Pensions

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry C. Loudenslager

President Roosevelt forwards Representative Loudenslager, chairman of the Committee on Pensions, a letter from Representative William A. Ashbrook regarding Herbert O. Kohr, who is seeking a government pension. Kohr had served honorably in the military, but then in public life was injured by a dynamite explosion, blinding him and causing him to lose part of an arm. Roosevelt urges Loudenslager to grant Kohr a pension.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Porter J. McCumber

President Roosevelt sends a message to Senator McCumber, chairman of the Senate Committee on Pensions, in order to call particular attention to the cases of the widows and children of Jesse William Lazear and James Carroll. These men were doctors on the yellow fever commission, and Roosevelt hopes that the pensions can be provided to their families.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Winston Churchill

President Roosevelt congratulates author Winston Churchill on his good work, and he looks forward to when he has more time to tell Churchill about a pension row.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Vespasian Warner

President Roosevelt would like Commissioner of Pensions Warner to review the application made by Ethel Chase Sprague Donaldson, whose husband served as surgeon in the Rough Riders regiment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Vespasian Warner

President Roosevelt is pleased with Commissioner of Pensions Warner’s actions in Mrs. Donaldson’s case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Vespasian Warner

President Roosevelt seeks confirmation from Commissioner of Pensions Warner that Ethel Chase Sprague Donaldson’s pension is processed with haste, as he has high regard for her and her late husband, Rough Rider and army surgeon, Frank Donaldson. Although Roosevelt respects the Donaldson’s service to their country during the war, he particularly notes that Mrs. Donaldson’s grandfather is Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury to President Abraham Lincoln.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry C. Loudenslager

President Roosevelt suggests to Representative Loudenslager that Congress is passing too many bills granting private and special pensions. While no single bill is necessarily objectionable, the sheer volume makes Roosevelt think that they are “approaching the danger line in this class of legislation.” He does not think there should be “so many thousands” of exceptions to the general pension rules.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-11

Letter from Isabella Hagner to Electa H. Rogers

Isabella Hagner informs Electa H. Rogers that while Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt appreciates the “pretty gifts” she sent, she cannot accept gifts from strangers. Hagner returns the gifts on Roosevelt’s request. Hagner also informs Rogers that Roosevelt cannot look into a pension claim, as she does not take part in government affairs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William C. LeGendre

President Roosevelt responds to a communication from William C. LeGendre, noting that before a commission can be created to investigate frauds in the pension department, there first must be proof that the frauds are occurring.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry W. Taft

Theodore Roosevelt explains to Henry W. Taft that it is possible William McKinley and Grover Cleveland did not know about the orders but that it was very improbable as the orders were essentially the same under Roosevelt as the others. Roosevelt also explains that had the orders not been made there would have been a extravagant pension law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene F. Ware

Theodore Roosevelt shares with Eugene F. Ware a letter written to Republican National Committee Chairman George B. Cortelyou, which details abuses in the Pension Bureau. Roosevelt would prefer not to hold a public investigation into these allegations. Roosevelt leaves it up to Ware to deal with the matter in the way he sees fit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry W. Taft

President Roosevelt explains to Henry W. Taft that the federal government needs to tackle trusts and monopolies because using common law is not possible, and Senator Philander C. Knox, Attorney General William H. Moody, Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw, and Secretary of War William H. Taft all agree that the action is constitutional. Regarding American expansion in the Philippines and Cuba, Roosevelt states that Cuba has a measure of independence but not in its entirety, and that similar measures could be taken in the Philippines with certain safety precautions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

Theodore Roosevelt believes that the letter has stopped the downward movement of his campaign. Roosevelt admires Joseph Bucklin Bishop’s article on the pensions because it exposed Alton Parker’s attitude.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene F. Ware

President Roosevelt tells Eugene F. Ware, Commissioner of Pensions, that “the old soldier proposition is just about all right.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin F. Tracy

President Roosevelt tells Benjamin F. Tracy that the age at which veterans receive their pension was changed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene F. Ware

President Roosevelt asks Commissioner of Pensions Ware for a favor. He would like Henry T. Johns, a Medal of Honor winner, to be reinstated in spite of the age limit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin B. Odell

President Roosevelt returns Congressman Bradley’s letter and will speak to the Pension Commissioner about the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Marcus Alonzo Hanna

President Roosevelt will take up the pension matter with Commissioner of Pensions Ware at once.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-06-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene F. Ware

President Roosevelt asks Commissioner of Pensions Ware to comply with a request from the Grand Army of the Republic regarding actions taken by the Seattle Pension Board.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene F. Ware

President Roosevelt would like Commissioner of Pensions Ware to discuss the enclosure with Representative Victor Howard Metcalf.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-30