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United States. Dept. of Agriculture

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Letter from George Shiras to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from George Shiras to Theodore Roosevelt

George Shiras, nature photographer and former Representative, recently returned from Newfoundland having completed his series of caribou photographs. He earnestly suggests President Roosevelt repeat to Congress the notion declared in his Provincetown speech that regarding the nation’s public health, “the National Government stand abreast of the foremost state governments.” Following up on his work while in Congress, Shiras discusses plans for creating a Department of Public Health and Sanitary Science. He foresees its future importance and writes that Roosevelt’s administration will be credited with laying its foundation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-15

Letter from Thomas J. O’Brien to Elihu Root

Letter from Thomas J. O’Brien to Elihu Root

Ambassador O’Brien informs Secretary of State Root that the early change to the British Ambassador in Washington has stirred much conversation in the British press and among its officials. An editorial in the London Telegraph stated that whomever succeeded H. Mortimer Durand would have to be “as popular and effective as” German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg and French Ambassador J. J. Jusserand. The Foreign Office thinks the new appointee should come from outside present diplomatic service members but O’Brien supposes it will be someone from within the current service and describes Sir Alan Johnstone’s qualifications. Johnstone was British Ambassador to Denmark.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-27

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid reports to President Roosevelt about affairs in Europe. Reid’s impression is that neither Great Britain nor Germany want tensions to escalate to a war, and he is still trying to get more details about their negotiations. Reid informs Roosevelt that the King seems to be in ill health. He is also worried that Roosevelt’s friend, Silas McBee, is stirring up trouble by seeming to interfere in debates about the Education Bill. Reid referred the Grocers’ Federation to Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson and Secretary of Commerce and Labor Victor Howard Metcalf so that they might receive more information about complying with America’s meat inspection laws, and he enclosed a copy of a speech he gave at Cambridge on the American Revolution. Reid concludes by saying that he hopes the British government will help the United States settle disputes with Canada.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-16

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Alford Warriner Cooley to Theodore Roosevelt

Civil Service Commissioner Cooley is concerned by congressional interference in President Roosevelt’s order of March 11, 1905, which regulated promotions of executive branch laborers to clerk status. Pursuant to the Agricultural Appropriations Act of 1905, the Department of Agriculture assigned laborers to classified work without “examination and certification,” thereby giving these employees an advantage over employees of other departments. Cooley suggests that none of these employees be promoted in the current fiscal year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-20

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson regrets that information about the department’s investigation of beef packers in Chicago seems to have been leaked to the press. Wilson assures President Roosevelt that he will ascertain whether any of his employees had anything to do with it, although he also notes that the Chicago Tribune article contains errors and large portions of it may have been based on guess work.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-11

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson reports to President Roosevelt on grazing fee policies in National Forest reserves, especially in light of cattlemen protests. Wilson informs Roosevelt that grazing fees are only a third of their value, and that there is a fee reduction this year from home-builders and small stock owners. Wilson notes that Department of Agriculture will allocate the limited number of reduced fee permits to small stock owners, reserve range occupants, and transient cattle owners, in that order. Wilson also touches on policies related to reserve land division, improvements, and law enforcement.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-20

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from James Wilson to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of Agriculture Wilson responds to two letters recently received from President Roosevelt concerning scandal surrounding the cotton report leak. Wilson describes Edwin Sanford Holmes, assistant statistician in the Department of Agriculture, as a “scoundrel.” Holmes has been accused of leaking information to New York brokers who used it to speculate on the market. Wilson provides background information concerning the status of the case. He discusses potential guilt and the possible removal of John Hyde, chief of the Bureau of Statistics in the Agriculture Department.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-17