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Theodore P. Shonts is working with Joseph Bucklin Bishop and W. Leon Pepperman to draw up a statement for President Roosevelt to present to Congress on Isthmian Canal Affairs
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-25
Philippe Bunau-Varilla is sending President Roosevelt a letter of great importance regarding the Panama Canal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-26
Bunau-Varilla details some of the plan of the Panama Project , as it came to be, to President Roosevelt.
Included are measurements (depth, width etc.), techniques, prices, time schedule, etc.
Philippe Bunau-Varilla writes to President Roosevelt to discuss the Board of Consulting Engineers for the Panama Canal project.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-19
Albert Shaw writes to President Roosevelt to discuss a speech Roosevelt gave to the Board of Consulting Engineers regarding the Panama Canal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-12
The war department informed Attorney General Moody that the proposal for labor in Panama needs to be issued or labor will be postponed for a year. He also discusses Secretary Root’s criticisms and the legal aspects of the labor contracts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-08-03
Secretary of War Taft forwards a telegraph to President Roosevelt that he received from Charles Edward Magoon and John Findley Wallace.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-01
Secretary of War Taft writes to President Roosevelt concerning the recommendation by John Findley Wallace that John Lundie be appointed to the Consulting Board of Experts on the Isthmian Canal Commission. Taft believes that Lundie’s reputation alone does not justify this, and is suspicious of the lengths to which Wallace is going in order to get Lundie apointed, as Wallace has been contacting everyone connected with the commission. Taft surmises that there is some ulterior motive in getting Lundie appointed and cannot recommend him to the president.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-31
On behalf of the Executive Committee of the Canal Commission, Secretary of War Taft requests that Attorney General Moody formulate rules and restrictions regarding the employment of Asian laborers in the Canal Zone. Taft is concerned that the practice of contract labor does not “bring about a condition of peonage under the authority of the United States.” Taft has already advised the Committee to ignore political considerations in the hiring of Asian laborers because it is obvious that without those laborers work on the Canal would be delayed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-15
Governor Magoon and Chief Engineer Wallace write to Secretary of War Taft that the sentiment in Panama, from both government and citizens, is that one man should serve as both Governor and Minister to Panama. Magoon and Wallace quote from the Star Herald, which urges President Roosevelt and Taft to appoint Magoon as Minister and earn the immediate gratitude of all Panamanians.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-31
German Ambassador Sternburg is delighted to hear of President Roosevelt’s success while hunting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He sent Roosevelt’s message to German Emperor William II, who proposes sending Tincayos, a canal expert, as a member of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Emperor William II will also send six railway experts for the upcoming conference. Sternburg reports on possible future events of the Russo-Japanese War.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-04-21
Secretary of War Taft offers a detailed account of how to proceed with the building of the Panama Canal. Taft discusses the physical, governing, political, and economic processes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-30
Thomas Fraser encloses an essay he promised to send, which illustrated and predicted the predominance of the rifle in war. Fraser also asks President Roosevelt’s opinion on the Czar’s manifesto announcing the “urgent necessity” for Russian command of the Pacific Ocean throughout the ages.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-16
Secretary of War Taft forwards a report from the Isthmian Canal Commission to President Roosevelt, refuting a negative report from Doctor Charles A. L. Reed regarding the sanitary conditions in the Panama Canal Zone. Taft explains that Reed was hurried in his assessment and perhaps too negative; he also believes the structure of the Isthmian Canal Commission itself is responsible for the delays in sanitation on the Isthmus. Taft will submit a plan to restructure the commission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-17
Secretary of War Taft forwards to President Roosevelt a letter from A. J. Cassatt about who should be Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-25
Henry Cabot Lodge reports on the problems of the committee to vote on the passage of the Canal Bill. A disagreement occurred between many committee members and the Chair, Senator Alfred B. Kittredge. Lodge asks President Roosevelt for any help that he might provide in getting the bill passed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-01
Secretary of War Taft updates President Roosevelt on the progress of the construction of the Panama Canal. Taft returns Ambassador John Barrett’s letter to Roosevelt and reports that Barrett has been the recipient of complaints from canal employees due to General George E. Davis’s managing style. Taft also remarks that Barrett does not want to impeach the Isthmian Canal Commission but is justified in criticizing its members. The construction of the canal’s water works may be delayed but is understandable, considering what they have to construct.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-13
John Byrne continues his previous discussion with Theodore Roosevelt about the Panama Canal by suggesting that Byrne come to Washington, D.C., to look over the business plans of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Byrne believes this will allow him to offer better advice for the work and to plan a better business model.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-17
Samuel W. Small informs President Roosevelt of the content of a long telegram sent by Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World to his managing editor. Pulitzer plans to launch a series of editorials attacking Roosevelt, accusing him of violating the United States Constitution. Small believes that Roosevelt is doing well in the South.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-17
Acting Secretary of the Navy Darling forwards to William Loeb letters containing the opinion of the General Board concerning the acquisition of islands in the vicinity of the Caribbean end of the Panama Canal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-05