Perkins, George W. (George Walbridge), 1862-1920

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Chester H. Rowell

Theodore Roosevelt expresses his admiration of Chester H. Rowell and says he suggested Rowell as a candidate for chairman of the Progressive Party’s national committee. However, the general feeling favored a candidate from the geographic center of the country. Roosevelt agrees that the reaction against the Progressive Party was temporary, a “stomach vote.” He says there are many opinions on the future of the party and that he has received contradictory advice ranging from continuing the fight to rejoining the Republican Party. He does not want to abandon “forward movement” through the Progressive Party, but admits it is currently impossible in many areas of the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Meyer Lissner

Theodore Roosevelt comments on the future of the Progressive Party; a party of “sane radicalism, sane progress.” He agrees that Victor Murdock or Raymond Robins should lead the party as they represent the practical politics and western strength of the Progressives. The conservative reaction hurt the party in 1914 as businessmen were not willing to follow George W. Perkins and were “savage” against Amos Pinchot types. Roosevelt believes they should have emphasized the party’s economic program and opposition to President Wilson. He concludes by defending Perkins’s work, funding, and leadership of the party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edwin A. Van Valkenburg

Theodore Roosevelt comments on the defeat of the Progressive Party and the outcome of a recent meeting of party leaders. He notes that William Allen White and Chester H. Rowell were allowed to lead the discussion and determine the party’s public platform. He wished that George W. Perkins had intervened, to reassert that the party is still committed to the progressive principles it stood for in 1912.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

Ira Copley has convinced Theodore Roosevelt that shifting party headquarters is not a good idea. Roosevelt tells William Allen White that he now agrees that the best course of action is to “sit tight,” and that they do not want people to think that there is a row within the party. Roosevelt wishes to see White soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Milliken Parker

Theodore Roosevelt would like to have a personal talk with John Milliken Parker. Parker’s role in the fight was more extraordinary than Hiram Johnson’s.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Gifford Pinchot

Theodore Roosevelt responds to letters from Gifford and Amos Pinchot advocating for the removal of George W. Perkins as a leader of the Progressive Party. He understood these letters as requesting for Perkins’s removal from the party and by extension businessmen similar to Perkins. Roosevelt disagrees with Pinchot’s view and believes that the big businessmen can have a role in the party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis J. Heney

Theodore Roosevelt relitigates the circumstances surrounding the language and inclusion of the trust plank in the Progressive Party platform. Roosevelt states that he is planning to propose Francis J. Heney as Meyer Lissner’s proxy on the executive committee of the Progressive Party and expresses frustration about the tension between the moderate and radical wings of the party leading to dysfunction.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George L. Record

Theodore Roosevelt summarizes his memory of the decision making process regarding certain lines in the trust plank of the Progressive Party platform at the National Progressive Convention. There has been controversy over George W. Perkins’s role in the matter, but Roosevelt was never presented with evidence that Perkins acted dishonestly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt wishes he could go see Kermit Roosevelt, but does not feel that he can leave at the moment. He is working to keep the Progressive Party together. He is to give an address for the American Historical Association and will send it to Kermit. Roosevelt informs his son that Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt is not well, but believes she will be better. Roosevelt’s other children are doing well. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Amos Pinchot

Theodore Roosevelt writes Amos Pinchot to discuss his continued support for George W. Perkins to remain a figure in the Progressive Party and warns against rooting out moderates from the party for the sake of maintaining the purity of ideals. Roosevelt also pushes back against the idea that breaking down trusts would improve the cost of living, and lays out what happened regarding the trust plank of the Progressive Party’s 1912 platform. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William L. Ransom

Theodore Roosevelt is concerned about William L. Ransom, who is sick with typhoid. Roosevelt wants Ransom to meet with George W. Perkins and William H. Hotchkiss when he is better.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry F. Cochems

Theodore Roosevelt is pleased to receive the information about the Wisconsin voting results that Henry F. Cochems sent. Roosevelt then explains that he believes it was a mistake a paragraph was taken out of the plank dealing with the trust question. He condemns the Milwaukee Free Press as an “utterly unscrupulous and mendacious opponent” and attempting to cause mischief in the Progressive Party. He informs Cochems that they need to be careful regarding fighting in the Progressive Party, especially about George W. Perkins. He encloses a marked copy of his about Woodrow Wilson.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to J. Franklin Fort

Theodore Roosevelt thanks the New Jersey Progressive State Committee and the County chairman for their resolution through Governor Fort. Roosevelt tells Fort privately that he does not want anyone attacking George W. Perkins.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Meyer Lissner

Theodore Roosevelt sends Meyer Lissner a copy of a letter Roosevelt sent Gifford Pinchot. Roosevelt is concerned about fighting within the Progressive Party and the effect it will have on the permanency of the Progressive Party. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

Theodore Roosevelt has written to Governor Stubbs and Representative Murdock regarding the election. He hopes that Senator Bristow will run for reelection as a Progressive. Roosevelt believes that it would be a calamity to try and remove George W. Perkins from the party and encloses a letter he wrote Gifford Pinchot on the subject.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles Edward Merriam

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Charles Edward Merriam for his work in the campaign and responds to Merriam’s observations about the Progressive Party. While he agrees with Merriam on social and industrial justice programs, the Progressives need to make sure not to “overpaint things” and appear insincere. He thinks the process for making the Progressive Party permanent should be by working with the rank and file of parties rather than with party bosses. Finally, while he does not believe that George W. Perkins should be called the “official and technical spokesman, the philosopher and exponent of progressive principles,” Perkins’ organizing power is a key part of the Progressive Party and their campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt has already written to William H. Taft about the matter concerning George Rumsey Sheldon, and cannot understand George W. Perkins’s objection to him. Roosevelt agrees with Taft’s conduct regarding contributions to his campaign. He has been looking over William Jennings Bryan’s campaign platform, and will write Taft a letter about it soon. Roosevelt also sends a letter from Lyman Abbott, and asks if there is anything he can do in the weeks following Taft’s speech. He agrees with Taft’s actions in the matter concerning James A. Hemenway. It appears that Bryan will base his presidential bid in the states in the Mississippi River Valley, and Roosevelt advises Taft to pick a vice presidential nominee who could help him in this region.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Wayne MacVeagh

President Roosevelt believes that the best thing to do is remain quiet about any controversy regarding campaign funds. He tells Wayne MacVeagh that he has never accepted funds if he knows that the donor expects favors in return. However, he believes that there is no good way of deciding whether to return contributions, or which ones to return. He also expresses concern about the current state of Federal supervision of insurance companies but does not see a way out of it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lincoln Steffens

President Roosevelt responds to Lincoln Steffens message saying that he should return the money that insurance companies and other corporations gave to the Republican funds which were seeking national legislation. He advises Steffens of the impossibility and impracticality of this, and assures him that, while he believes Congress should make an act regarding the funding of campaigns, there was nothing improper about his campaign’s use of funds. Roosevelt himself did not know many of the entities who gave to his campaign, and outside of three signed photographs, he did not give favors to any of those whom he did know.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elbert F. Baldwin

President Roosevelt takes issue with the way that certain newspapers, including the New York Times, New York Evening Post, and New York World, report on the issue of campaign funds in the last election. Roosevelt assures Elbert F. Baldwin that he has never offered favors to those who have given large sums of money to his campaigns, and that he was unaware that several corporations had donated. He also discusses whom he can trust regarding the situation between Russia and Japan. He encloses a very rough draft of his upcoming message and asks Baldwin and Lyman Abbott to make suggestions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-20