Trials (Fraud)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Means Thompson

In response to Colonel Thompson’s letter and petition on behalf of Alfred H. Curtis, President of the National Bank of North America, President Roosevelt sends letters from Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and the District Attorney. Roosevelt believes that it is clear that Curtis is guilty and says that if Curtis were truly deceived by Charlie Morse, he would have no issue in testifying against him. Even though Curtis was vouched for by a number of different prominent men, Roosevelt says that this is evidence that these sorts of men tend to stick together because of business and social ties.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis J. Heney

President Roosevelt asks attorney Francis J. Heney if he can undertake the Idaho land fraud trial.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Partial newspaper

The Daily News covers Grand Jury disclosures in the land fraud case of Charles H. Moyer, Big Bill Haywood and George A. Pettibone. The disclosures seem to indicate a connection to the late Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg, as well as an anonymous message that was sent to Moyer, Haywood, and Pettibone’s attorney. Significant support of Moyer, Haywood, and Pettibone was also noted in a series of speeches made at the Coliseum protesting their incarnation. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-31

Creator(s)

The Daily News

Account of the legal case against S. A. Darnell, John A. Scott, and Sam Jefferson

Unknown author accounts the details of the tax evasion trial against S. A. Darnell Jr., John A. Scott, and Sam Jefferson which took place in Cherokee County, Georgia, in 1902.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-18

Creator(s)

Unknown

In the matter of the application for the pardon of Charles W. Morse.

President Taft rejects the application for clemency filed on behalf of Charles W. Morse, following the recommendations of the Attorney-General. In coming to this conclusion, Taft compares the case of Morse with the case of John R. Walsh, convicted for a similar–if less severe–crime.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-24

Creator(s)

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

Letter from A. H. Hedderly to Theodore Roosevelt

A. H. Hedderly is sending Theodore Roosevelt a brief that was prepared on his behalf in an Oregon land fraud case. He asks Roosevelt to read it and offer his opinion about whether Hedderly was justly held responsible in the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-02-23

Creator(s)

Hedderly, A. H. (Alfred Henry), 1855-1940

Memorandum for the Attorney General as to Inspector Neuhausen’s report on Mr. Bristol

Henry Martyn Hoyt summarizes a report on U.S. District Attorney William C. Bristol’s alleged involvement in the Oregon land fraud scandals. Hoyt concludes that were the government to continue to retain Bristol’s services, its position in the land fraud cases would be weakened. While there may be a scenario where all of Bristol’s actions were legitimate, the author finds Bristol’s position to be precarious.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-16

Creator(s)

Hoyt, Henry Martyn, 1857-1910

Letter from Francis J. Heney to Theodore Roosevelt

Oregon District Attorney Heney states Senators John H. Mitchell and Charles William Fulton entered into a conspiracy with former district attorney John Hicklin Hall. The senators agreed to procure the reappointment of Hall if Hall refrained from prosecuting George C. Brownell and James U. Campbell in the Oregon land fraud trials.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-17

Creator(s)

Heney, Francis J. (Francis Joseph), 1859-1937

Report on land fraud case

President Roosevelt’s administration responds to charges that the investigation of several land fraud cases is not being pursued with vigor by the Department of the Interior. The report denies these claims and presents details of indictments and convictions already achieved. A large number of parties attempted to defraud the government of public lands, and some of the cases are still underway, requiring secrecy until conviction of the guilty parties is achieved.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Nicholas Murray Butler to Theodore Roosevelt

Nicholas Murray Butler saw Attorney General Moody’s letter and believes that the “powers that be” in Oregon are influencing the choice of judge for the land fraud trials. Butler is glad that the attorney general is looking into the issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-03

Creator(s)

Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947

Telegram from Philander C. Knox to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Knox congratulates President Roosevelt on the silk fraud case verdict.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-27

Creator(s)

Knox, Philander C. (Philander Chase), 1853-1921

Letter from Henry Martyn Hoyt to Theodore Roosevelt

Henry Martyn Hoyt encloses attorney William Wickham Smith’s report concerning the Japanese Silk fraud case trial, United States v. Martin L. Cohn and Charles C. Browne.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-26

Creator(s)

Hoyt, Henry Martyn, 1857-1910

Letter from William Loeb to James N. Tyner

James N. Tyner’s letter to President Roosevelt has been received and forwarded to the Department of Justice. A report by the Department of Justice confirms that the action taken in removing Tyner from office and the statements made by Roosevelt to Congress were warranted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-24

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

Letter from Philander C. Knox to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Knox defends the integrity of C. A. S. Frost, who he appointed as assistant to Francis J. Heney, chief prosecutor of the Oregon Land Fraud trials. In 1901, Frost had been convicted of involvement in a conspiracy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-02

Creator(s)

Knox, Philander C. (Philander Chase), 1853-1921

Telegram from Philander C. Knox to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Knox reports that England’s Committee of the Privy Council has allowed the government’s appeal from the Quebec Court on the case involving B. D. Green and E. H. Gaynor, who procured an illegal profit of $2 million in river and harbor work on the Savannah harbor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-22

Creator(s)

Knox, Philander C. (Philander Chase), 1853-1921

Telegram from Henry Martyn Hoyt to Theodore Roosevelt

Henry Martyn Hoyt reports that the judge’s request to the Privy Council for leave to appeal the Greene and Gaynor case has been granted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-22

Creator(s)

Hoyt, Henry Martyn, 1857-1910

Telegram from Philander C. Knox to William Wickham Smith

Attorney General Knox inquires about the prosecution in the silk fraud cases.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-02

Creator(s)

Knox, Philander C. (Philander Chase), 1853-1921

Story also disbelieved here

Reports that Senator Platt demanded the removal of three assistant appraisers due to their connection to the silk fraud cases are baseless.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-03

Creator(s)

Unknown