Your TR Source
President Roosevelt explains that Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte has agreed to advise four months imprisonment for James L. Bradford if the petitioner made changes to satisfy the Department of Justice. Roosevelt encloses a letter from Bradford to Louisiana Eastern District Attorney William Wirt Howe that Roosevelt understands fulfills the requirement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-31
President Roosevelt orders the United States Department of Justice to have a special representative of the department look into the case of Henry G. Goll. Roosevelt is not satisfied with the case as Goll received the same sentence as Frank G. Bigelow despite being a mere tool in Roosevelt’s estimation and not personally profiting from the crime. Roosevelt has been informed by Senator Robert M. La Follette that the retiring and incoming state’s attorneys wish to use Goll’s evidence to prosecute wealthy criminals. Roosevelt believes that it is his duty to pardon Goll so that he may be used as state’s evidence in future investigations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-02
President Roosevelt received the letter of the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee through Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, and responds to their appeal on behalf of a group of Navajo, led by Ba’álílee, who are currently imprisoned for their actions attacking United States soldiers on Navajo land. Roosevelt defends the actions that Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis Henry Leupp took in this case, and gives him the benefit of the doubt in regards to a recent speech that Leupp made. Roosevelt has had charges made against Leupp investigated, and never found merit to any of them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-29
President Roosevelt has not yet looked into the matter that Arthur B. Farquhar mentioned. At present, Roosevelt feels that the sentence given to Samuel Gompers is excessive, just as the fine given to the Standard Oil Company was excessive. Currently, however, there is nothing that he can do regarding either case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-26
President Roosevelt cannot act on the case until receiving the report from the District Attorney and Judge. Roosevelt is reluctant to extend a pardon, as the usual practice in similar cases is to commute the sentence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-09-12
Vice President Roosevelt details his feelings about the attempted assassination of President McKinley. He is confident that the President will recover. Alice and Quentin Roosevelt were both recently admitted to the hospital with different illnesses. Roosevelt had an interesting time on trips to the Midwest and Vermont.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-09
President McKinley is recovering nicely after being shot in an attempted assassination. The “hideous” thing about the incident is that the perpetrator will likely not receive a sentence longer then ten years. Vice President Roosevelt views the greater crime as against the republic and free government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-07
Richard L. Bogart writes to Theodore Roosevelt on behalf of a man he recently learned of who currently sits on death row in Springfield, Missouri. The man had a chance to escape prison recently, but refused. Bogart has written to a number of people on this man’s behalf to try to get his sentence commuted, and includes Roosevelt in this in the hope that he may be able to help.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-11
Attorney General Bonaparte wishes President Roosevelt a merry Christmas, and offers his opinion about how to proceed regarding the recent sentencing of Samuel Gompers. While Roosevelt has the power to pardon Gompers, Bonaparte says that to do so would be inappropriate while an appeal is pending, and so any requests for Roosevelt to pardon Gompers at this point would be premature. Bonaparte remarks confidentially that from his current understanding of the case, the sentences imposed by Judge Daniel Thew Wright are much too severe, even though he does not hold any sympathy for Gompers’s case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-25
Governor General of the Philippines Wright responds to Secretary of War Taft’s telegram saying that Dorr and O’Brien are serving their sentences in Bilibid, and although they petitioned for pardon, Wright denied it because “the libel was gross and was part of policy of attack on Filipino Commissioners in particular and policy of the government generally in employing Filipinos.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-01
James H. Blount discusses sentencing criminals in the Philippines, including sentencing sixteen men to death. His experiences have led him to think that penal servitude may be “unrighteous.” Blount also enjoyed reading Theodore Roosevelt’s Winning of the West and met Luther S. “Yellowstone” Kelly, an ex-scout and friend to Roosevelt. Blount recognizes that he is working in an outpost while also understanding the importance of his work.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-21
Reverend Van De Water asks President Roosevelt for help in lessening the sentence of Charles F. Chipp.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-01-09