Political corruption

Memorandum regarding Ormsby McHarg

Acting Governor of New Mexico James W. Raynolds reports that Ormsby McHarg, United States Special Assistant Attorney General, and his representative Ernest P. Holcombe arrived in New Mexico and informed him that he was there to investigate acts of territorial officials, though he did not present any credentials to prove he was indeed an official of the United States. McHarg stated that he would appear in the court case of Holm Olaf Bursum, the former superintendent of prisons. In the process of relaying his intentions, McHarg threatened to involve the Department of Justice, President Roosevelt, and the press, if his demands were not met. In this and subsequent communications, McHarg accused the territorial attorney general and other officials of incompetence, ignorance of the law, and corruption. Though McHarg insisted all his communications be treated as confidential, a story appeared in the press which seems to have been planted by him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-13

Editorials from The Argonaut

A collection of editorials by Alfred H. Holman in The Argonaut covers politics and industrial topics in the San Francisco Bay area. Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz is on trial and control of mayoral power lies in the balance. Strikes affecting streetcar and telephone service are losing steam, with employers claiming that the unions are acting in bad faith. The involvement of Rudolph Spreckels and Patrick Calhoun in the prosecution of Schmitz is examined. Holman has little faith in the industrial conciliation meeting to be held in San Francisco. Holman also makes recommendations regarding fire safety and railroad management.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Seth Low

President Roosevelt asks Seth Low to give the enclosed letter to the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Abbot Low Mills. Roosevelt says that the situation in Oregon justifies extreme measures, and believes United States Marshal Walter F. Matthews will have to be removed from office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-24

Delaware Republican Platfrom

The Delaware Republican Platform endorses Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to national and foreign affairs, his opposition to corruption, and every high value that he represents. Delegates are instructed to use all honorable means to bring about his nomination for president.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-04-21

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge discusses introducing Rodolphe Louis Agassiz to the Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. Lodge also mentions that Inspector Arthur Tinker from Boston is being investigated. Lodge attests to his character and asks Roosevelt to review the case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-31

Pose as party dictators

Newspaper article warning that representatives of the Southern Pacific Company are seeking to influence the California delegation to the Republican National Convention in opposition to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-10

Resentment that causes suspicion

Newspaper article warning that unnamed Congressmen should not attempt to persecute Joseph L. Bristow. Bristow’s report showed these men as accomplices to “postoffice thievery” and the public supports Bristow as a champion of honesty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-11

Letter from W. P. Brown to Theodore Roosevelt

W. P. Brown writes to President Roosevelt about Kansas City officeholders threatening him over votes for delegates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-14

Letter from Thomas H. Carter to William Loeb

Thomas Carter asks William Loeb to relay to President Roosevelt that his appointment of William N. Smead as agent of the Flathead Indians was a mistake. Carter believes that Smead has used his position for personal gain, has generated much anger in the Flathead Indian community, and should be removed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-05

Partial pages of The Des Moines Daily Capital

The Des Moines Daily Capital reports on the Polk County Republican convention in Iowa on Saturday. After reports on corruption in the vote counting process in favor of S. F. Prouty, John A. T. Hull was given the nomination for the House of Representatives. In addition to nominating Hull, the convention named delegates to the state convention and issued a resolution calling for a reform of the primary voting process, expressing support for President Roosevelt’s renomination, and commitment to the Republican platform. A second article contains an allegory about a young politician who lost a race and learned that he should not “squeal.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-07

Letter from Samuel M. Jones to Theodore Roosevelt

Samuel Milton Jones encloses a clipping from the Toledo Times that raises questions of the morality of the practice of “grafting.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-02

Letter from Booker T. Washington to Theodore Roosevelt

Booker T. Washington requests that nothing be done by President Roosevelt that will disturb the present authority of Edgar S. Wilson. If it is thought best that anyone share Wilson’s authority, Washington asks that Wilson be consulted as he is “brave, prudent and thoroughly loyal.” Washington warns against giving encouragement to James Hill, as he feels the “corrupt” politician will undo Southern politics.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-01-23

Letter from Cecil Andrew Lyon to Theodore Roosevelt

Cecil Andrew Lyon encloses a circular about an attack on him and asks President Roosevelt to read it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-24

Letter from John Campbell to Theodore Roosevelt

John Campbell reports that Colorado’s delegation will support President Roosevelt at the Republican National Convention. He comments on the recent resignation of Colorado’s former U. S. Representative John F. Shafroth.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-16

The fall of the house of Albaugh

William Allen White offers his views on recent events in Kansas politics. White finds the Republican party at present to be in better condition than at any time in a dozen or more years because it is now without factions or cliques. He credits the change to a “head-on collision” comprised of the mutually timed withdrawal of Governor Willis Joshua Bailey, “a good man,” and the indictment of Senator Joseph Ralph Burton, “a bad man.” He speculates on the future of the party, predicting a shift from the “House of Albaugh” to the “House of Hoch.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02

Speech of Colonel Theodore Roosevelt at first annual Pennsylvania state conference

Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, delivered on March 13, 1913, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discusses the necessity for and organization of the Progressive Party. Roosevelt particularly highlights the Progressive Service before addressing issues of the progressive platform.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1913-03

Letter from James A. Edgar

James A. Edgar writes a form letter, announcing an upcoming meeting of the Progressive Party and highlighting the party’s importance and platform on various issues including women’s suffrage and capital punishment.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1915-08-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Harry Munro Ferguson

After receiving Robert Harry Munro Ferguson’s letter, Theodore Roosevelt wrote to David Goodrich and strongly stated the case. He also wrote to Major Llewellyn about corruption in the election of United States senators. The political situation is “very much mixed” and Roosevelt believes it would be a calamity if he was nominated as a presidential candidate. He does not believe he will be nominated but if there is a “genuine popular movement” he will not be able to decline.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1912-01-12

Home again

Black ink cartoon of President Roosevelt returning from a hunt with animal skins on his back. He is looking at a steam vent labeled “Washington” which has popped its lid because of the pressure. Men are struggling in the vent with steam bursts labeled “Loomis-Bowen Scandal,” “Santa Fe Rebate Suits,” “Panama R.R. Rates,” and “Castro’s Defiance.” Seated on top of the lid is Secretary of War Taft with devil’s horns.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Creation Date

1905-05-13

Witnesses swear Fagin interfered with the primary

Report of a fight that occurred outside the Precinct E polling center in the Fourth Ward in Cincinnati involving U.S. Marshal Vivian J. Fagin, his supporters, and his political opponents and their supporters. Fagin and a young man named Thomas allegedly beat a man who tried to vote for his opponent. Fagin has been arrested and denies the charges against him. To prevent further unrest, officers in the ward have been instructed to use their nightsticks to administer “practical justice.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906