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Theodore Roosevelt responds to a letter from Hartford Beaumont, an attorney in Manila, expressing his disenchantment with the Wilson administration and its approach to international affairs with the Philippines and Japan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-10-20
Theodore Roosevelt is sorry he will not be able to speak at Long Island. Roosevelt believes that sea-power is playing an important role in the current war, and the United States must build up the navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-06-29
President Roosevelt assures Admiral Mahan that he has already warned President-Elect William H. Taft against dividing the fleet. Roosevelt has shown Taft his letter to Representative George Edmund Foss, chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs. Roosevelt is confident that the fleet will never be divided.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-03
President Roosevelt approves of Archibald “Archie” B. Roosevelt’s poetry interests and correspondence style. Roosevelt expresses grief at the death of his nephew Stewart Douglas Robinson and wishes he could do more for his sister, Corinne Roosevelt Robinson. However, Roosevelt stands firm that private life cannot overtake public duty, noting that as president, he had to greet the Great White Fleet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-23
President Roosevelt tells Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry that he is “puzzled what to do” about the papers he submitted. In particular, he takes issue with a statement from Professor Philip R. Alger which says that going to a larger caliber of weapon now would acknowledge that the Navy’s former action was an error. This makes Roosevelt distrust both Alger’s judgment and that of Rear Admiral Newton E. Mason. Roosevelt is against the Navy’s hesitancy to refuse new suggestions, and says that he wants the United States to lead other nations in new developments.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-25
President Roosevelt encloses for Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry telegrams from Philippines Governor General James Francis Smith and president-elect William H. Taft. In light of Smith’s telegram, Roosevelt feels it is “absolutely unwarranted” not to allow the crews shore leave in Manila. He orders Newberry to tell Admiral Charles S. Sperry that, seeing as Admiral Giles B. Harber’s men have been given full shore leave, Sperry should grant his crew shore leave with precautions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-21
President Roosevelt thanks Captain Dillingham for his article. However, he thinks it would be improper to publish because it discusses war while naming a certain opponent as a “probable enemy.” Although the War Board and naval officers meet to discuss conflicts with every possible enemy, they do not make public statements about specific enemies. Nevertheless, Roosevelt will take up the matters in Dillingham’s article with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Truman Handy Newberry.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-17
President Roosevelt assures Senator Lodge that Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf was misrepresented in an article which said he disowned Lodge over Lodge’s comments on the Navy. Roosevelt believes that Lodge never said that Japan would insult the country if not for the Navy. Regarding the speeches made by Comptroller Lawrence O. Murray, Roosevelt believes that Murray’s statements regarding bank examiners were correct and necessary, but it is unfortunate that he made them during the campaign, when there were going to be misunderstood.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-15
President Roosevelt thinks that French Ensor Chadwick has correctly characterized Spaniards in comparison to other European races and nationalities. Roosevelt reflects on some of the strengths and weaknesses of various European navies, and how this has changed through time.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-08
President Roosevelt appreciated Austin A. Burnham’s letter and wishes that Congress shared the National Business League’s “broad and patriotic view” of naval matters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-23
President Roosevelt informs Senator Lodge about past appropriations bills relating to construction of battleships for the Navy. Roosevelt argues that the current bill providing for two battleships and ten torpedo destroyers is a “sham and pretends to do what it does not really do,” as it does not appropriate proper funds to expand armaments and armor. If Congress wants to expand the Navy it should provide the funds to do so, and if it does not wish to provide the funds, then there is no point in the pretense of allowing the construction of more battleships.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-22
President Roosevelt updates Kermit Roosevelt on the family and sends another poem from Philip Roosevelt. He laments Congress’s failure to give him four new battleships and feels that “unpatriotic” Congressional leaders are prioritizing their own interests over those of the country. Roosevelt states that although he does not think the United States will go to war with Japan, naval supremacy is necessary to deter any Japanese attack or invasion of the West Coast.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-19
President Roosevelt trusts that Representative Wiley will soon be all right. He thanks Wiley for writing him and does not doubt that he will support building up the navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-17
Given that Captain Royal Rodney Ingersoll’s opinion contradicts Captain Richard Wainwright’s, President Roosevelt asks Secretary of the Navy Metcalf to submit any statement of Ingersoll’s to him before it goes to the Senate Committee. Roosevelt has “certain very interesting information” regarding the views of the Japanese military and naval authorities, which he will submit to Metcalf and the General Board confidentially after Secretary of State Elihu Root goes through it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-17
President Roosevelt believes that the enclosures from German ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg prove that the United States would be unwise to not to make preparations for a potential war in the Pacific with Japan. The documents, which he is sending to Secretary of State Root, show that Japan believes it could gain naval supremacy in the event of war.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-17
President Roosevelt encloses a letter from Admiral Charles S. Sperry requesting to grant leave for the men at Tokyo. Roosevelt asks Secretary of the Navy Metcalf to bring the matter to Secretary of State Elihu Root’s attention. The president believes in a “moderate quantity of leave.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-17
President Roosevelt has heard reports that recruiting men for the engine room is difficult and that members of that post desert “at the earliest opportunity.” He believes that either a pay raise or a different arrangement would improve retention and recruitment, and asks Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf for a report on this issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-09
President Roosevelt tells Secretary of the Navy Metcalf that he is currently dissatisfied with the present organization of the Navy Department, as he feels that the people responsible for directing the building of ships are not doing their job. The Japanese navy has more and better battleships and armored cruisers than the United States does.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-09
President Roosevelt thanks King Edward VII for sending him a book on Sèvres porcelain. Roosevelt comments on the progress of the United States Naval Fleet’s trip to the Pacific, and says that he believes that the interests of English-speaking peoples are the same in both the Atlantic and Pacific. While they should be careful to not unduly insult anyone, they should show that they are able to defend themselves. Roosevelt believes that immigration is a tricky subject, and thinks that large-scale mixing of wage workers of two races can bring about trouble. For the moment, however, Roosevelt believes that internal problems are more pressing than external, and is concerned with making wealthy people realize that they have responsibilities to society.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-12
President Roosevelt thanks President Pena of Brazil for his kind message and hospitality regarding the sailors and United States fleet in Rio de Janeiro.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-15