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The directors of the Chicago National Bank report to Comptroller of the Currency, William Barret Ridgely, on the status of several of their outstanding loans and bond purchases, mostly concentrated in railroads and mining. (The bank would fail in December of that year.)
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-12
The front and back covers of this issue feature photographs of President Theodore Roosevelt conversing with Gifford Pinchot on the deck of a boat on the Mississippi River in October 1907.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1907
Newspaper clipping of cartoon showing Theodore Roosevelt deepening the Mississippi River with a shovel. In the background Uncle Sam is digging the Panama canal and a man labeled Germany says “Der selfish pig vas goin’ ter make use of das canal himself aldreaty yet!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907
Five book reviews on six different books comprise this edition of the “Book Notes” column. In his review, Richard H. Collins focuses on Kathleen Dalton’s contribution to Robert J. Brugger’s Our Selves/Our Past, Psychological Approaches to American History. Dalton embraces a psychohistory approach to understanding Theodore Roosevelt, emphasizing his commitment to overcoming his childhood asthma and living the strenuous life. Collins argues that this approach is misguided and ignores Roosevelt’s class and his formidable intellect. Patrick C. Gable commends John Morton Blum for his appraisal of Roosevelt in The Progressive Presidents, but he faults him for blaming Roosevelt for the misdeeds and excesses of his Democratic successors.
Peter R. Fischer finds Charles C. Goetsch’s Essays on Simeon E. Baldwin “a worthwhile collection,” but he thinks the confrontation between Roosevelt and Baldwin over a federal labor law may not merit the importance that Goetsch assigns it. Elizabeth E. Roosevelt praises Mary Helen Dohan’s Mr. Roosevelt’s Steamboat for its depictions of life along the Mississippi River and for not overlooking the contributions of Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt to her husband’s success. Dennis Wood reviews Paul Schullery’s The Grand Canyon and Old Yellowstone Days. Theodore Roosevelt has an essay in each of these collections of writings about iconic American landscapes.
Fred W. Sensiba provides a sketch of his idea to naturally create deep channels in the Mississippi River.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-08
An article in the London Times reports on the response from various British newspapers to allegations made by Secretary of War William H. Taft that the press was responsible for fomenting hostility between the United States and Japan. Several newspapers instead place the blame on the movement of the Great White Fleet through the Pacific Ocean, described as a “rash naval adventure,” which could be interpreted as a sign of aggression. The clipping had been sent to President Roosevelt specifically so he could read how the Times reported on American and Japanese relations, but the page also includes a report on Secretary of State Elihu Root’s visit to Mexico, Canadian wheat yields, a rise in anti-Asian sentiment within the United States, and a reprint of a speech given by Roosevelt on improving water transportation along the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10
Theodore Roosevelt writes of the American Western frontier and his experiences there, along with some of the stories he heard about the lawless days of the area. The article includes drawings by Frederic Remington.
1893-06
Postmaster Michael J. Mulvihill writes Edgar S. Wilson hoping to prevent T. G. Dabney’s appointment to the Mississippi River Commission. Dabney was Chief Engineer of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-03
Kermit Roosevelt has a year of hard work ahead of him with his Harvard examinations. He is also trying out for the rowing crew in spite of the bad weather and had a good holiday riding and jumping horses every day. Roosevelt visited Robert Harry Munro and Isabella Ferguson in New York twice. The Roosevelts had plans to take the Mayflower down the Mississippi River, but Archibald B. Roosevelt is developing diphtheria, so it is out of the question.
1909-04-09
Kermit Roosevelt had a grand time at the Bandbox and thanks Isabella Ferguson for taking him in. He asks Ferguson to tell Robert Harry Munro Ferguson about the saddle, which Roosevelt is anxious to see. Roosevelt conveys that Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt wishes the Fergusons could come along on their upcoming spring trip down the Mississippi River on the Mayflower.
Unknown
Photograph of President Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot on the river steamer Mississippi, taken on the trip of the Inland Waterways Commission down the Mississippi River in October 1907.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-10
Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte received Albert Godchaux’s letter regarding sending the USS Louisiana to New Orleans for docking. The water conditions at the time of travel, as examined by the Bureau of Navigation, will determine the possibility of sending ships up the Mississippi River.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-10
Hugh Gordon Miller addresses the Annual Lincoln Dinner of the Republican Club of the City of New York. He jokes about his previous speaking engagement in New York. He describes the historical and contemporary relationship between Virginians and New York. He celebrates the rebuilt union of states. Miller reviews the accomplishments of the United States and New South since the American Civil War. He teases about Kentucky’s politics. He pays tribute to Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, William McKinley, and Rough Riders. Miller regrets that the South is aligned with the Democratic Party and calls on Republicans in the North to help settle “the problem of the suffrage and of the races.” Miller concludes with a vision of the ideal United States. Club President Henry Edwin Tremain introduces Senator John M. Thurston.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-02-12
Speaking to an overflow assembly of persons celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Presbyterian Home Missions, President Roosevelt remarks on the expansion of the nation, materially and spiritually. He notes that the churches are necessary to the nation’s advancement, ensuring that the forces of evil that arise with industrialization are countered by forces for good.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-20
In this economic policy speech at the Cincinnati Music Hall, President Roosevelt begins by joking about how he messed up the opening music by requesting “Garryowen,” which the band apparently did not know how to play. Roosevelt argues that the trusts are a natural result of the prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution and that we cannot pride ourselves on progress and prosperity while denouncing the men who made this possible. He compares the present situation to flood control; just as one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it, so too America cannot end corporations but can study and regulate them so that they can “subserve the public good.” Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution and asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. He advocates for free trade, noting that the lifting of tariffs for trust-made goods would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, he recommends federal oversight, calling for legislative solutions and perhaps a constitutional amendment. He reminds the crowd that, as part of the executive branch, he is limited in his ability to stop the trusts alone. Roosevelt encourages the crowd not to “be made timid or daunted by the size of the problem” and concludes with the assertion that “all men, rich and poor alike, shall obey the law alike and receive its protection alike.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-20
In the script for an economic policy speech to be delivered at the Cincinnati Music Hall before many captains of industry, President Roosevelt argues that the trusts are a natural result of the prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution and that we cannot pride ourselves on progress while denouncing the men whose “commanding business ability” made it possible. He uses the example of how one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it; therefore, America cannot end corporations but can and must study and regulate them. Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution. Labeling the “demagogic denunciation of wealth” to be unwholesome and even dangerous, he asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. Roosevelt opposes lifting tariffs for trust-made goods, as that would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, Roosevelt recommends federal oversight, calling for legislative solutions and perhaps a constitutional amendment. He reminds the crowd that, as part of the executive branch, he is limited in his ability to stop the trusts alone.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-20
President Roosevelt speaks to a crowd in Wheeling, West Virginia. After thanking and praising native Senator Nathan B. Scott for the introduction, Roosevelt discusses how America is living in a period of unparalleled prosperity and advancement in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. However, that prosperity comes with its own problems, namely those related to the rise of large, interstate corporations. He encourages the crowd to reject patent solutions or revolutionary reactions to the problems introduced by trusts. Rather, he asserts that the country must evolve, with the federal government regulating corporations, gaining facts and encouraging publicity but not opposing corporations as such. He compares the need to adapt the law to address trusts with the evolution of military arms and tactics; the means may change, but the need for citizen courage, honesty, and character remain.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-06
President Roosevelt writes his daughter Ethel about making speeches on his trip through Iowa. He describes the area and says the Mississippi River is beautiful.
1907-10-01
John Eisenmann recommends George Y. Wisner for appointment to the international commission on lake levels. Eisenmann mentions Wisner’s ability in the field of hydraulic engineering.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-10
Albert Hamilton Ellett asks if President Roosevelt is related to the man who built the first steamboat on the Mississippi River. According to Mississippi historical records, that boat was built by “Roosevelt of N. Y. in 1871.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-26