La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to United States Department of Justice

President Roosevelt orders the United States Department of Justice to have a special representative of the department look into the case of Henry G. Goll. Roosevelt is not satisfied with the case as Goll received the same sentence as Frank G. Bigelow despite being a mere tool in Roosevelt’s estimation and not personally profiting from the crime. Roosevelt has been informed by Senator Robert M. La Follette that the retiring and incoming state’s attorneys wish to use Goll’s evidence to prosecute wealthy criminals. Roosevelt believes that it is his duty to pardon Goll so that he may be used as state’s evidence in future investigations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-03-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt tells his son Kermit how grateful he is for the beautiful spring he is experiencing. Roosevelt also tells Kermit that he is worried about Archibald’s academic performance at Groton, but does not want him dropped into another form. Finally, Roosevelt reflects on his legislative accomplishments as the current session of Congress closes, and laments the “pointless and stupid filibuster” by Senator Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt has some maps of the part of Africa he plans for them to travel to, and will try to finalize his plans with Kermit when he sees him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt is sending a letter to both Senator Lodge and to Chairman of the Republican National Committee Frank H. Hitchcock, which they are to show to any delegates who might be bolting away from Secretary of War William H. Taft to support Roosevelt. Roosevelt would like the letter to be kept secret and out of the press. He also comments on a poor Memorial Day speech that Senator Philander C. Knox made at Gettysburg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

Since Congress as failed to act, President Roosevelt has decided that the administration should act in regard to the “railroad mail matter.” Roosevelt believes Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou will tame the railroad lobby who successfully overcame the efforts of Kansas Representative Victor Murdock and Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette to lower the railroad rates. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Carter Rose

President Roosevelt thanks United States Attorney John Carter Rose for the letter and for understanding what he is trying to do in “working a revolution in the relations of the government to the big corporate interests.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

President Roosevelt praises the characters in William Allen White’s book Stratagems and Spoils, and compares them to some contemporary politicians. Roosevelt has been disgusted by some recent speeches by William Jennings Bryan, who he characterizes as a demagogue. He reflects that on any issue, it is impossible to not have some allies whose reasoning on the issue is completely different, using Upton Sinclair as an example. While Roosevelt holds Sinclair in contempt, he recognizes that he also can provide good service in helping Roosevelt effect change in the meat-packing industry. Roosevelt similarly comments on several senators in relation to the railroad rate bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Spooner

President Roosevelt sends Senator Spooner, of Wisconsin, a duplicate of a letter which he is also sending to Senator Robert M. La Follette. Spooner and La Follette have been in disagreement regarding which of them should make recommendations for government positions in Eastern Wisconsin, and which should make recommendations for Western Wisconsin. In the past, former Senator Joseph Very Quarles of Wisconsin made recommendations for the Eastern portion of the state, while Spooner made recommendations for the Western. Roosevelt has decided to keep this sort of framework, with Spooner continuing to recommend for the Western portion and La Follette taking up the Eastern portion. He emphasizes that while he will take their recommendations into consideration, he is the final judge of whether nominees are fit for the positions. Roosevelt also comments on the post office of Marinette, and likewise tries to set out rules for nominations in these cases, stating that he will accept recommendations of the Congressmen of the district.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt hopes that Lyman Abbott makes it clear in his editorial that he disapproves of several corporations acting in the Rocky Mountains, and remarks that people often have difficulty understanding that it is imperative for people to “disprove equally of the murderous lawlessness of labor unions which degenerate into thugism of the Molly McGuire kind, and of the practically as arrogant and greedy lawlessness of quite as noxious a type shown by certain big corporations.” Roosevelt considers it important to be against lawlessness wherever and whenever it is found. He compares his actions with those of several other figures, and says that while former president Grover Cleveland acted both against corporations and labor unions, William Jennings Bryan and Senator Robert M. La Follette refuse to attack labor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt has heard from Senator Robert M. La Follette that the bill Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock is currently considering will do “great injustice” to a number of Native Americans, and asks Hitchcock to report whether this is a large enough issue to warrant vetoing the bill. Roosevelt has also heard that an assistant of Tams Bixby, of the Dawes Commission, took a leave of absence to brief a law office, and says that if this is accurate “not only should the assistant be proceeded against, but it seems to me that Bixby should be required to show cause why action should not be taken against him.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt chastises Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock for his recent message saying that the Indian bill should have been vetoed. Roosevelt had previously spoken to Hitchcock about the bill several times, and directed him to investigate several matters relating to it, and had been told by Hitchcock each time that the bill ought to be signed. If there were portions of the bill that should have prevented Roosevelt from signing the bill, the Department of the Interior should have caught them earlier.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George B. Cortelyou

In view of the recent Supreme Court decision, there should not be any favoritism toward the “stalwarts.” According to this decision, “any weakening of the La Follette ticket is a weakening of the National ticket.” Joseph Foraker also must be brought back from Wisconsin if he has gone as a member of the “stalwart” committee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to N. B. Scott

President Roosevelt tells N. B. Scott that clerks have the right to go home to vote. Roosevelt realizes that New York is a difficult state to win and believes one of the best approaches may be emphasizing what the administration has done in foreign matters. Roosevelt is concerned about the situation in Wisconsin with the “bolting Republican organization.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George B. Cortelyou

Theodore Roosevelt writes to George B. Cortelyou about making a new appointment to the First Assistant Postmaster General position. Roosevelt also lets Cortelyou know that it is possible for him to resign as Chairman of the Republican National Committee, yet still remain in control of the situation. Roosevelt closes by discussing the political situation in West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harry S. New

President Roosevelt asks Harry S. New for his assessment of the situation in Indiana. The democrats believe that Thomas Taggart will carry the state. Roosevelt is also uneasy about Wisconsin and wonders if New has heard from Governor La Follette.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

Theodore Roosevelt is sorry that Henry Cabot Lodge had trouble with his tooth. Roosevelt feels that the heavy work of the campaign has been accomplished by three years of work as president. Roosevelt is not comfortable with the Wisconsin situation and thinks it is not fair to the national Republican Party to choose now to leave Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt is also concerned with the closeness of the vote in New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler

President Roosevelt responds to Nicholas Murray Butler’s letter with interest. Roosevelt asks if he should talk over Mexico and Cuba with James Speyer, and explains that Catholic clerics have had issues with local governments. Roosevelt agrees with Butler that the party machine is out of touch with the people, as exemplified in tariff revisions in Massachusetts, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Roosevelt also agrees that the “Wisconsin situation” is “very, very ugly” and thinks the comparison between Governor of Wisconsin Robert M. La Follette and the late Governor of Michigan Hazen Pingree is apt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-21

Letter from Gifford Pinchot to Will H. Hays

Gifford Pinchot writes to Republican Committee Chairman Will H. Hays about the importance of farmers to the Republican Party. He believes it is the farmers of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Illinois that will be most vital to the next presidential election, not those of New York and Pennsylvania. Pinchot feels the danger that the Democratic Party may end up becoming the progressive party in the United States, particularly if it draws in the returning veterans of World War I. For the Republicans to attract them, the party must offer more than policies that the veterans will accept; Pinchot says that it must “label those policies with the names of men whom they will follow.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1918-09-04

Letter from Gifford Pinchot to Theodore Roosevelt

Gifford Pinchot provides a forecast to Theodore Roosevelt on an upcoming vote in the United States Senate on the issue of selective service. Henry Cabot Lodge believes that James Wolcott Wadsworth will “vote right” and that only Robert M. La Follette and Asle J. Gronna among the Republicans will fail to do so. The Harding Amendment is expected to pass. Pinchot is trying to arrange a voice for Roosevelt with Jean Jules Jusserand and Joseph Joffre, French officials consulting with Congress on the incorporation of American forces into the war. Lastly, Pinchot is glad that Roosevelt spoke out against the brewers and distillers, as grain is needed for the war effort.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1917-04-26

Letter from Gifford Pinchot to Theodore Roosevelt

Gifford Pinchot is hoping to see Theodore Roosevelt in New York to talk over many topics, including a reply to Robert M. La Follette. La Follette’s vote on the tariff bill may “dispose of him so far as the Republicans” are concerned.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1913-09-24

Statement of Governor Johnson Of California

Governor Johnson calls for the progressives of California and the West to support Theodore Roosevelt as the Republican presidential nominee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912