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President Roosevelt writes to Edward Allsworth Ross to say once again how much he appreciates Ross’s Sin and Society. He finds it relevant to some of the current political situations, such as the frenzy over racetrack betting in New York and support of the reactionary Representative Charles E. Littlefield in Maine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-14
President Roosevelt shares the same opinion as William H. Taft that governor Charles Evans Hughes should be renominated. Roosevelt feels that making a speech would do more harm than good. While William Jennings Bryan has a strong following for the “church vote,” Roosevelt believes Bryan’s approach is dangerous. He approves of Taft’s letter to John Wesley Hill and suggests that secretary of state Elihu Root review it before it is made public.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-18
Lyman Abbott discusses the Lake Mohonk Conference with President Roosevelt. The Conference recommended a general arbitration treaty to be framed by the next Hague Conference and entered into by all the nations there represented.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-05
President Roosevelt informs Joseph Bucklin Bishop that he met with Edward H. Van Ingen and agrees with their plan of action via letter. Roosevelt has already written to District Attorney Henry L. Burnett about the letter and plans to meet with Burnett, Van Ingen, and William Williams together. He also comments on the trust legislation and the actions of Congressmen George Frisbie Hoar and Charles E. Littlefield. Roosevelt encloses a letter to New York Police Commissioner F. V. Greene and discusses the information he provided Greene.
1903-02-17
President Roosevelt stands on the “Oyster Bay Summer School Rifle Range,” holding two rifles, one labeled “Sherman Law” and the other “Inter-state Law.” He faces a target labeled “Monopoly of Public Necessities.” Representative Charles E. “Littlefield of Maine” hands him a rifle labeled “New Anti Trust Law.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-07-09
Edward Atkinson sends President Roosevelt a pamphlet dealing with “ignorance and illiteracy” as the “main source of the race problem” in the United States. He believes that Republican representatives such as Charles E. Littlefield, Samuel W. McCall, or Theodore E. Burton could introduce a bill to remedy the problem.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-01-08
President Roosevelt had not seen the Charles E. Littlefield speech that John James Jenkins referred to, but knew that Littlefield had put his correspondence with Roosevelt in the Congressional Record. Roosevelt tells Jenkins that he is indifferent to Littlefield’s opinions, as he does not think he is a sincere or intellectually honest person; he believes that Littlefield means to stir up some controversy with him. Roosevelt is confident in Jenkins’s sincerity.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-02
President Roosevelt agrees with Senator Lodge about wanting an appointee who follows the tenants of Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall. He is pleased with the outcome in Maine given the previous harm caused by the issue of temperance and liquor laws. Roosevelt shares how he took “solid satisfaction” in taking a shot at journalist Norman Hapgood. Reading Winston Churchill’s biography of his father, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer Churchill, reaffirmed Roosevelt’s dislike of both father and son.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-12
President Roosevelt agrees with Secretary of War Taft that Culver C. Sniffen should be appointed Paymaster General and asks Taft to notify General Fred C. Ainsworth. He approves of Taft’s proposed travel arrangements for the Panama trip and is “extremely pleased” that Taft sent his speech to the Maine Committee to be reviewed by Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon or Representative Charles E. Littlefield. He sympathizes with Helen Herron Taft’s views of William Jennings Bryan. In a postscript, Roosevelt advices sending men to Cuba at once as “we cannot afford to neglect any chance of learning the situation down there.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-04
President Roosevelt sends Secretary of State Root a letter of greeting and congratulations on the success of his recent trip to Central America. Roosevelt has enjoyed the rest he has had over the summer and is now beginning to work on the fall electoral campaigns. While the recent Congress has been very productive, Roosevelt fears that “the time has about come for the swinging of the pendulum,” and mentions some areas he believes the Republicans are weak. Secretary of War William H. Taft has decided to not accept a position on the Supreme Court, which may put him in the ranks of possible presidential candidates. Local New York elections for governor have shown Benjamin B. Odell as having an advantage over Governor Frank Wayland Higgins.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-18
President Roosevelt explains his reasoning for keeping his speech as it currently is rather than making the change Speaker of the House Cannon suggested, as he feels that the paragraph may help senators whose states wish for a revision of the tariff. Roosevelt believes there is a sentiment against the words “stand pat,” and advises Cannon to avoid them in his speeches, as well as possibly including an explanation of the possibility of tariff reform. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge suggested Roosevelt say something about the immigration bill, but Roosevelt is not sure if doing so is wise. Roosevelt feels the same about Representative Charles E. Littlefield as Cannon does, and will do what he can to assist him in his reelection.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-15
President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that he plans to “convulse the googoos and mugwumps with horror by taking the chance to write a letter making as strong a plea as I know how for the election of a Republican Congress.” He agrees with Lodge regarding organized labor, and comments on several political candidates. Roosevelt additionally describes some of his recent sailing and rowing adventures he has gone on with his family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-09
President Roosevelt takes issue with some criticisms that Lincoln Steffens has made of his efforts to get Congress to ratify the Santo Domingo treaty. He points out that several Democrats are opposing the treaty merely to be obstructionist, rather than because of an honest difference of opinion. In contrast, Roosevelt believes that there is more room for honest differences in opinion in the railroad rate bill. Steffens’s idea that Roosevelt should refuse to make any concessions and to let the voters decide who is correct in the next election is flawed. Roosevelt cites evidence of voters supporting men who are on two sides of the same issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-05
William H. Taft encloses a letter from Representative Charles E. Littlefield, the tone of which indicates he desires trouble. Taft can categorically answer Littlefield’s questions but is unsure if doing so is wise as Littlefield’s intentions and political support are unclear. Before replying, Taft wants President Roosevelt’s input.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-17
Senator Lodge thanks President Roosevelt for his letter regarding the Custom House in Boston and Representative Charles E. Littlefield. Lodge briefly discusses several books with Roosevelt. He also commends Roosevelt’s letter to Carlos Manuel de Cespedes y Quesada and discusses the situation in Cuba.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-16
Representative Cannon tells President Roosevelt that he is gratified by the kind tone of Frank P. Sargent’s letter and by the fact that Sargent seems to understand his attitude, though there are reports among railway laborers in Chicago that Cannon is unfriendly to railway brotherhoods. While Cannon believes there is value in organized labor, he does not agree with those who, following the lead of Samuel Gompers, seek class legislation and wish to blacklist those who do not agree. These, says Cannon, “are the worst enemies that organized labor can have.” Cannon thinks Gompers’s principal fight is against Roosevelt, yet the labor leader levels his attacks against those in the administration who are not quite as strong. Cannon reveals his campaign tour strategy for the coming months and discusses the local conditions he recently observed in Maine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-14
Edgar E. Clark writes to President Roosevelt regarding his request for a favor about the situation in House Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon’s district. Clark is happy to help and will write to those whom he thinks can exert influence. Clark also expresses some concern about Charles E. Littlefield’s majority and his position on the questions of prohibition and labor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-11
Senator Lodge is glad to hear of Judge Horace H. Lurton’s opinions; Lodge is most concerned at present with the difference between nationalists and separatists. Lodge would like to see a judge on the bench who holds the views of Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall not Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun. He would someday like to see Attorney General Moody in the Supreme Court. Lodge closes with a discussion of his anxiety regarding the campaign in Maine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-10
Secretary of War Taft thanks President Roosevelt for the complimentary telegram Roosevelt sent about Taft’s speech. He proposes that a man named Cairns, who is from Maine and a good man with experience abroad, might go to Collier’s magazine and provide a counter story about Ross. Taft also comments on a letter he mistakenly sent to the president instead of Kerr, Roosevelt’s correspondence with Henry Cabot Lodge about Horace H. Lurton, Justice John Marshall Harlan’s wish to retire with Lurton’s appointment in place, and how the Tafts had a good time in Maine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-08
Commissioner General of Immigration Sargent writes that while he would be happy to oblige President Roosevelt and campaign for Representative Charles E. Littlefield of Maine, Sargent believes that doing so would actually harm Littlefield. Sargent argues that sending him would look like the Republicans were trying to placate organized labor without actually doing anything to help them. The disagreement between the American Federation of Labor and Littlefield is purely personal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-31