeled “beef” jumps over the moon labeled “living prices.” President Roosevelt, dressed in blackface and with donkey’s ears, walks away with a doll.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-29
Attorney General Philander C. Knox lectures President Roosevelt that the government must stand with the trusts. Roosevelt watches as a slave overseer labeled “the giant coal trust” whips Uncle Sam who crouches in chains.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-08
A large lion, labeled Universal Trust, faces a scared President Roosevelt hiding behind a tree plastered with signs and snippets from his message to Congress, including “We must grapple with monopolies” and “We must curb and regulate combinations of capital.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-14
Cartoon depicts Attorney General Philander C. Knox butting heads with a large bull labeled “Beef Trust.” A damsel in distress labeled “The Public” is tied to the back of the bull.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-04-26
William Loeb expresses that President Roosevelt would like Secretary of Commerce and Labor Cortelyou to meet with Public Printer Francis Wayland Palmer. The President believes that there is a strong case against Palmer, and Palmer needs to understand that a public official is not to “pay heed to the dictation of any outside organization.” The President would also like Palmer to make a full report on the matter and meet with Attorney General Philander C. Knox to make a full explanation of the charges.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-07-02
President Roosevelt tells Sir George Otto Trevelyan of his happiness regarding the recent 1904 presidential election, and remarks that he is glad people decided to support the positive message of the Republican Party, rather than the negativity of the Democratic Party. The president attributes his victory to the clear-cut message in his speeches and addresses as well as those canvassing for him. Roosevelt discusses the differences between the American president and other political leaders and believes the American president is more like the British prime minister than the French president. he additionally reflects on his intention not to run for a third term. Even without the convention of only two terms, the president believes it would be better for Secretary of War William H. Taft or Elihu Root to succeed him; they are similar in policy, but would have fresh thoughts and ways. Roosevelt concludes by discussing his recent reading. He praises a section from one of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches after his reelection and equates certain American political leaders to characters in Charles Dickens’s works.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-24
President Roosevelt has received Charles J. Bonaparte’s letter regarding Mr. Beach and reconvening the grand jury. He will discuss the matter with Attorney General Philander C. Knox.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-10
George B. Cortelyou writes to Senator Quay to inform him that President Roosevelt would like to know if he has communicated with Philander C. Knox.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-10-13
George B. Cortelyou returns the letter that Senator Hanna sent regarding the Alabama post office. President Roosevelt has been going over the matter Hanna wrote about with Secretary of War Elihu Root and Attorney General Philander C. Knox, and believes he has softened the parts Hanna rejected to. However, Roosevelt did not feel that he could totally eliminate what Hanna wanted.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-14
George B. Cortelyou informs Senator Hanna that President Roosevelt has decided to omit the section on over-capitalization that they discussed from his message. After going over the message with Secretary of War Elihu Root and Attorney General Philander C. Knox, Roosevelt thinks it can no longer be called inquisitorial.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-22