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Rogers, Richard R. (Richard Reid), 1867-1949

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Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Joseph Bucklin Bishop informs President Roosevelt of a situation in the Panama Canal Zone beyond the scope of canal construction. Bishop describes how the executive order signed on November 17 virtually abolished the office of Governor and conferred power on the General Counsel, creating a bad situation in which General Counsel Richard Reid Rogers took advantage of his new power. When Secretary of War Taft visited in March, he issued a new executive order to address this situation, conferring the majority of government power on the chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission and acted on by the governor of the Panama Canal Zone, Joseph C.S. Blackburn. Bishop states that Blackburn is doing excellent work and is well-respected, unlike Rogers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-06

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Luke E. Wright

President Roosevelt instructs Secretary of War Wright to publicly issue orders to the Isthmian Canal Commission, War Department, and all their subsidiaries that Archer should not be employed to make any kind of purchase on their behalf. An investigation revealed that Archer is “an absolute scoundrel” who is alleging to outsiders that only he can get ships taken. Roosevelt also would like all members of the Isthmian Canal Commissions and all employees dealing with the War Department to be specifically asked if they currently are or ever have been in communication with Archer. Roosevelt would also like to find out if the Commission members or Mr. Rodgers had knowledge of the excessive price paid in 1905 for two Cromwell ships.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

President Roosevelt thanks Secretary to the Isthmian Canal Commission Bishop for updating him on the situation in Panama and agrees with the policy changes Bishop has suggested. Without knowing exactly to whom General Counsel Richard R. Rogers allegedly made disparaging comments about his administration, Roosevelt is unwilling to take action against him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Copy of letter from William H. Taft to Jose Domingo de Obaldia

Copy of letter from William H. Taft to Jose Domingo de Obaldia

President-elect Taft advises President Obaldia of Panama that going forward with his country’s proposed government timber contract would be a critical mistake. If the deal proved to be good for the government and bad for the company that received the contract, there are insufficient safeguards in place to ensure the work is completed. If the timber is extremely profitable, the Panamanian government could find itself controlled by a private company. The United States would also be displeased to see another entity gain so much power in Panama. Taft shares this advice confidentially, and in an unofficial capacity. In a postscript, he assures Obaldia that he was not influenced by the “malignantly slanderous reports” on this topic in the American press, and he thanks Obaldia for the previous night’s “beautiful and magnificent entertainment.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-05

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to William Loeb

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to William Loeb

Senator Lodge does not want to open an inquiry into the dealings of Isthmian Canal Commission officials and the ship broker, Mr. Archer. However, Lodge notes that, even though there have been many inquiries into various members of the commission, none have been opened regarding E. A. Drake, the purchasing agent of the Panama Railroad, or Richard R. Rogers, the general counsel of the Panama Railroad.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-15

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

William H. Taft writes to President Roosevelt with a letter from Military Governor of the Panama Canal Zone Richard Reid Rogers requesting an investigative commission be formed on the tobacco issue in Kentucky, but Taft thinks it best to stay out of it. William Jennings Bryan is spreading incorrect information about Taft’s actions in the Philippines, and Taft plans to respond in a speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-15

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Joseph Bucklin Bishop, secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission, recounts the Congressional Appropriations Committee’s visit to the Panama Canal Zone and offers several suggestions for how to improve government operations in the Canal Zone. The committee members are enthusiastic about the project and were highly impressed by the abilities and knowledge of George W. Goethals, Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission, but were disappointed by Canal Zone Governor Joseph C. S. Blackburn’s abilities. Bishop candidly admits to feeling similarly about Blackburn and encourages President Roosevelt to send Goethals to speak before Congress on the proceedings of the Canal project instead. Bishop also discusses the General Counsel for the Canal Zone Richard R. Rogers, who had criticized the Commission’s operations in a way which demonstrated an intolerable ignorance of the situation and a disloyalty to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-13

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Letter from John F. Stevens to Theodore P. Shonts

Letter from John F. Stevens to Theodore P. Shonts

Chief Engineer John F. Stevens prefers Chief Counsel Richard Reid Rogers’s plan for financing the Panama Canal to that proposed by the engineer John Francis O’Rourke. Stevens cautions Panama Canal Commission Chairman Shonts that the Culebra Cut is “such a mix-up” that there will no doubt be complications in the construction project, and so they should avoid financing based on progress estimates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-02

Creator(s)

Stevens, John F. (John Frank), 1853-1943

Extract of a letter from Theodore P. Shonts to John F. Stevens

Extract of a letter from Theodore P. Shonts to John F. Stevens

Chairman Theodore P. Shonts informs Chief Engineer John F. Stevens that President Roosevelt approved of their plan for contracting the work on the Panama Canal, and Shonts will be going to La Malbaie, Québec, Canada, to confer with Secretary of War William H. Taft about it. Shonts and Richard Reid Rogers, the Canal Commission’s general counsel, are working on the request for proposals, and Shonts will send it to Stevens when it is ready for his input. Shonts also writes that they submitted the proposals for Chinese laborers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-22

Creator(s)

Shonts, Theodore P. (Theodore Perry), 1856-1919

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft updates President Roosevelt in his capacity as the head of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Taft feels that they should not create contracts for work on the canal without advertising. He has approved Theodore P. Shonts’s leave to travel home with his family from Europe, but not Shonts’s plan to see canals in Manchester or Europe in an official capacity because he is not an engineer and that would bring criticism on him. A rivalry has arisen between John F. Stevens and Charles E. Magoon, and now may be the time to reorganize the Canal commission and civil government and the relationship between the two. Taft looks forward to discussing this with Roosevelt on his return next month.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-17

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

President-Elect Taft tells President Roosevelt that he did not approve including money to buy two ships in the appropriation bill, and was surprised to find that provision in the bill. Taft approved the resolution passed by the Senate, which directed that everything being carried to Panama should be transported in American bottoms. The later form of the provision was passed during Taft’s absence, and he assumed that Congress intended to buy the two ships. Taft believes that Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s recollection of the matter may be better than his own.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-24

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930