Your TR Source
William Crawford Gorgas thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his actions to ensure the Sanitary Department and sanitation policy in the Panama Canal zone were not overthrown. The Sanitary Department is now being praised, but it would not have been possible without Roosevelt’s support in 1905.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-24
President Roosevelt seeks to call Senator Allison’s attention to the need for increased appropriations for education and support of Native Americans in Alaska, along with the support of the reindeer industry. Roosevelt briefly comments on the need for expanded actions by the Bureau of Education to promote sanitation and health in Native American villages. Roosevelt urges that congress provide the full appropriation that Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield has asked for.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-28
President Roosevelt has several suggestions for Chairman Shonts. While he only saw one or two unhygienic houses, “they were one or two too many,” and he wishes to avoid scandal. He proposes they should obtain some Chinese laborers. The black West Indian workers need a change in their conditions, particularly in their food and personal cleanliness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-27
President Roosevelt tells Dr. Gorgas the actions he should take about the poor conditions of the toilet in house 51 in Panama. Gorgas should provide temporary toilets and use his own initiative to have them built. Roosevelt has sent a copy of this letter to Isthmian Canal Commission Chairman Theodore P. Shonts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-27
Edward Lyman Munson sends Theodore Roosevelt a copy of his book The Principles of Sanitary Tactics, which the War Department approved as a guide.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-25
James G. McNary requests Theodore Roosevelt’s help in making Fort Bliss, Texas, a regimental garrison by speaking with Army Chief of Staff Leonard Wood and Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. McNary goes on to explain the history of the fort as well as its current potential for protecting American interests along the Mexican border.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-30
Millard F. Bowen has read Theodore Roosevelt’s recent article on the need to develop Alaska, but urges him to turn his gaze closer to home, as there are still a large number of cities that are in need of clean water and other sanitary improvements.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-27
Ernest Thompson Seton was glad to receive the latest news from Theodore Roosevelt’s hunt in Africa. Seton’s book on North American mammals came out earlier in November and has received good reviews. A copy is waiting for Roosevelt in New York. He offers a discussion about the relationship between monogamy and sanitation practices among mammals. He believes that monogamy is more beneficial and asks if Roosevelt can pay attention to any evidence of polygamous ruminants with sanitary practices. He also points out that lions are believed to be monogamous and asks Roosevelt to keep signs of monogamy in mind while collecting information about them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-11-29
The pail closets are never more than one-fourth full in the evening and they have not been missed by the night soil men.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-22
In response to Poultney Bigelow’s article on the conditions in Panama, the author denounces him as a “false witness,” asserting that official records testify contrary to Poultney’s twenty-one claims against the Canal Commission as further detailed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-30
Charles Edward Magoon writes to Secretary of State Root regarding recommendations for successors to his positions in Panama, since he will be transferred to the Philippines. He recommends Colonel William Crawford Gorgas for governor and commissioner and William F. Sands for minister. Given the circumstances of Panama, he believes that Gorgas should be given the dual appointment of governor and minister. However, if the positions are separated he recommends Sands. Magoon wishes to return to the United States prior to his transfer in order to handle his personal affairs and confer on his next position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-24
Surgeon General of the Navy, Presley Marion Rixey, writes to President Roosevelt while he is in transit to Honolulu with Governor Carter. The ship is half full because of the recent earthquake and fire in San Francisco, but Rixey is confident that the city will soon recover. Rixey also informs Roosevelt that he has studied the naval station at Yerba Buena and will be making a full report on needed sanitary reforms shortly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-29
Secretary of War Taft discusses plans for a new department of sanitation within the Philippine government. He informs President Roosevelt that they should install a weaker governor because they do not want him to interfere with the plans of Theodore P. Shonts or John F. Stevens.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-19
Secretary of State Root encloses two items for President Roosevelt concerning the island of Cuba.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-29
The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal’s waterway develops horsepower sold at a reasonable price and removes sewage. Whereas, in Buffalo, New York, sewage from the Niagara front pollutes Lake Erie and the Niagara River. The Erie and Ontario Sanitary Canal Company proposes building a waterway similar to Chicago. Millard F. Bowen, President of the Company, further discusses plans for the canal and its benefits. The final page includes a diagram of the proposed waterway.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-27
Poultney Bigelow compares the challenges Ferdinand de Lesseps faced constructing the Suez Canal to those of the Panama Canal. He argues that real-estate ownership among canal officials is responsible for the crowded, unsanitary conditions of Colon and that the government has failed in its administration of the canal zone.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09
Thomas Roberts Slicer would like to bring a report by Major Louis Livingston Seaman, a surgeon, to President Roosevelt’s attention, as it deals with observations Seaman made during the Russo-Japanese War concerning the efficiency and sanitation of battlefield hospitals. Slicer endorses Seaman’s character and knowledge, and would like for Roosevelt to meet with him to discuss the report and what can be done to improve sanitation in the United States Army. He also thanks Roosevelt for the actions he has taken in the case of Colonel Charles O. Shepard. Slicer plans to visit the White House soon, and would like to see Roosevelt for a few minutes, if possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-25
Father Knickerbocker, the symbolic figure of New York City, points to a notice of a proposal to raise a memorial fund for the family of Colonel George E. Waring Jr., head of New York City’s Sanitation Department. In the background, in an imaginary scene, a female figure places a laurel crown on a bust sculpture of Waring. Caption: Father Knickerbocker–Here is a splendid chance to show your appreciation of one who was a real benefactor of mankind.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1898-12-21
William Williams discusses filling laborer positions at Ellis Island and consultation with Matthew Linn Bruce. Williams recommends Street Cleaning Commissioner of New York John McGaw Woodbury for sanitary engineering work in Panama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-25
New York Mayor Seth Low sends a letter from Ernst J. Lederle to President Roosevelt. Low mentions that Lederle does not discuss the falling death rate but believes the drop is from the good work and cooperation of the departments of health, street cleaning, and tenement houses.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-08-03