Your TR Source
President Roosevelt tells George Thompson, owner of the St. Paul Dispatch, that he does not wish to write an open letter, as he has not seen anything that would warrant such an action from him. Roosevelt believes his public speeches on issues such as the tariff speak for themselves.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-03
President Roosevelt chastises Norman Hapgood for his inability to answer when and to whom Roosevelt allegedly spoke to, allegedly “telling them something and then later denying the statement.” Hapgood deliberately misunderstood William Loeb’s request for this information, and Roosevelt believes that Hapgood wrote this statement knowing it was false.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-29
President Roosevelt writes to Melville Elijah Stone because he has heard a rumor that Elmer E. Paine is to be replaced as a reporter at the White House because of his truthful reporting on the “Mrs. Morris affair.” Roosevelt defends Paine and his reporting and makes it known that he “should feel in the strongest way his change under these circumstances.” Roosevelt feels that Paine’s removal would signal that reporters should not report the truth and does not want them to be punished for being honest.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-08
President Roosevelt appreciated receiving the letter from William Dudley Foulke, and took the liberty of forwarding it to Lyman Abbott of the Outlook. Roosevelt expects to be criticized by papers such as the Evening Post, Times, and others, but believes that the Outlook is working towards the same goals as he is, and was disappointed by the lack of support.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-25
President Roosevelt likes George M. Dillard’s offer of hunting turkeys from horseback, but he will have to wait to do so until his term of office has expired. He wants to hunt as a private gentleman, but the newspapers will not let him do so while he is president.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-12
President Roosevelt thanks Senator Patterson for his courtesy, but declines his request to allow a reporter to accompany him on his Colorado hunting trip. Roosevelt feels he could not allow one reporter to accompany him without allowing many others to come as well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-04-14
Robert Bridges of Scribners informed President Roosevelt that he spoke with Charles D. Lanier of the Review of Reviews about Roosevelt writing an article about his upcoming hunting trip. Roosevelt reiterates for Albert Shaw, editor of the Review of Reviews, that he does not want anything about his hunting trip published. The article in question is supposed to be only about Roosevelt’s life at Oyster Bay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-22
President Roosevelt thanks S. C. Mead for sending him the letter by George L. Duval. Roosevelt has not seen the editorial that Mead references, but if it is written by Charles Ransom Miller of the New York Times, Miller is “a liar pure and simple,” and it is not worth paying attention to what he says.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-21
President Roosevelt thanks Upton S. Jefferys, editor of the Camden Post-Telegram, how much he enjoyed the editorial describing his wife and family at his recent inauguration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-13
President Roosevelt likes Albert Shaw’s proposal for an article in The Country Calendar, and encourages him to write the article himself from Alexander Lambert’s notes. Shaw can use any of Philip Battell Stewart’s photos not needed by Scribner’s. Roosevelt asks that the article be confined to his “country life” at Oyster Bay, as he is writing an article about the hunt in question for Scribner’s himself.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-18
President Roosevelt informs Senator Patterson that, while he knows Patterson did not leak information about him visiting the Denver Chamber of Commerce to the press, he would like to emphasize that there are many different considerations to make before he can definitively accept the invitation to attend the banquet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-13
President Roosevelt thanks Barrett Wendell for his article which appeared in French in the journal Revue Politique et Parlementaire. In a handwritten postscript, Roosevelt expands on his reasons for liking the article.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-03-06
President Roosevelt enjoyed Barrett Wendell’s article. In a handwritten note, Roosevelt invites Wendell to dine at the White House.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-25
President Roosevelt explains his frustrations with the Boston Herald to Edwin B. Haskell, noting that Otto Carmichael’s story about the “alleged cruelty to the turkey” is a malicious invention. Had the dispatch not attacked Roosevelt’s children, he might not have paid it any more heed than the other false dispatches. However, the dispatch about the turkey was clearly a lie and involved his children. Therefore, Roosevelt will continue to ban Boston Herald reporters to the White House until the newspapers states “authoritatively” the story in question is “absolutely false.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-10
President Roosevelt fundamentally agrees with Henry S. Pritchett and James Ford Rhodes about the Southern question. Although Roosevelt believes it is unwise and impractical to repeal the Fifteenth Amendment now, he does agree it should not have been passed in the first place. The president can also agree with Pritchett and Rhodes that Congress should not press for active enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment; however, it cannot go too far with Mississippi Senator John Sharp Williams having more power than Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon. Roosevelt believes Southern states cannot enforce the laws themselves because they are trying to readopt slavery through peonage. Additionally, Southerners demand the exclusion of African Americans from offices, although Southerners have approved of Roosevelt’s choices for offices in the South on the whole even though the president has appointed some African Americans. Roosevelt insists he has tried Pritchett’s course of action, but it has not worked because the South has not met him even halfway. The president believes cooperation depends on Southerners, and the difficulty will vanish when they “quit lying.” Finally, Roosevelt says he has not observed outside criticism of the South and asks Pritchett how Congress needs to respond since it has not controlled the South. Roosevelt concludes by asking for one specific thing he is doing wrong, as he wants to learn.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-14
President Roosevelt writes to Lyman Abbott, editor of The Outlook, to tell him how much he appreciated some commentary on his presidential campaign that had recently been published. The article accurately stated Roosevelt’s views on a number of positions, and described Roosevelt’s motivations better than he could have done himself. If Roosevelt is victorious in the election, he wants Abbott to come spend a night at the White House.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-29
President Roosevelt enjoyed Lebowich’s article, and wishes he had been amongst the Harvard men in Roosevelt’s regiment. Roosevelt agrees with Lebowich that he attempts to treat Jews and Catholics as he does Protestants; Roosevelt believes that in the future there will inevitably be Jewish and Catholic presidents and, thus, hopes that he treats them as he would want to be treated by a Jewish or Catholic president, i.e., “without regards to the several creeds which they profess or the several lands from which their ancestors have sprung.” Roosevelt tries not to be patronizing or condescending, and appreciates that Lebowich noticed that.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-15
Theodore Roosevelt writes to Charles S. Mellen, President of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, that he would never make such a statement near election time.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-11
President Roosevelt thinks it is extraordinary that the Brooklyn Daily Eagle is not supporting him considering their recent editorial.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-12
President Roosevelt addresses the quotes used by the Democrats against him, claiming one is fake and the other taken out of context.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-29