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President-Elect Taft tells President Roosevelt that while he had previously said that he had not heard from Senator Thomas Henry Carter regarding the appointment of John Callan O’Laughlin as First Assistant Secretary of State, he was mistaken. In fact, Taft received a letter from Carter dated December 11, 1908.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-19
Assistant Secretary of State Bacon provides the requested report on Princess Sofia Grigorievna Kropotkina. She is the wife of Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin, a well-known geographer, scientist, and anarchist, and is known to assist him in his work. The State Department has no records regarding Kropotkin’s 1900 visit to the United States, nor the proposed visit of Kropotkina. There may be an indication in the records of the Department of Commerce and Labor regarding waiving the statute which excludes anarchists from entering the country.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-09
Robert DeCourcy Ward explains to President Roosevelt that his aim in confidentially describing the drunken conduct of Minister to Uruguay and Paraguay General Edward Charles O’Brien while aboard the steamer was to make Roosevelt aware of the situation. Ward was not actually present when certain situations occurred, but more information may be forthcoming from other channels. He felt it necessary to give Roosevelt this account, and he believes that the country’s ministers should be held to the highest standards, but he does not wish to have his communications presented to the State Department as evidence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-19
Secretary of State Root tells Ambassador to Germany Tower that the department is surprised to hear that Emperor William II disapproves of the appointment of David Jayne Hill as Tower’s successor. Emperor William had agreed to Hill’s appointment before it was publicly announced. Root does not see how anything can be changed at this stage. They await Tower’s letter to President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-25
Secretary of State Root believes that some of the current awkwardness and unpleasant feelings in Germany could be relieved if Ambassador Tower takes a leave of absence and leaves Berlin quietly, rather than waiting until June when his resignation takes effect.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-25
Secretary of State Root informs President Roosevelt that from now on he will ensure work on Sundays is strictly confined to the secretary and assistant secretary. Root asks if they can work on matters regarding the Far East on Sunday, and focus on the Near East and Europe on Monday. A handwritten note at the bottom from Roosevelt reads, “Dear Nannie, This is a characteristic Rootian note.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-27
Ambassador Whitelaw Reid believes that the Kaiser-Tweedmouth incident seems to be closed and out of the mind of the public, and sends President Roosevelt a number of news clippings cataloging the incident. Reid remarks on a number of other subjects, including an upcoming visit by William Lyon Mackenzie King, his discussions with Edward Grey, and the declining health of Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-12
Assistant Secretary of State Bacon advises President Roosevelt that it may be wise to notify John James Jenkins, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, that Roosevelt expects an opinion from Secretary of State Elihu Root regarding the charges against Judge Lebbus R. Wilfley, and that he will provide it to the committee once he has it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-25
Secretary of State Root sends an enclosed dispatch from Minister to Persia John B. Jackson, which shows the effects of President Roosevelt’s appointment of him as a matter of favor rather than his qualifications. With Persia currently undergoing a revolution, the Department of State already has enough trouble. Root has drafted a response and waits for Roosevelt’s instructions.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-23
Samuel Macauley Jackson, on behalf of the John Calvin Monument Fund Committee, extends his thanks to President Roosevelt for accepting the honorary presidency of the General Committee and to the Department of State. The Protestants in Geneva believe Americans will support their efforts to erect a monument to John Calvin in Geneva due to Roosevelt’s endorsement. Jackson updates Roosevelt on the plans for the placement, funding, and design of the monument.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-13
Acting Secretary of State Bacon responds to a letter from William Loeb by sending President Roosevelt information on the exclusion of Chinese laborers from Japan. He also encloses a memorandum which includes the Imperial Ordinance under which Chinese laborers were deported from Japan and is held to also apply to Americans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-06
Japanese Ambassador O’Brien has carried out Secretary of State’s Root’s instructions on the matter of Japanese immigration in the United States and Canada. Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Tadasu Hayashi will abide by the new policies Root has set out and will consider new policies that might be put forward.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-27
Acting Secretary of State Bacon passes along a message from German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg. German Emperor William II has gifted two busts to the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York which are currently being held by the Department of State.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-25
Second Assistant Secretary of State Adee updates William Loeb on the appointment of Wu Tingfang as China’s Ambassador to the United States. The Chinese Foreign Office has not asked the American government for an opinion on the appointment. Adee sees no harm in waiting for First Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon to return before addressing the matter. Adee informs Loeb that the Chinese objected to the appointment of Henry W. Blair and he was recalled to Washington.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-28
Rudolph Forster forwards a telegram from Mexican President Porfirio Díaz. A group of Central American republics have agreed to hold their proposed conference in Washington in early November. Díaz approves of the telegrams President Roosevelt has sent him thus far and hopes they will both send their messages to the Central American presidents tomorrow. William Loeb adds a handwritten note at the bottom that the State Department is being asked to send these messages.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-21
Admiral Robley D. Evans gives Chief of the Bureau of Navigation Rear Admiral Brownson his thoughts on routeing the Atlantic Fleet. He is primarily concerned about how other nations will view the Fleet’s maneuvers, and the season the fleet will be passing through the Straits of Magellan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-17
On behalf of Ambassador Whitelaw Reid, his secretary Lydig Hoyt informs Frederick G. Ball that the United States Embassy in Great Britain has no authority to take action concerning the Mosquito Territory and suggests he contact Secretary of State Elihu Root.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-17
Second Assistant Secretary of State Adee asks William Loeb to inform Secretary of State Elihu Root that he received a note from Mexican diplomat José F. Godoy stating Mexico recognizes the provisional government in Honduras and its neutrality. He gives additional information about which officials to contact.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-14
Max Frost notifies William H. Andrews that he has mailed copies of the New Mexican newspaper and has filed the appropriate documents with the State Department and other departments in the U.S. Treasury Building. Andrews can verify these statements for himself. Governor George Curry will arrive in Washington soon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-27
Francis Augustus MacNutt asks Archibald Loudon Snowden whether he made charges to the Department of State against MacNutt. A story is circulating that MacNutt, during his diplomatic service in Madrid, leaked confidential communications to the Spanish government or to the Catholic Church.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-28