Your TR Source
This memorandum describes the candidacy of Oscar R. Hundley for appointment as judge to various openings in Alabama. Hundley’s numerous endorsers are listed. Objections to his appointment are discussed, along with Hundley’s responses.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-08
Two Alabama patronage referees, Joseph O. Thompson and Charles H. Scott, want to replace Deputy Marshal Alfred B. Colquitt with a Republican. Judge Thomas Goode Jones argues against this action and declares that “no officer of his court should be removed because of his politics.” Thompson and Scott plan to see United States Marshal Leander J. Bryan on the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-28
President Roosevelt has spoken with many members of the Republican National Committee, and plans to speak with several more. Roosevelt also asks Augustus Peabody Gardner to seek assurances from still other members of the Committee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-10
President Roosevelt believes that he should remove at least Charles H. Scott as a referee, and asks if Judge Jones can suggest any “really first-class upright Republicans” from Alabama whom he could consult. The Democratic delegation in Congress is divided over whether to approve Erastus J. Parsons as District Attorney.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-08
President Roosevelt has informed Charles H. Scott that he intends to follow Judge Jones’s recommendation for U.S. Marshal in Alabama. Scott requested that Jones have a conference with himself and Joseph O. Thompson about the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-24
President Roosevelt is unsure of what to do about William Frye Tebbetts, recently appointed Customs Collector in Mobile, Alabama. Roosevelt is concerned about how he has behaved toward African Americans based on comments from Booker T. Washington. Roosevelt informs President pro tempore of the Senate Frye he needs to know that Tebbetts will give all people—white or black—a square deal. Otherwise, Tebbetts cannot keep the position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-22
Oscar R. Hundley appreciates the opportunity to write frankly to William Loeb, and says that he does not have any intention of giving Charles H. Scott a recommendation. Scott was elected as a delegate to the Alabama state convention by both administration and anti-administration forces, and chose to attend the anti-administration convention in spite of the work done for him by the administration forces to elect him national committeeman. Hundley also talks about his conflict with Judge Thomas Goode Jones, and how this relates to the proceedings of the anti-administration forces in Alabama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-11
Booker T. Washington waited several days before responding to William Loeb because he wanted to study the situation. The question that is troubling him regards Charles H. Scott and his dislike of Frank H. Hitchcock. It is important to have his vote and influence in the National Committee, but Washington suspects that Scott will try to act against Hitchcock and thereby against Secretary of War William H. Taft’s candidacy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-24
Joseph O. Thompson writes to William Loeb regarding politics in Alabama, as he did not get a chance to speak with Loeb before leaving Washington, D.C. He explains his motives for remaining aligned with Charles H. Scott, in spite of the push to break with him, because of the likely confusion it would cause at the state convention. He feels that he is acting in a way that will bring Secretary of War William H. Taft victory, and says that he will use all honorable means to bring about Taft’s success, since President Roosevelt refuses to run for another term.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-24
Booker T. Washington updates William Loeb on matters in Alabama, including several upcoming meetings he has scheduled, as well as the fact that the state committee in Birmingham, Alabama, endorsed President Roosevelt and Secretary of War William H. Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-22
Booker T. Washington requests that nothing be done in Alabama to disrupt Tuskegee Postmaster Joseph O. Thompson’s authority without his consent. Thompson has been working out the situation and currently has it under control. If the conflict between Thompson and Charles H. Scott cannot be resolved, Scott should be given a position out of state, as it is imperative that Thompson’s influence over the Alabama State Committee be maintained.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-07
Assistant Attorney General Cooley has read and returns Booker T. Washington’s letter about the political situation in Alabama. He believes that Charles H. Scott should be kept in line until the Republican National Convention, and is happy to use whatever influence he has with him to get him to change his demands. Both Scott and Joseph O. Thompson are beholden to the Roosevelt Administration for their influence in Alabama, thus it should be possible to achieve the arrangement President Roosevelt wants. Cooley wishes that Scott and others who supported Secretary of War William H. Taft before Roosevelt’s declaration would understand that Assistant Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock is not against them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-06
Arthur I. Vorys’s friend urges him to communicate with Charles H. Scott in Alabama regarding Secretary of War William H. Taft’s campaign for the presidency. Vorys asks William Loeb to confirm Scott’s association with President Roosevelt and asks for any information about him. Thus far, the campaign has tried to “keep hands off of the Southern states.” Before pursuing leads in the South, Vorys wants to know who is friendly to Roosevelt’s administration and requests a list of such individuals.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-13
Secretary of War Taft acknowledges receipt of William Loeb’s letter and the enclosures. Taft returns the envelope marked “Boss Loeb” and teases that people are “getting on to” the power that Loeb wields. Taft lists the members of the Republican National Committee about whom his presidential campaign wants to know more. He is interested in what will happen in regards to the New York Post Office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-09
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on several matters before him. Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley has been investigating the situation in Alabama, where Bonaparte deems it necessary for Roosevelt to “call down” several politicians who are complicating judicial confirmations and the workings of the attorney general’s office with concerns over political patronage. In Arkansas, Cooley reports that there are many well qualified men to replace Assistant District Attorney Ulysses S. Bratton, who has been involved in improper conduct in a case involving postal inspectors. Bonaparte has recently met with Census Director S. N. D. North and explains the problems he has encountered with obtaining an accurate census of Oklahoma Territory, resulting in problems with representation of citizens there, and makes recommendations to solve the problem. Bonaparte has requested summaries for the injunction regarding the picketing of the Allis Chalmers company in Wisconsin, and is appointing a special counsel to take charge of litigation against a prominent official there. Bonaparte is ready to move against the Tobacco Trust and James Buchanan Duke.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-18
Joseph Oswalt Thompson encloses a letter from Captain Scott and discusses the heavily-publicized appointment of Leander J. Bryan to the United States Marshals office by Judge Jones.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-10
Eugene F. Ware writes William Loeb concerning matters in Alabama. Ware inquires whether he is to be guided by the advice of Joseph Oswalt Thompson and Charles H. Scott. He notes that Scott is a businessman from New York and wonders if that qualifies him to be “one of the Referees for Alabama.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-22
Booker T. Washington tells William Loeb about district conventions in Alabama, where Joseph O. Thompson and Charles H. Scott have been endorsed. Washington feels that Scott is opposed to Frank H. Hitchcock, and may be antagonistic to Secretary of War William H. Taft’s candidacy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-24
James Sullivan Clarkson requests that President Roosevelt meet with Revenue Collector Thompson and Captain Charles H. Scott as they can provide good advice relating to Republican support in Alabama in the upcoming election. Clarkson informs Roosevelt that these men wish to support Roosevelt and not those who tried to set up the “Lily White Republican Party” in Alabama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-09-17