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President Roosevelt invites Representative Hayes to meet him in Washington, D.C., to go over the matter in Hayes’s letter. The president plans to take the ground that Hayes advocates regarding the Great White Fleet, observing that the Pacific Coast is as much America’s coastline as the Atlantic Coast is.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-19
President Roosevelt asks that Lieutenant Commander Andrew T. Long be detailed as an Executive Officer in the Great White Fleet under Admiral Robley D. Evans if it does not do any injustice to someone currently holding the position. Roosevelt also suggests giving Commander Harry Herbert Hosley command of the New Hampshire when it is ready and Long could become Supervisor of the Harbor of New York.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-13
President Roosevelt has forwarded Senator Lodge’s letter to Assistant Secretary of the Navy Truman Handy Newberry. Roosevelt thinks the USS Constitution should be at Annapolis rather than taken out of commission. The media campaign regarding the fleet’s trip to the Pacific will likely have no effect, as Roosevelt feels there is public support for the action. Senator Eugene Hale of the Committee on Naval Affairs has been trying to negatively influence Newberry, but Roosevelt has told Newberry to ignore the sentiments.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-02
President Roosevelt explains his opinion to Lyman Abbott on several points on which they disagree. First, Roosevelt would interfere on behalf of the Armenians if they were willing to fight. Second, he is currently trying to form an agreement with Japan that would prohibit laborers from each country immigrating to the other. However, he feels that all the Japanese already in the country should be given “the franchise and school facilities,” and treated as well as possible. Third, he is “not well acquainted with the situation in Utah,” but thinks Mormons should be treated exactly as anyone else. He does understand the situation in Idaho, which was not about Mormonism. McLain W. Davis’s claims regarding polygamy among Mormons in Idaho were investigated and found baseless.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-03
W. P. Chase acknowledges he is a stranger to Theodore Roosevelt, but Roosevelt knows some of his relations and this can prove his legitimacy. Chase has become a contracted seller for Arthur W. Arnold’s patented stove damper, which he says regulates combustion on stoves and furnaces to save on fuel usage. He hopes Roosevelt would consider becoming a business partner, and presents this from a philanthropic viewpoint to appeal to Roosevelt’s appreciation for philanthropy, as he claims the damper will benefit the poor the most. Chase hopes to meet Roosevelt in New York.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-12
Charles H. J. Bliss sends documents to Theodore Roosevelt hoping Roosevelt will decide to help defeat the monopoly the Board of Fire Underwriters of the Pacific is working to create on the Pacific Coast. If a fire insurance agent works for a company not on the Board, they will receive significantly less wages than those who only work for companies on the Board. Bliss has questioned this policy and received negative backlash from the Board.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-04
Lawrence F. Abbott thanks President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt for their hospitality in their country home and includes a list of seven questions about the Great White Fleet. He would like to include information about the fleet and its journey in The Outlook magazine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-11
Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry submits a report to President Roosevelt about the coal situation. The Navy Department wants to approve what Admiral Wm. S. Cowles has written about this subject. Newberry concludes by listing three propositions the Navy Department could adopt if the transcontinental railroads offer a lower rate than the New England Coal and Coke Company has already proposed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-06
Secretary of the Navy Metcalf returns to President Roosevelt a letter from James F. J. Archibald detailing what Archibald feels is necessary to provide adequate Naval defense for the Pacific coast. Metcalf also sends a report from the General Board of the Navy, as requested by William Loeb, Roosevelt’s secretary. Metcalf states he agrees with the board’s report.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-01
Brigadier General Murray contests several statements made by Mr. Archibald regarding the incompleteness of the fixed defenses of the Pacific Coast harbors. Murray assures Chief of Staff Bell that the mines used in the coastal defense system are controlled from shore and are harmless to friendly vessels. Murray also notes that submarines are promising war vessels but they have not yet proven to be valuable and, therefore, Mr. Archibald’s suggestion to adopt submarines for the defenses of the harbors is “preposterous.” Murray does believe, however, that submarines possess decided merit for uses supplemental to fixed defenses in harbors where mines cannot be used.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01
In compliance with a letter he received from the President’s secretary, Secretary of War Taft sends President Roosevelt a letter from James F. J. Archibald that relates to the submarine defense of the Pacific Coast and Hawaiian islands, and reports from General Arthur Murray, the Chief of Artillery, and General William W. Wotherspoon, Acting Chief of the Army Third Division, General Staff.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-24
James F. J. Archibald reports to President Roosevelt on the submarine defense of the Pacific Coast and the Hawaiian Islands. Archibald believes America to be “so far behind” other nations in this area of marine warfare—particularly Great Britain, France, and Japan. Upon visiting principal cities and harbors, he finds the Pacific Coast and Hawaiian Islands in a “deplorably defenseless position” and notes that the people living in these areas feel vulnerable because of the large extent of “oriental labor and immigration.” Whereas guns and mines are not ideal defense weapons because of the foggy weather, Archibald feels the Pacific Coast is prime territory for the use of submarines due to the large harbors, climates, and topography of the region. Archibald details the number of submarines and personnel he believes to be needed at each of four geographic locations–the Puget Sound, the mouth of the Columbia River, the San Francisco Bay, and the San Diego Bay–as well as the costs of these fortifications, and he emphasizes that his opinions are shared by military officers and civilian experts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-02
Secretary of the Navy Morton writes to President Roosevelt concerning the efforts to have the steamship Shawmut docked at Puget Sound Yard. Morton notes that he has consulted with Assistant Secretary of the Navy Charles Hial Darling regarding this docking situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-24
The Japanese flag of the Imperial Navy with a Japanese man’s head in the center appears on the horizon of the ocean.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-07
John Barrett writes to President Roosevelt to discuss the factors surrounding Japanese immigration. Barrett provides analyses of labor shortages, government involvement in regulation, and the motivations of groups and individuals who oppose immigration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-08
President Roosevelt writes to Secretary of State John Hay about his tour of the western states. He describes the people and towns as greeting him enthusiastically. Roosevelt also gives short reminisces of his years out west as a cattle rancher. He mentions opening the World Fair in St. Louis, his impression of the Pacific Coast states, the status of many Rough Riders and the violence of frontier life.
1903-08-09
President Roosevelt has heard from the Washington delegation that the Navy Department has said that it will take six to eight years to finish the Puget Sound Navy Yard drydock. He believes this is “nonsense” and it should be done within two to three years. The drydock should be ready before the battleships for the yard arrive. He asks for a full report on drydocks for the Pacific slope.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-10
President Roosevelt tells Secretary of the Navy Metcalf that he thinks the fleet should leave the Pacific Coast as soon as possible, and asks what date Metcalf has set.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-19
President Roosevelt tells United States Representative Lilley that James F. J. Archibald was not appointed or employed by the administration, but rather contacted Roosevelt and said that he was going to conduct an independent investigation of submarine defense on the Pacific Coast of the United States, looking particularly at Puget Sound. Roosevelt told him that he would be glad to receive such a report from anyone who investigated the subject. When Roosevelt received Archibald’s letter on the topic, he forwarded it to Secretary of the Navy Victor Howard Metcalf, as he does with other similar letters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-18
President Roosevelt provides a number of details that he would like Senator Warren to bring before the Committee on Military Affairs as they discuss the possibility of turning Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, into a fortified naval station. Roosevelt believes that constructing a naval base at Pearl Harbor is needed, as it would protect Hawaii and the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the other possessions of the United States in the Pacific. He mentions the construction that would have to take place in order to fortify Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt also requests that Warren suggest other committees that would benefit from receiving the facts presented in the letter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-17