Long, Chester I. (Chester Isaiah), 1860-1934

President Roosevelt forwards a letter from David M. Goodrich to Attorney General Bonaparte concerning Henry K. Love’s appointment. In the future, Roosevelt wants portions of his and Bonaparte’s correspondence about men in power “to be published for the sake of the lovers of good literature!” In a postscript, Roosevelt instructs Bonaparte to remove Albert A. Richards, an apparent crook.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt shares his thoughts regarding the upcoming presidential election and the land fraud case against Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah with William Allen White. Roosevelt outlines his personal reasons for supporting Secretary of War William H. Taft for president as well as the political considerations necessary to secure his nomination. In the case of Borah, Roosevelt would like White to come to Oyster Bay to discuss the matter with him and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte; Roosevelt thinks it would look bad for Borah to come himself, and asks White to bring Borah’s lawyers on August 9.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Secretary of War Taft agrees with President Roosevelt on Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s speech and on the negative press from the New York papers. He describes his trip thus far and makes predictions about his success based on what he has been told. In light of the gerrymandering involving Oklahoma Governor Charles Nathaniel Haskell, Taft asks Roosevelt to help defeat an inadequate constitution in Oklahoma. Taft has asked Joseph L. Bristow to form another report on Panama, and he mentions an editor named Joseph Ralph Burton who has been attacking Roosevelt. Taft discusses the political campaigns and conflicts in the states he is passing through, in particular the political campaigns in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Denver. Taft’s mother Louise Maria Torrey Taft is recovering, and although the trip has been exhausting, Taft has a few days of rest ahead.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-30

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Attorney General Bonaparte reviewed the Chicago and Alton Railroad Company case. He sends President Roosevelt a copy of his letter to United States District Attorney Edwin Walter Sims and asks him to look it over. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-21

Creator(s)

Bonaparte, Charles J. (Charles Joseph), 1851-1921

Secretary of War Taft writes to President Roosevelt concerning a note from Chester Long. Taft does not think Roosevelt can settle a matter related to Joseph Bristow and believes Bristow should attend to his affairs until they can find an appropriate position for him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-17

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

C. L. Davidson responds to a letter published by Kansas Senator Chester I. Long regarding the Dolliver Bill, Hepburn Act, and decisions regarding the Interstate Commerce Commission and railroad rates, and how these decisions will affect Wichita, Kansas.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-25

Creator(s)

Unknown

President Roosevelt writes to Senator Allison about the Hepburn bill and the proposed amendments to it. He still approves of Allison’s amendment and would like it to be passed in conjunction with the Long amendment, although he objects to the passage of any broad amendments altering the character of the bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that he cannot write fifteen thousand words as a preface for the history of New York, or for “any other place under the sun.” Yesterday Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt gave Roosevelt a paragraph which they both thought referred to Lodge’s wife, Anna Cabot Mills Davis Lodge. Secretary of State Elihu Root also initially thought that it referred to Anna, but later discovered that it referred to the wife of Senator Chester I. Long. Roosevelt asks Lodge to find out whether or not it referred to Anna.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Based on the recommendations of a number of judges and other prominent men, President Roosevelt has appointed Harry J. Bone United States District Attorney. However, he warns Bone that if his former drinking problem resurfaces, he will be dismissed or asked to resign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

William H. Taft encloses a letter that is being sent out widely by General Solicitor of the Burlington Railroad James Blythe. Taft discusses the stops on his trip and writes that, based on the reception thus far, he feels the campaign will be a success even if there are still worries about the labor vote. Support for William Jennings Bryan appears to be waning after President Roosevelt’s swift attack. Taft has written to Treasurer of the Republican National Committee George Rumsey Sheldon about avoiding contributions from trust affiliates and instead soliciting businessmen across the country. The election is four weeks away, and Taft is anxious for the speeches and events that precede it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-03

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

William Allen White of the Emporia Gazette shares his thoughts on William H. Taft’s candidacy for president in the upcoming election and the trial of Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah. White fears that politicians may ruin Taft’s chances in various states, as they would support Roosevelt for a third term, but will give their support to men like Senator Joseph Gurney Cannon or Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks when Roosevelt declines to run. White says the political organization in Colorado is against Taft. S. S. McClure, who was originally prejudiced against Borah, now supports him and asked White to write an article defending him, which White refused both because he is personal friends with Borah, and because he is busy with his own writing. White hired C. P. Connelly, a lawyer, to look into the matter for him, and Connelly told him that he believes Borah to be innocent. White shares his thoughts regarding the impossible situation Borah is in, where a mistrial will be as bad as a conviction for his career. White asks Roosevelt to meet with Borah. In a postscript, White points out that the trial of Charles H. Moyer, which Borah is prosecuting, will take place in the same month as Borah’s own trial, and how disadvantageous this will be for all involved.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-25

Creator(s)

White, William Allen, 1868-1944

Commissioner of Pensions Ware writes to President Roosevelt that the people of Kansas are disturbed about Senator Chester I. Long’s reluctance to endorse the President’s railroad policy, and that they are working to get him to endorse it. Whether or not he does, however, Ware assures the President that the people of Kansas are with him. Ware worries that William Jennings Bryan will be the next president if the senators do not cooperate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-14

Creator(s)

Ware, Eugene F., 1841-1911

William Allen White was visited by Representative Chester I. Long and Assistant Postmaster General Joseph L. Bristow regarding his objections to the appointment of John H. Wiggam as postmaster of Emporia, Kansas. They informed him that his objections were embarrassing Theodore Roosevelt in matters of national policy. White reiterates why he opposes Wiggam’s appointment and suggests that Bristow exaggerated the embarrassment White’s actions have caused.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-05

Creator(s)

White, William Allen, 1868-1944

At a meeting of the Republican State committee in Kansas, the State convention in Wichita was called on March 9. The state Republican leader, Cyrus Leland, issued a resolution pledging the Kansas delegation for Roosevelt and calling on the Kansas Senators in Washington to “use all honorable means” to secure a treaty with Panama to construct the isthmian canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-05

Creator(s)

Unknown

William H. Taft shares commentary on William Allen White’s letter with President Roosevelt. In his upcoming speech, Taft does not address the “negro question” but plans to do so later. Taft enjoyed the speeches of Secretary of State Elihu Root and Representative J. S. Sherman. In a postscript, Taft believes in the necessity of renominating Governor Charles Evans Hughes. He shares misgivings about his election prospects and wants to give speeches in several states.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-20

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

William Allen White offers his views on recent events in Kansas politics. White finds the Republican party at present to be in better condition than at any time in a dozen or more years because it is now without factions or cliques. He credits the change to a “head-on collision” comprised of the mutually timed withdrawal of Governor Willis Joshua Bailey, “a good man,” and the indictment of Senator Joseph Ralph Burton, “a bad man.” He speculates on the future of the party, predicting a shift from the “House of Albaugh” to the “House of Hoch.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02

Creator(s)

White, William Allen, 1868-1944

A group of men make a surprise nighttime visit to Theodore Roosevelt, wearing pajamas, at Oyster Bay. Edward Henry Harriman carries a basket of lemons, James Roscoe Day carries a basket of “More Lemons,” Bellamy Storer carries a cake labeled “From Dear Maria” (his wife Maria Longworth Storer), Benjamin R. Tillman carries a watermelon, Chester I. Long carries a platter of “Welsh Rabbit” (possibly a reference to Herbert Welsh), and Joseph W. Bailey carries a bunch of bananas. Joseph Benson Foraker stands in the background, tipping his hat to Roosevelt.

comments and context

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907-07-24

As the Kansas political machine, who supported Senator Mark Hanna’s nomination for President, loses power, T. B. Murdock praises up-and-coming Kansas politician Walter Roscoe Stubbs, and supports Edward Wallis Hoch for Governor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-01

Creator(s)

Murdock, T. B. (Thomas Benton), 1841-1909

Senator Long will call on President Roosevelt tomorrow with Daniel Read Anthony, the mayor of Leavenworth, Kansas. Anthony is a possible candidate to oppose Representative Charles Curtis.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-14

Creator(s)

Unknown

Concerning the Republican presidential nomination, T. B. Murdock reports that Cyrus Leland, United States Senator Chester I. Long, and Kansas Governor Willis Joshua Bailey are “setting up Kansas” for Mark Hanna.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-08

Creator(s)

Murdock, T. B. (Thomas Benton), 1841-1909