Oregon

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Hutchinson Cowles

President Roosevelt informs William Hutchinson Cowles that he has gone over the matter Cowles wrote about with Franklin K. Lane of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roosevelt also writes that he believes that Oregon will instruct for Secretary of War William H. Taft, and now that Colonel Cecil Andrew Lyon of Texas has gone for Taft, he will be nominated on the first ballot.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Wilfred Laurier

President Roosevelt tells Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada, about some discussions that he has had with William Lyon Mackenzie King, along with Secretary of State Elihu Root, Ambassador James Bryce, and Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon about the situation in Canada. Roosevelt says that feelings in western Canada are similar to those in California, Oregon, and Washington, and agrees that sending King to London to speak with the government of the British Empire seems wise. Roosevelt thinks it was admirable that they have had these discussions, and says that there is a likelihood of the United States and Canada working together for their own interests, while also behaving honorably towards Japan. Roosevelt enjoyed hearing from Laurier and meeting King, and is pleased about the steps bringing Canada and the United States closer together.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Warren

President Roosevelt provides a number of details that he would like Senator Warren to bring before the Committee on Military Affairs as they discuss the possibility of turning Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into a fortified naval station. Roosevelt believes that constructing a naval base at Pearl Harbor is needed, as it would protect Hawaii and the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the other possessions of the United States in the Pacific. He mentions the construction that would have to take place in order to fortify Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt also requests that Warren suggest other committees that would benefit from receiving the facts presented in the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George C. Perkins

President Roosevelt provides a number of details that he would like Senator Perkins to bring to the Subcommittee on Fortifications of the Committee on Appropriations as they discuss the possibility of turning Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into a fortified naval station. Roosevelt believes that constructing a naval base at Pearl Harbor is needed, as it would protect Hawaii and the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the other possessions of the United States in the Pacific. He mentions the construction that would have to take place in order to fortify Pearl Harbor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Walter Inglewood Smith

President Roosevelt provides a number of details that he would like Representative Smith to bring to the Subcommittee on Fortifications of the Committee on Appropriations as they discuss the possibility of turning Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into a fortified naval station. Roosevelt believes that constructing a naval base at Pearl Harbor is needed, as it would protect Hawaii and the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the other possessions of the United States in the Pacific. He mentions the construction that would have to take place in order to fortify Pearl Harbor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore E. Burton

President Roosevelt provides a number of details that he would like Representative Burton to bring to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors as they discuss the possibility of turning Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into a fortified naval station. Roosevelt believes that constructing a naval base at Pearl Harbor is needed, as it would protect Hawaii and the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the other possessions of the United States in the Pacific. He mentions the construction that would have to take place in order to fortify Pearl Harbor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt asks Attorney General Bonaparte what to do about Stephen A. D. Puter. Francis J. Heney recommends that he be pardoned due to his involvement with the Oregon land frauds.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George E. Chamberlain

President Roosevelt explains to Oregon Governor Chamberlain why William C. Bristol will not be renominated as Attorney General in Oregon, and he encloses copies of communications about the matter. Bristol has not pursued the land fraud suits that he was specifically hired to handle, and he has stopped answering communications from the Department of Justice. Roosevelt has informed United States Attorney Francis J. Heney to appoint whomever he like as his assistant in prosecuting the suits.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert J. Collier

President Roosevelt refutes the points made in an article published in Collier’s Weekly accusing Supreme Court Justice William H. Moody of misconduct while overseeing the Oregon land fraud scandal as Attorney General. The article alleged that Moody’s personal grudge against the chief prosecutor of the trial, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Francis J. Heney, led to him nearly undermining the case by allowing a U.S. Marshal implicated in the scandal to remain in his position, suggesting a potentially compromised judge to sit the case, and refusing to appoint the Heney-recommended William C. Bristol as District Attorney. The piece has several handwritten additions and notes which Roosevelt includes in the final draft of his piece.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert J. Collier

President Roosevelt refutes the points made in an article published in Collier’s Weekly accusing Supreme Court Justice William H. Moody of misconduct while overseeing the Oregon land fraud scandal as Attorney General. The article alleged that Moody’s personal grudge against the chief prosecutor of the trial, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Francis J. Heney, led to him nearly undermining the case by allowing a U.S. Marshal implicated in the scandal to remain in his position, suggesting a potentially compromised judge to sit the case, and refusing to appoint the Heney-recommended William C. Bristol as District Attorney. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt forwards to Attorney General Bonaparte the Interstate Commerce Commission’s report, letters, and a map on the Edward Henry Harriman matter. He suggests that Bonaparte publish the report at the same time he announces the law suit. In a postscript dated July 11, Roosevelt responds to a letter he received from Bonaparte in the meantime. He expects to be “in an awful row” regarding Ulysses S. Bratton. He discusses the timing of Alexander McDonald McBlair’s and Mary Tayloe Key’s marriage, as it relates to McBlair’s responsibilities in the Oregon land fraud cases. He praises Bonaparte’s handling of the tobacco case. Finally, he alerts Bonaparte that Senator William Peters Hepburn wants to speak with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John I. Moore

President Roosevelt acknowledges the invitation of the governors of Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin, to make a trip on the Mississippi River with the Inland Waterways Commission. He reflects on the importance of the nation’s rivers as “highways” for products to supply any inadequacy of means of transportation over land. He intends to travel with the Commission down the Mississippi for three or four days in October. A note at the bottom of the letter indicates that it was sent to each of the governors who signed the invitation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-16

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Mark Sullivan

President Roosevelt describes to Mark Sullivan the considerations that have gone into his selections for federal judgeships. Roosevelt reviews his appointments in detail, noting that some were made at the request of the local organization and some against their wishes. The goal in each case was to appoint someone “of the high character, the good sense, the trained legal ability, and the necessary broad-mindedness of spirit…essential to a good judge.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock that his has received his letter but will have to request reports from the Department of Justice before proceeding with the matter in question, as well as for a report on the District Attorney of Wyoming. Roosevelt agrees with Hitchcock’s opinion on regarding laws around fences and public domain, and that stricter punishments are needed for local land officers who abuse their power. Roosevelt closes by asking Hitchcock to clarify if he feels the current situation has been caused by local land officials or the Department of Justice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Moody

President Roosevelt informs Attorney General Moody that he has extended the time of the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission to the beginning of 1907, by which time their work should be completed. He returns the letter from Senator Charles William Fulton, of Oregon, and suggests that it might be worthwhile to have United States District Attorney William C. Bristol come to Washington, D.C., to discuss the matter. Roosevelt believes that they should not hesitate to indict Fulton if the facts justify it, but that the matter should only be pursued if there is a reasonable chance of success. He feels it would be wise to discuss some facts of the matter with Bristol.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Bert Huffman

President Roosevelt appreciated receiving Bert Huffman’s letter, although it did not change his determination in the matter. He would like to have the chance to meet Huffman in person, and asks if there is a chance that he could visit Washington, D.C., next winter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clarence D. Clark

President Roosevelt informs Senator Clark, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that he has resubmitted the name of William C. Bristol for the position of District Attorney of Oregon. Roosevelt additionally sends Clark a number of affidavits and telegrams which explain the situation surrounding Roosevelt’s prior withdrawal of Bristol’s name, and show that it was due to a misunderstanding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis J. Heney

President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock, and Senator Philander C. Knox all feel that Francis J. Heney should have sent his telegram about District Attorney William C. Bristol to Attorney General William H. Moody. Knox believes that the Senate would reject any renomination of Bristol on the grounds that his letter explaining his conduct is unsatisfactory. They will probably send the evidence against Bristol to the Oregon Bar Association. Roosevelt does not feel that under the circumstances, Bristol can be retained.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles William Fulton

President Roosevelt tells Senator Fulton that reports of friction between the two of them are “entirely incorrect.” As Senator from Oregon, Fulton will have “all proper consideration” from Roosevelt, regarding appointments and other matters. The only exceptions have been in “peculiar conditions” regarding offices under the Department of Justice and Department of the Interior, where Roosevelt has felt that he has to act on his own responsibility.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clarence D. Clark

President Roosevelt tells Senator Clark that if there is opposition to the confirmation of Marshal Reid of Oregon, he would like to provide evidence that shows why he deemed it necessary to disregard the Oregon Senator’s wishes on this matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-12