United States. Department of Justice

Report from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte reports on the results of an investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General into complaints made against U.S. Attorney for the Territory of New Mexico and former Rough Rider William H. H. Llewellyn. Bonaparte has found Llewellyn partially or fully culpable in all of the charges leveled against him, including conspiracy towards the illegal sale of public land, failure to make payment on a bill, and disregarding the wishes of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp and the Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield. Bonaparte concludes that the results of this investigation, coupled with Llewellyn’s generally lackluster performance and failure to gain the trust of either the citizenry or fellow public officials, means that Llewellyn should retire from his post.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-19

Telegram from George Curry to Theodore Roosevelt

New Mexico Territory Governor George Curry notifies President Roosevelt that he objects to Ormsby McHarg’s interference in matters over which he has no authority, as the Department of Justice has no right to give orders to subordinate Territorial officials as McHarg has done in the Pennsylvania Development Company case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-31

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge discusses several items of concern with President Roosevelt. Lodge does not believe that Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte and Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf are applying the act of 1904 as Congress originally intended, particularly as Bonaparte is basing part of his argument on an English law of dubious applicability and potentially dangerous implications for the United States. Lodge is also concerned about the fact that the Great White Fleet is relying on British ships to supply coal, which could be a dangerous liability in wartime, and commends Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou’s handling of the current financial crisis.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-28

Telegram from Charles J. Bonaparte to Marsden C. Burch

The Department of Justice is embarrassed that Idaho District Attorney N. M. Ruick took part in the timber fraud case, particularly in the jury selection, against William Edgar Borah. Attorney General Bonaparte orders Assistant Attorney General Burch to ensure that Ruick does not participate in the case further.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-27

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on the progress of the Idaho land fraud cases. He forwards Roosevelt his telegram to Assistant Attorney General Marsden C. Burch demanding that N. M. Ruick take no part in the case. Bonaparte updates Roosevelt on other matters and suggests the two schedule a meeting.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-28

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte gives President Roosevelt details about his encounter with former Illinois Governor Richard Yates. Yates has been offered a job with the Department of Justice and is unsure if he will accept it. Bonaparte is sorry to hear that Solicitor General Henry Martyn Hoyt is having surgery and will be incapacitated for some time. In a postscript, Bonaparte adds that he has spoken with Cardinal James Gibbons. Among other matters, they agree the government should not involve itself in the lawsuit between the Catholic Church and Puerto Rico.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-21

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Edwin Walter Sims

The Department of Justice sends United States Attorney Edwin Walter Sims instructions on how to proceed in his upcoming cases concerning interstate commerce.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-21

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to William Loeb

Senator Bourne requests William Loeb deliver the enclosed letter to President Roosevelt. He tells Loeb his golf skills are improving and that he suspects the next session of Congress will be strenuous.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-09

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt that he told United States District Attorney N. M. Ruick that Senator William Edgar Borah must be tried immediately. He discusses conditions related to the case. During his travels, he ran into “some hungry reporters whom I tried to fill up with a little chaff.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-10

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte reviews “several matter of importance and delicacy” with President Roosevelt, including Special Assistant Attorney General Ormsby McHarg’s handling of the New Mexico situation, Senator William Edgar Borah’s trial, and the progress of the Republican Convention. He shares how the press attacks him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-15

Letter from Jeter Connelly Pritchard to Theodore Roosevelt

Judge Pritchard thanks President Roosevelt for sending representatives from the Department of Justice to “preserve the dignity and uphold the honor” of the 4th Circuit Court of appeals in North Carolina after a recent battle over jurisdiction threatened to turn violent. Pritchard says most North Carolinians are law abiding, but there is friction between Governor R. B. Glenn and Senator Lee S. Overman over the upcoming election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Letter from Milton Dwight Purdy to Theodore Roosevelt

Acting Attorney General Purdy sends President Roosevelt a report from District Attorney Robert T. Devlin regarding the refusal of the San Francisco Board of Police Commissioners to give operating licenses to employment agencies run by Japanese immigrants.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-15

Letter from James W. Raynolds to Charles J. Bonaparte

Acting Governor of New Mexico Raynolds confirms the text of a telegram he sent Attorney General Bonaparte regarding the behavior and actions of Ormsby McHarg, United States Special Assistant Attorney General, in the case of Holm Olaf Bursum, the former Superintendent of Prisons. McHarg has made several demands of the territorial government, and while the territory is anxious to comply, they are not required by law to do so. Further, McHarg has impugned the character and capability of several officials. Raynolds asks for specific guidance from the Department of Justice as to the wishes of the department and the actions the territorial government of New Mexico is expected to perform in the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-15

Letter from James Rudolph Garfield to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Garfield reports to President Roosevelt regarding illegal land sales in New Mexico. Garfield states that commissioners and past governors conspired to sell more publicly-owned land than was legal. Garfield recommends that the men involved should be prosecuted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-27

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Bonaparte expresses his concern to President Roosevelt about how the Department of Justice gave the prosecution orders in the Moyer and Haywood case without his knowledge. He is trying to bring about order to the department, be he has been out with bronchitis.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-23

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to Theodore Roosevelt

Alford Warriner Cooley writes to fulfill President Roosevelt’s request for a statement of Cooley’s legal experience for use in his confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cooley details his educational background, his legal experience in New York, and his work as Civil Service Commissioner and the Commissioner of Immigration at the port of New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-06

Letter from Ethan Allen Hitchcock to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock provides President Roosevelt with a summary and documentation pertaining to investigations by the Department of the Interior into alleged illegal fencing and land fraud in Wyoming. Hitchcock reports that notices have been issued in 165 cases, proceedings have been instituted in ten with favorable results for the government, two enclosures have been removed in response to notices, two cases are pending before the Special Agent in Charge, one case is pending before the District Attorney, no report has been filed and no action taken in eight cases, and the fences in the remaining cases are presumably still standing. The item includes a detailed list of enclosures.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-30

Testimony of A. G. Elston about District “P” of the General Land Office

Arthur G. Elston testifies about unethical conduct occurring in Division “P” of the General Land Office. Elston describes being urged by his chief, George F. Pollock, to change a report recommending charges against the Schow Brothers and Lovell Irrigation Company for willful trespass in Montana. He believes Pollock was acting under pressure from Congressman Mondell and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Elston also testifies to being aware of similar instances of improper behavior in regards to public lands in Wyoming and Colorado.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-15

Testimony of Clement S. Ucker about District “P” of the General Land Office

Clement S. Ucker, clerk for Special Service Division “P” of the General Land Office, testifies regarding allegations of corruption in the handling of public lands.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-21

Letter from Henry Martyn Hoyt to Theodore Roosevelt

Solicitor General Hoyt forwards to President Roosevelt a telegram regarding a lawsuit over the segregation of Japanese school children in public schools in San Francisco, California.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-27