Panama--Panama Canal

John L. Beatty sends Theodore Roosevelt an editorial regarding Wharton Barker, who was E. H. Harriman’s confidant in the matter of Wall Street’s dealings with Roosevelt during the 1904 campaign. Beatty feels it is the best one on the subject. He assures Roosevelt that he has “made good” in the work that Roosevelt placed him six years ago. Beatty does not know what he will do once the Panama Canal is completed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-04

William Miles reminds Theodore Roosevelt that he wrote to him about a canal lock during his presidency. He has another canal related invention that he asks Roosevelt to help him patent and present to the federal government. Miles does not have money to invest due to his poor health. He supposes that his invention is worth a considerable amount and offers Roosevelt a share of the profits. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-01

Farnham Bishop informs Theodore Roosevelt that he feels his trial lectures went well. Two periodicals are interested in his articles. He strives to honor Dr. Jesse William Lazear in all he writes about Panama and asks if there are any memorials to the doctor and the other “yellow-fever martyrs.” While the Panama Canal may be a monument to their sacrifice, Bishop feels there should be one in the United States. He hopes Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt has recovered.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-26

George O. Sanborn informs Theodore Roosevelt of his travels across the country and tells him of the people’s strong opinion to have him run for the 1911 presidential elections. Sanborn states how the people are dissatisfied with William H. Taft’s tariff policies and hopes Roosevelt decides to serve his American duty by honoring the presidential nomination.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-23

Anne D. Megary Stanley recently read Theodore Roosevelt’s article about the Panama Canal in The Outlook and writes to ask him for recommendations on whom to write to in order to help her brother find a job working on the Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-17

William N. Freeman tells Frank Harper he is writing a lecture on “The Romance of American Democracy” he will expand into a book, and while he received Harper’s previous letter inviting him to visit The Outlook office to shake hands with Theodore Roosevelt, Freeman says he will wait to do so until he has his book completed in hand to give to Roosevelt for review. He shares a quote that praises Roosevelt from his lecture.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-17

Seth E. Meek refers back to an effort made during Roosevelt’s presidency to conduct a “biological survey” of the Panama Canal zone, and now asks for Roosevelt’s opinion on whether this effort should be made. Meek then explains that his motivation for asking is his upcoming lecture on the canal zone, and wants to have input from multiple people who had a stake in that decision process.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-01

Hugh T. Halbert resonated with Theodore Roosevelt’s comments on the article titled ” The Stain on our Flag,” and wishes to publish Roosevelt’s words with his permission. Halbert also says that Gifford Pinchot and many other progressives showed up to the meeting at the St. Paul Hotel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-05

Hugh T. Halbert asks Theodore Roosevelt if he has read Henry G. Granger’s article “The Stain on our Flag.” There have been many inquiries if the statement regarding Colombia is fair, so Halbert requests Roosevelt’s clarification. He discusses Minnesota’s mixed position concerning presidential candidates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-26

In speaking of Theodore Roosevelt’s partial endorsement of the proposition that the government fix steel prices, Richard Wilson Knott had in mind Roosevelt’s previous statement after Elbert H. Gary’s testimony and subsequent article in The Outlook. However, he believes he was mistaken. He feels that there are times when the government is justified in taking charge of properties, such as the Panama Canal. Knott comments that President William H. Taft’s administration has “thrown back the cause of progressive politics in Kentucky six years.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-19

H. B. Decius finds Theodore Roosevelt’s “noble life” and editorials inspiring. He comments on the work of Roosevelt, Lyman Abbott, and George W. Goethals in building the island possessions of the United States. Decius discusses how the average citizen depends on the wisdom of The Outlook to understand and act on issues of national and international importance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-13

Richard Wilson Knott sends Theodore Roosevelt an article about the purchase of the Tennessee Coal, Iron, and Railroad Company. He acknowledges Roosevelt’s partial endorsement of Judge Elbert H. Gary’s proposal that the government can fix the price of any commodity. However, he disagrees with this notion and believes the solution is to relieve the American market from outside forces that determine prices. Knott agrees with Roosevelt about the necessity of additional legislation like the Sherman Act but warns against the “tyranny of the bureaucrat.” He asks Roosevelt to reconsider his position on the issue. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-04

Katherine Morris knows that Theodore Roosevelt is “a friend of children home and mothers,” and writes to him to ask if anything can be done for her. Her husband, John R. Morris was killed while working as a railroad engineer during the construction of the Panama Canal, leaving his family without means to support themselves.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-05

Edward Thompson, a self-described “staunch supporter” of Theodore Roosevelt, discusses how the privileged American children in the Panama Canal Zone are educated at the expense of the masses, which goes against the “square deal.” He brings the matter to Roosevelt out of altruism. Thompson does not want the press to handle it for fear of tarnishing America’s global reputation and the possibility of “adverse criticism of American equity.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-01

After reading Theodore Roosevelt’s editorial comment on Hayden Talbot’s article in The Outlook, Joseph Bucklin Bishop says that he read Talbot’s article on the Panama Canal before it was published. He tried to get him to change the statements that Roosevelt criticized, but he left them in. Bishop believes that the change in leadership at the canal will be pleasing to Colonel George W. Goethals. Bishop hopes to see Roosevelt before he sails for Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-19

William M. Stansbury will be delivering a lecture tour and showing film footage of the Panama Canal, and asks Theodore Roosevelt’s permission to use his name in conjunction with the tour. He additionally asks for Roosevelt’s advice on where to procure several animal pelts, as well as accurate data regarding the Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-08

A. T. Mahan thanks Theodore Roosevelt for the letter and information therein. He would have liked to discuss the matter in person, but is entirely occupied by reviewing galleys and page proofs. Mahan wonders if Roosevelt ever feels the same way he does, in that the development of the navy and fortification of the Panama Canal seems only to be half completed, “and therefore perhaps worse than not done at all.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-01

Rudyard Kipling introduces Theodore Roosevelt to his friend, Drummond Chaplin, and asks him to introduce Chaplin to someone who will assist him in viewing the Panama Canal during an upcoming trip Chaplin is taking to South America. Kipling briefly updates Roosevelt on life in London.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Richard Johnson asks Theodore Roosevelt for help finding information about the fortification of the Panama Canal for a speech he is writing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-15

Carlos A. Valverde tells Theodore Roosevelt he has admired him and the work he has done. Although the people in Peru did not see Roosevelt in a favorable light during the Panama-Colombia controversy, they now understand the canal will benefit the world. Valverde asks Roosevelt for an autographed photograph.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-15