Stone, William Joel, 1848-1918

William Jennings Bryan, as a pope wearing robes and a tiara labeled “16 to 1,” sits on a throne on a low pedestal labeled “Kansas City Platform.” Two Swiss guards stand next to him. The one on the left is labeled “Jones,” and the other on the right is labeled “Stone.” Caption: But Democrats have lost faith in his infallibility.

comments and context

Comments and Context

As midterm elections loomed in 1902, William Jennings Bryan sought to assert his primacy in Democratic party councils. He had twice been beaten for the presidency, so his support — and support for his issues, for instance the bimetallic plank in the 1900 (Kansas City) platform — was vital. The vassals behind Bryan are two of his more loyal supporters: Senator James K. Jones of Arkansas was Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and William J. Stone (at the time a year away from being elected to the United States Senate from Missouri) was a contributor to Bryan’s magazine The Commoner. In 15 years’ time Stone would be one of six senators to vote against declaring war on Germany.

Theodore Roosevelt writes to William Alden Smith in response to a request to answer a few questions in front of “the Committee.” Roosevelt shares the opinion of Smith on the Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-02-26

Joseph Gurney Cannon recounts for J. S. Sherman his recent trip through Indiana with local Representative James E. Watson. Watson has recently returned from Missouri where he feels hopeful for the election of Frank B. Fulkerson and Cassius McLean Shartel, and recounts a political fight between Senator William Joel Stone and Governor Joseph Wingate Folk for the same seat. Watson went over the situation in Indiana as well, where demand for free hides like in Massachusetts are fueled by the independent press. Watson would like to take up President Roosevelt on his offer to write a letter on the matter. Cannon hopes the president will address the letter to Watson directly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-30

Richard (Rick) Marschall finds much to admire in J. Lee Thompson’s Never Call Retreat: Theodore Roosevelt and the Great War, especially the book’s fairness in dealing with Germany and its allies and in pointing out the shortcomings and extremity of some of Theodore Roosevelt’s wartime positions. Marschall finds it refreshing that Thompson does not shy away from criticizing Woodrow Wilson and validating some of Roosevelt’s assertions against his opponent, and he notes that Wilson is often given preferential treatment by historians. Marschall places Thompson’s work in the context of other treatments of this time period of Roosevelt’s life, and he admonishes Thompson for failing to adequately summarize his findings and for flawed writing.

The book’s cover and three political cartoons from Marschall’s collection supplement the text.

 

Following a number of legislative items, including voting on an amendment to a bill and a motion to investigate participation in international expositions, Senator Robert M. La Follette delivers a speech beginning with proposed tariff reciprocity with Canada, but quickly turning to his view that President William H. Taft has abandoned his campaign promises to continue the progressive policies of his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt. La Follette excoriates Taft on his stances on taxes and conservation, among other issues.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-15

President Roosevelt forwards to Postmaster General Meyer a letter written by Senator William Joel Stone. Roosevelt characterizes the letter as representing one of the “get-rich-quick concerns” in which Stone is said to have taken part. He reminds Meyer that at one time it was alleged that Stone could have been indicted in connection with the “baking powder legislative bribery charges.” Roosevelt instructs Meyer not to change what his predecessor ordered in the Stone matter without bringing it to Roosevelt’s attention.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1907-03-07

Theodore Roosevelt speaks out about “the Hun within our gates”, or German Americans he says are helping Germany from within the United States. Roosevelt says the term Hun was attributed to the German forces by William II himself and that it matches the atrocities committed by the German military in Europe and Asia. He gives examples of the Huns within our gates, particularly pacifists, and compares them to the “Copperheads” of the Civil War era. He calls for all Americans, regardless of ethnic origins, to unite under one flag and one language.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1917-09-27

Handwritten draft of Theodore Roosevelt’s lecture at Princeton. Roosevelt compares the ethics of a nation to ethics on an individual level. He calls for a balance between taking care of oneself (or nation) and paying one’s duty to others (at an international level). He points to Germany’s actions during the first World War as an extreme example of caring only for the individual. Roosevelt discusses the current state of the American military and the war with Germany, including reports from the government and newspapers. He presents a list of America’s shortcomings in not being prepared for the war and advises the young university men to learn from the lessons of the past and become leaders in the future.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1917-11-16

In his lecture at Princeton, Theodore Roosevelt compares the ethics of a nation to ethics on an individual level. He calls for a balance between taking care of oneself (or nation) and paying one’s duty to others (at an international level). He points to Germany’s actions during the first World War as an extreme example of caring only for the individual. Roosevelt discusses the current state of the American military and the war with Germany, including reports from the government and newspapers. He presents a list of America’s shortcomings in not being prepared for the war and advises the young university men to learn from the lessons of the past and become leaders in the future.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1917-11-16

Print shows William Jennings Bryan wearing a plumed hat labeled “1900” and riding on a rocking horse labeled “Presidential Aspirations,” leading a small army, among whom are William Joel Stone, James K. Jones, James Stephen Hogg (carrying a blunderbuss labeled “Anti-Expansionist”), and Benjamin R. Tillman, as well as a “Silver Republican” and a “Populist,” while others carry flags labeled “Anti-Trust” and “Free Silver.” They have emerged from a fortress labeled “16 to 1” and are following a rocky road, with some rocks labeled “1896,” toward a fortress topped with the White House. Caption: The same old cry in the same old place.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1899-11-15

William Jennings Bryan as Orpheus, singing and playing a lyre labeled “Harmony,” attracts a motley group of wild animals identified as: G. Gray, Kern, Folk, Gompers, McCarren, Mitchell, Hearst, Guffey, Watterson, Stone, Eliot, Williams, T. Johnson, Belmont, Sullivan, Pulitzer, Conners, Ryan, Parker, Murphy, and Johnson. One unidentified animal, similar to Williams, sits in a large tree, crawling through the branches above Bryan. Caption: Orpheus Bryan and the Democratic beasts.

comments and context

Comments and Context

Orpheus was not in the underworld, but cartoonist Udo J. Keppler made the dismal swamp seem almost as pleasant in this loosely constructed allegory. The portly and unheroic-looking William Jennings Bryan had a heroic task, nonetheless, to tame the various and potentially deadly creatures.

James Sullivan Clarkson reports to President Roosevelt about attorney Joseph Wingate Folk’s successes in prosecuting cases in the Missouri “boodle” trials. According to Clarkson’s friend Joseph L. Hanley, the Snyder case, the Butler case, and the case involving the confidential secretary of the governor who was indicted for naturalization frauds, are all before the Supreme Court of Missouri. Clarkson will send a thorough report to William Loeb in the morning.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-04

W. K. Currie invites Vice President Roosevelt to speak at a “Politico-Chautauqua” to be held in Mount Ayr, Iowa, in October.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-02