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Outgoing Postmaster General Cortelyou encloses his resignation in a letter to William Loeb to “avoid the appearance, at least, of being turned out of the Post Office Department.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-03
William Allen White has heard that Representative Victor Murdock’s bill regarding mail rates will fail, and would like President Roosevelt to assist Murdock if he can, as the postal service is in great need of reform. White would visit Roosevelt himself, but his wife Sallie Moss Lindsay White is ill.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-16
A list of all men of color appointed to or continued in office by President Roosevelt, complete with the office and date.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01
William Allen White, editor of the Emporia Gazette, informs President Roosevelt of his concerns about a new order that gives congressmen hiring and firing power over rural postmasters. White is worried that politicians he considers corrupt, like Representative Justin De Witt Bowersock, will misuse the order to fire their political opponents. White is not as concerned that this power will be abused immediately under the Roosevelt Administration’s watch or by elected officials he finds upright, like Representative William Alexander Calderhead, but that it will be abused when the Roosevelt Administration is out of power or distracted. White asks Roosevelt to assure Calderhead that the editor holds him in high regard, as White worries a rumor has made Calderhead think White considers him as corrupt as Bowersock.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-19
President Roosevelt informs Senator Penrose that he is unable to excuse Jacob G. Bunn, a financial clerk in the Philadelphia post office who made illegal political assessments. Roosevelt rejects the argument of ignorance of the law put forth by Bunn and the post office on multiple occasions. He has no alternative but to remove Bunn from office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-28
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary informs William Randolph that Roosevelt will autograph a photograph of himself sent with stamps for return.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-05-06
President Roosevelt notifies Peter Force that his mother, Mary Elizabeth Matthews Force, has been removed from her position as postmaster of Selma, Alabama. Roosevelt insists that she was removed because of her incompetence, not because of anything said by other politicians.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-07
President Roosevelt thanks Robert Bridges for the check and encloses corrected proofs for the book. Roosevelt hopes to speak with Bridges in person to discuss his brother George Bridges’s meeting with Postmaster General George von Lengerke Meyer. Unfortunately, Roosevelt thinks it is unlikely that Meyer will be able to do what George Bridges asked of him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-24
President Roosevelt thanks Consul General Wynne for sending the interesting editorial. Roosevelt is pleased that the editorial mentions the purging of the postal service, in which Wynne played a key role.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-23
President Roosevelt implores Republican State Chairman Lyon to suggest a different person than David A. Robinson for U.S. Postmaster at Dallas. He explains that Robinson will not have enough support to be confirmed as a result of the Civil Service Commission’s report that Robinson allegedly disclosed a list of employees of the Dallas post office to a Dallas County Republican politician, as well as the disapproval of senators, including Texas Senator Charles A. Culberson. Roosevelt explains that he cannot do anything else for Howe, since he has already given Howe two positions and Howe’s present rank is too low to elevate him to a brigadier generalship.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-08
On behalf of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, Warren S. Young draws Postmaster Benjamin F. Barnes’s attention to an enclosed envelope, and suggests that the accidental omission of “D.C.” should have been caught and not resulted in the letter getting sent to Washington state before finally being delivered.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-22
President Roosevelt sends Postmaster General Cortelyou a letter from Fuller that he suspects Third Assistant Postmaster General Edwin C. Madden wrote himself. He believes it would be a mistake to re-employ Madden, since a man who relies on outside influence to stay in his position has “lost all usefulness for the service.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-21
President Roosevelt supports the Canadian Parliament’s attempt to limit the distribution of press covering the Harry Kendall Thaw trial through the mail, and asks Postmaster General Cortelyou if similar action could be taken in the United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-10
President Roosevelt is glad that Charles A. Dunwoody has found employment as a rural postal carrier after losing his arm. Roosevelt mentions that he has Dunwoody relatives from Georgia but does not know much about them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-11
President Theodore Roosevelt informs Senator Henry Cabot Lodge that he is dealing with the post office matters. Roosevelt also says that he will write to Governor Frank Higgins because Roosevelt is concerned that if Higgins performs poorly in New York then it will affect the national Republican Party’s chances.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-30
President Roosevelt has directed the Civil Service Commission to send Postmaster Van Cott a copy of their report on the Philadelphia Post Office. As Van Cott’s office also has a large number of certified men who have not been appointed, he advised to take heed and govern himself accordingly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-08
Theodore Roosevelt feels that the actions of Senators Spooner and Quarles may have jeopardized the national ticket. There cannot be any perception that post office employees are working for either side in Wisconsin.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-15
Ashley H. Perry has applied for a transfer to the Isthmus of Panama either as a pharmacist or postal clerk, but no action has been taken on his application. He asks Theodore Roosevelt if he would be able to submit his name to the War Department to inspire action on his case, and cites his previous experience.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-25
President Roosevelt encloses a letter from the Justice Department stating that existing statutes give the president the authority to prohibit the use of the mail for the commission of crimes or for advocacy of crimes. However, Congress should further legislate this matter. Roosevelt writes that anarchists are the enemy of “all mankind,” and as such, anarchy is “a deeper degree of criminality than any other,” and no papers published anywhere in the United States should be allowed to circulate if they advocate anarchy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-08
