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As President Roosevelt requested, Charles C. Long sends William Loeb the reports of Holmes Conrad and Charles J. Bonaparte regarding ex-cashier Seymour Wilcox Tulloch’s charges in the Post Office scandal. Long relays that the Attorney General’s Office did not receive the Civil Service Commission report.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-19
In a letter to Theodore Roosevelt, Charles J. Bonaparte discusses the prosecution surrounding the postal scandal in Baltimore, Maryland. Bonaparte mentions a conversation between Attorney General Philander C. Knox and Mr. Holmes Conrad.
Joseph L. Bristow sends a detailed report to Senator Lodge regarding alleged unlawful sales of stamps at post offices in Medford, Lexington, and Waverley, Massachusetts. Bristow lists names of purchasers who bought stamps for their businesses in Boston. The large sales of stamps in these towns helped elevate the status of the post office and increased the postmasters’ salaries. Investigators questioned statements made by the individuals they interviewed who bought large quantities of stamps when they said they did so without any solicitation on the part of the postmasters. Bristow recommends a number of disciplinary measures.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-21
Hamilton Fish expresses his disapproval of General John H. Ketcham as a candidate for Chairman of the House Post Office committee. Fish encourages President Roosevelt to meet with Senator Platt regarding The Outlook. Fish assumes that Roosevelt is pleased to hear through Mr. Loeb that he and Mr. Stranahan secured a meeting with Platt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-07
Charles J. Bonaparte and Holmes Conrad, Special assistants to the Attorney General, submit a supplementary report regarding accusations by Postmaster John A. Merritt against Seymour Wilcox Tulloch, who, for many years, was cashier of the Washington Post Office and Secretary of the United States Electric Light Company, which gave the appearance of a conflict of interest. In their opinion, Merritt’s charges against Tulloch were unsubstantiated. They pointed out, however, that several questionable postal practices should be discontinued.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-11
Attorney Charles J. Bonaparte addresses the legal investigation into the actions of Baltimore Postal Service employees. Bonaparte writes of his correspondence with Holmes Conrad and Charles Emory Smith and discusses the Bristow Report, John A. Merritt’s charges against Seymour Wilcox Tulloch, and the case of Comptroller Robert J. Tracewell. Bonaparte also expresses his disappointment regarding the Democratic win in the Maryland election, drawing a comparison to the election of 1899, when Arthur P. Gorman lost to Louis E. McComas.
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John Carter Rose informs President Roosevelt that he is available to meet and is currently involved with Post Office issues at the Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-12
Attorney General Knox submits a report from Joseph L. Bristow, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, returned by Holmes Conrad and Charles J. Bonaparte regarding the Post Office fraud.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-13
Postmaster General Henry C. Payne encloses memorandums regarding the cost of free delivery services in cities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-31
Ethan Allen Hitchcock concurs with Charles Nagel’s opinion that charges against Postmaster F. W. Baumhoff are due to conspiracy and agrees that, should President Roosevelt replace Baumhoff, Frank Wyman is a worthy candidate. Hitchcock opposes Richard Bartholdt’s support for William Wilson Sterrett’s appointment and includes an excerpt from a telegram received from John Whittaker. Hitchcock encloses a letter from Mr. Parsons, “private.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-04
Philander C. Knox and Charles J. Bonaparte submit the brief of Joseph L. Bristow, Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, regarding the postal fraud case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-05
As directed by President Roosevelt, in accord with a recommendation by Holmes Conrad and Charles J. Bonaparte following a recent government investigation, Secretary of the Treasury Shaw lists the names of appointees from the Department of the Treasury to a special commission. The commission’s duty will be to develop a plan to protect the work of the comptroller and auditors from political influence and from enmity incurred in the course of such work. The appointees include Charles Hallam Keep, W. H. Hills, and Milton E. Ailes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-06
Attorney General Knox responds to President Roosevelt’s inquiry concerning the conduct of District Attorney George B. Curtiss of Binghamton in regard to a case involving New York state Senator George E. Green. Knox defends Curtiss’s behavior.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-21
Charles J. Bonaparte, the attorney investigating the Post Office scandal of 1898-1900, discusses the report and potential charges implicating Comptroller Robert J. Tracewell. The Post Office investigation exposed the personal use of public funds by Perry S. Heath, whom Bonaparte believes to be essentially dishonest. Tracewell’s offenses did not rise to that level. Bonaparte suggests amending the report based on letters received from Postmasters John A. Merritt and Charles Emory Smith.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-26
Editor of Leslie’s Weekly John A. Sleicher discusses the Post Office scandal, placing blame on Congressmen for faulty selection and appointment. Sleicher praises President Roosevelt’s speech in St. Albans, New York. Sleicher comments on Congressman George B. McClellan and on New York elections, suggesting Seth Low as a gubernatorial candidate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-26
In receipt of President Roosevelt’s letter, Charles J. Bonaparte relays that Holmes Conrad is currently in Washington, D.C., in lieu of traveling to Georgia. Bonaparte discusses the Post Office Scandal report on Joseph L. Bristow, the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, the Warfield report, and the Tulloch report.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-28
John E. Ballaine has established a new town on Resurrection Bay with the goal of opening the Alaskan interior to settlement and development. The town has been named Seward after William H. Seward who, as Secretary of State, negotiated the purchase of Alaska in 1867. The Post Office Department is preventing the post office from being named after Seward as there are already two post offices in Alaska with that name. Ballaine requests President Roosevelt’s help with the matter. In a handwritten note to Assistant Postmaster General Bristow, Roosevelt agrees with Ballaine’s “patriotic sentiments.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-10
Senator Lodge was pleased to receive President Roosevelt’s letter and read about his summer activities. He was interested in the updates on the labor situation and the Post Office scandals. Lodge is troubled by the opposition to Cuban reciprocity and cannot imagine the resolution failing. He concludes with an update on the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal and is confident of a favorable decision.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-12
Outline of the career of Charles Fitzgerald, including the names of those who recommended his promotions to Railroad Postal Clerk and Post Office Inspector. Handwritten notes of Theodore Roosevelt: “A native Mississippian and a Democrat; voted for Cleveland and Bryan.” Note in another hand: “F[ile] under Indianola.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-17
Postmaster General Henry C. Payne informs President Roosevelt that the Post Office Department inspectors investigating the Post Office scandal have been assigned to duty as requested. Payne mentions Perry S. Heath’s involvement with the scandal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-17