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Attorney General Bonaparte responds to President Roosevelt’s request for information on any judges whose actions may warrant impeachment. Bonaparte describes the actions of Judge Peter Stenger Grosscup, who, in collaboration with clerk Marshall E. Sampsell, has used his position to solicit free rides from railroad companies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-07
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
Senator Hale, Acting Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, sends Attorney General Bonaparte a request for a report detailing all persons employed by the Department of Justice who work in connection with the enforcement of laws or the investigation of crimes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-18
Frank B. Kellogg writes to William Loeb to inform him that he wants President Roosevelt to know that, in the course of the Standard Oil investigation, they did not use the Secret Service, apart from finding witnesses once. Kellogg wished to make this point known because he heard that Roosevelt would be addressing Congress at some point in response to an inquiry regarding the secret service, and did not wish for the Standard Oil case to be mentioned. If this case is mentioned, Kellogg believes that some senators who dislike him will take it as an opportunity to criticize him publicly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-19
Former assistant attorney general Alford Warriner Cooley has been told that he should be able to go back to work in the early spring. Cooley does not think he should remain in the west, and would have liked to start up a practice in New York, except that he has been advised by his doctor to avoid the strain. It seems that resuming his job in the Department of Justice makes the most sense for his financial and physical health, and he asks Roosevelt’s advice of how to raise this question with President-Elect William H. Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-21
Attorney General Bonaparte reports that, as President Roosevelt instructed, the lawsuit against Amalgamated Company will not be instituted until Roosevelt directs. However, such a suit could not compel the smelters to shut down until a final verdict was given. It would be a voluntary action on the company’s part to shut down the smelters at the beginning of the case. While Roosevelt wants the Department of Justice to investigate some alternative propositions concerning the situation in Anaconda, Montana, Bonaparte notes that the Department of Justice has no facilities for handling such scientific questions. Nevertheless, he promises that the department will investigate “as actively as possible.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-08
Alford Warriner Cooley informs President Roosevelt that he has written to Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte tendering his resignation, which will take effect whenever Bonaparte sees fit. Cooley does this because he has been instructed by his doctor that, for his health, he should not do any work for some time, and he realizes that the department cannot keep him on in this manner indefinitely. Cooley hopes to be well enough to see Roosevelt again before he departs on his African safari after leaving the presidency.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-12
Albert A. Richards, assistant attorney to the Department of Justice, responds to the recent letter sent by Henry A. Veith, a previous assistant attorney reporting to him. Quoting the letter, Richards denies that he spoke ill of Senator Robert M. La Follette, used insulting and abusive language with his employees, or retaliated against Veith when he asked for his annual leave. Richards writes that it is entirely true however, that he reacted to Veith’s behavior by contacting Attorney General Bonaparte to explain that Veith was not a valuable employee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-18
Attorney General Bonaparte tells President Roosevelt about a recent conversation he had with Secretary of War William H. Taft, who mentioned Wade H. Ellis as a possible replacement for Milton Dwight Purdy. Bonaparte thinks he can replace Frank B. Kellogg if necessary, although he will be sorry to lose him, but does not want the department to stand in the way of Taft’s campaign.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-30
Attorney General Bonaparte reports to President Roosevelt on conversations he has recently had with several people. Bonaparte has received a draft of a decree in the Standard Oil case and will submit it after reviewing it, but is not sure when negotiations will conclude. John Carter Rose is likely to decline, but is waiting to hear from his wife before he makes a final decision. Milton Dwight Purdy is anxious to receive his appointment in Minnesota soon. An investigation into electrical materials that Bonaparte has mentioned to Roosevelt before has become very interesting, and Bonaparte plans to write to Roosevelt later at greater length about the situation. Bonaparte also mentions some of his upcoming travel plans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-03
Senator Lodge sends President Roosevelt the proof sheets of a report the finance commission has completed on the City of Boston. He believes that the report exposes “certain business matters,” and thus will be a matter of concern on the federal level. He will bring Nathan Matthews to see Roosevelt next week.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-20
President Roosevelt encloses a letter from the Justice Department stating that existing statutes give the president the authority to prohibit the use of the mail for the commission of crimes or for advocacy of crimes. However, Congress should further legislate this matter. Roosevelt writes that anarchists are the enemy of “all mankind,” and as such, anarchy is “a deeper degree of criminality than any other,” and no papers published anywhere in the United States should be allowed to circulate if they advocate anarchy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-08
Attorney General Bonaparte writes to President Roosevelt to follow up with him on recent conversations regarding interstate commerce and anti-trust legislation, and to put some of his positions in writing so that Roosevelt may reflect upon them more thoroughly. Bonaparte discusses a proposed change in anti-trust legislation altering the language to read “in unfair or unreasonable restraint of trade,” saying that such a change would produce major complications as it would essentially delegate a judicial duty to an executive officer or board. He also describes how the proposed changes to the law would alter the government’s ability to enforce certain parts of the law, and comments on the idea of the government giving amnesty to corporations who had previously violated anti-trust legislation in minor ways.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-12
Attorney General Bonaparte writes to President Roosevelt about a number of matters, including the situation in Oregon surrounding the appointment of a new United States Attorney, and a current case involving railroad rebates in Kansas. Bonaparte will remain in Baltimore on Monday, unless he is called back to Washington, D.C., by any unexpected developments.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-15
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on a variety of cases the Administration has in courts. First, Civil Service Commissioner Alford Warriner Cooley is reluctant to travel to Colorado or Oregon because two cases relating to civil service law will be tried in the Supreme Court soon. Second, Bonaparte has sent a report about a scandal involving New Mexico judge Daniel Hugh McMillan to New Mexico, as the report damages only McMillan. Bonaparte has also arranged for Thomas Carl Spelling and L. Allison Wilmer to prepare and conduct cases against coal-carrying roads under the Hepburn Act. Finally, Bonaparte encloses a communication relating to matters regarding the Alaska Syndicate and the Morgan-Guggenheim interests in Alaska. A dispute between Senator Simon Guggenheim and Governor Wilford B. Hoggatt over land rights of railroads has led to bloodshed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-08
Attorney General Bonaparte forwards President Roosevelt messages exchanged between Oregon Attorney General William C. Bristol and himself, as well as reports from those involved with the land fraud cases that demonstrate Bristol’s negligent behavior in performing his job. The Department of Justice has received many complaints about delays in the proceedings of the land fraud suits, and Bristol has repeatedly ignored official communications. Bonaparte does not recommend Bristol be renominated as Attorney General of Oregon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-10
Attorney Lindsay Denison wishes to add a few points of fact to the case involving his client Benjamin B. Hampton. Denison clarifies inaccuracies in both to a letter written by Hampton and a memorandum written by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and believes that Bonaparte, in particular, would not have been as harsh in his memorandum had he known all of the facts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-21
Attorney General Bonaparte attempts to dissuade President Roosevelt from a recommendation he had made that all papers containing charges against United States Attorney for the Territory of New Mexico William H. H. Llewellyn be destroyed. Bonaparte assures Roosevelt that the papers are being kept confidential, and believes that destroying them could potentially be illegal in any case. Bonaparte also disagrees with Roosevelt’s suggestion that Assistant Attorney General Henry Martyn Hoyt go to New Mexico accompanied by a “New Mexico contingent,” as doing so could hurt the image of impartiality the Department of Justice is trying to portray.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-22
Attorney General Bonaparte has received William Loeb’s message regarding the resignation of U.S. Attorney General for New Mexico William H. H. Llewellyn. Bonaparte will follow the instruction that the message should not be made public.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-25
Attorney General Bonaparte will not be able to attend the cabinet meeting scheduled for Friday. Bonaparte reiterates that in his annual report he did not make any suggestions of anti-trust or interstate commerce law changes outside a few minor procedural changes and believes it would be outside the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice to do so. Bonaparte has also asked Mary Grace Quackenbos to prepare a report on her charges of peonage against Orlando B. Crittenden to be delivered to the Italian government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-27