United States. Dept. of Commerce and Labor

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jeremiah Whipple Jenks

Acting on the suggestion of the Committee on the Statistical Reorganization of the Department of Commerce and Labor, President Roosevelt is establishing an Interdepartmental Statistical Committee. As Professor Jenks’s suggestions were very useful to the Committee on the Statistical Reorganization of the Department of Commerce and Labor, Roosevelt asks if he would be willing to join this newly formed committee in an advisory capacity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

After discussing the matter with the Department of State and the Department of Commerce and Labor, President Roosevelt tells Owen Wister that it is clear that Princess Sofia Grigorievna Kropotkina should not be allowed into the United States. The mere fact that she calls herself an anarchist is reason enough, and Roosevelt adds that he personally does not think she should come, as anarchists “add to the strength of the worst and most vicious elements of our civilization.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Knox Smith

President Roosevelt finds the recent memorandum by Herbert Knox Smith both discouraging and surprising. Roosevelt thinks examining the “seemingly inexplicable” differences in pricing from Chicago to Boston or Providence would be a useful field of research. Roosevelt would like to see Smith in person to discuss making a report of his findings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Bacon

President Roosevelt asks Acting Secretary of State Bacon to refer to an enclosure, and says that he is of the opinion that Frank P. Sargent, Commissioner of Immigration, should be sent to Japan. There are still many Japanese laborers arriving in the United States who should not be. Roosevelt says that there seems to have been some difficulty with the Department of Commerce and Labor, and asks to know what the difficulty is so that he can fix it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas F. Drake

President Roosevelt asks Insurance Commissioner Drake to draft a bill providing of the transfer of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance to the Department of Commerce and Labor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles E. Knoblauch

President Roosevelt admonishes Charles E. Knoblauch that he should not show anyone his correspondence with Roosevelt unless he has complete confidence in them, as it appears that someone betrayed his trust regarding the confidentiality of a previous letter. Roosevelt reminds Knoblauch that he is not responsible for any bills introduced in Congress, and the only one that he has been involved with is the one against bucket shops.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence O. Murray, Herbert Knox Smith, and Charles Patrick Neill

President Roosevelt instructs Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Labor Murray, Commissioner of Corporations Smith, and Commissioner of Labor Neill to investigate the situation in Goldfield, Nevada and submit a report of their findings upon their return. All federal officials have been directed to assist them in this endeavor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar S. Straus

Theodore Roosevelt asks Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus for statistics regarding how Japanese immigrants are entering the United States from Mexico and Hawaii, other than directly to American shores.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar S. Straus

President Roosevelt informs Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus of the recommendation by Howard Elliott, president of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, and the Interstate Commerce Commission to lay adequate fuel supplies for all federal offices in the Northwest before winter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Martin A. Knapp and Charles Patrick Neill

President Roosevelt congratulates Interstate Commerce Commission Chairman Knapp and Commissioner of Labor Neill, saying he is pleased. (Knapp and Neill mediated a settlement between forty-three railroads and two railroad unions, increasing employee wages and averting a strike.)

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore E. Burton

President Roosevelt appoints an Inland Waterways Commission and requests that Representative Burton serve as chairman of the commission, along with Senator Francis G. Newlands, Senator William Warner, Representative John Hollis Bankhead, General Alexander Mackenzie, Dr. W. J. McGee, Frederick Haynes Newell, Gifford Pinchot, and Herbert Knox Smith. He explains the purpose of the commission to develop a “comprehensive plan for the improvement and control of the river systems of the United States.” The same letter was sent to the other prospective appointees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William B. Allison

President Roosevelt tells Senator Allison that he has just signed a bill that authorizes the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to investigate the welfare of women and child workers in the United States. However he feels that double the amount suggested would be needed to conduct a substantial investigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from William Loeb to Victor Howard Metcalf

In order to help plan the upcoming White House social season, William Loeb requests a list of various officials in the Department of Commerce and Labor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-08

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Wilson

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of Agriculture Wilson to which department the Fish Commission should belong.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to James Rudolph Garfield

President Roosevelt confirms receipt of Acting Secretary of Commerce and Labor Garfield’s telegram, and appoints Charles Patrick Neill as Acting Secretary of the department until Assistant Secretary Lawrence O. Murray returns.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Knute Nelson

President Roosevelt tells Senator Nelson that his memory of the matter Nelson referred to was the same, and that during the discussions of the bill establishing the Department of Commerce and Labor they agreed that the bill in the House did not provide the department with enough power, leading to Roosevelt asking Attorney General Philander C. Knox to prepare an amendment for Nelson to introduce. No one involved with the bill, however, expected a decision like the recent one made by Judge J. Otis Humphry in the beef trust case. If Congress passes a law granting the government the right of appeal, Roosevelt assures Nelson that it will be used in this case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf

President Roosevelt consents to Secretary of Commerce and Labor Metcalf appointing Charles Earl as solicitor of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and similarly agrees with the appointment of Richard K. Campbell as the head of the Naturalization Bureau. Roosevelt would like to do something for Clarence V. C. Van Deusen, and asks Metcalf to bring the matter up with Campbell to see if Van Deusen’s request can be granted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of Commerce and Labor Metcalf what he thinks of Richard K. Campbell as a possible replacement for Edwin Walter Sims as solicitor of the Department of Commerce and Labor, when the time comes to make such an appointment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Simering

President Roosevelt sends John C. Simering his good wishes for the meeting of the Travelers Protective Association of America. He thanks the organization for its contribution to the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and for the support it has shown for the passage of a rate bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edgar D. Crumpacker

President Roosevelt tells Representative Crumpacker that he is very interested in the bill on the investigation of the condition of woman and child labor and feels that the only bureau suited to conduct such an investigation is that of the Bureau of Labor. The Census Bureau is not the proper body to do the work because Roosevelt hopes to aim at more than the simple collection of statistics. He endorses Commissioner of Labor Charles Patrick Neill as the man to head the proposed investigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919