Your TR Source
President Roosevelt cannot write a personal letter for Progressive candidate for governor of Colorado Philip Battell Stewart and tells Republican State Chairman D.B. Fairley not to publish his letter. Roosevelt believes Secretary of War William H. Taft will be of help in the gubernatorial races in both Colorado and Idaho.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-17
President Roosevelt comments on the ongoing furor surrounding the trials of Charles H. Moyer and Big Bill Haywood, looking down on he support they are receiving from socialists and anarchists from across the country. He reflects that he has had an odd presidency, and that “a goodly number of the things I have done which i regard as most important will probably never see the light and will be known to only a few people,” including the situation in Idaho, the Russo-Japanese peace negotiations, the Algeciras conference, and the Alaska boundary dispute.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-10
President Roosevelt has heard that Idaho Governor Frank Robert Gooding has received contributions from mine owners to help in the prosecution of the alleged murderers of ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg, and tells Idaho Statesman owner Calvin Cobb that if this is true it would represent “the grossest impropriety.” The government must show that it is a neutral party and is not working on behalf of either the mine owners or the Western Federation of Miners. Roosevelt has previously condemned labor unions sending money to the accused, and just as strongly condemns capitalists sending in money to support the prosecution. He asks that Cobb show this letter to Gooding.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-20
President Roosevelt tells Calvin Cobb that he appreciates what Idaho Governor Frank Robert Gooding is trying to do in trying to bring the murderers of ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg to justice. Roosevelt believes that the Western Federation of Miners has been conducting a reign of terror on many Rocky Mountain states, and recognizes the risk that Gooding is in in trying to prosecute them. While Charles S. Moyer and Big Bill Haywood deserve a fair trial, Roosevelt believes that their “black record of wrong-doing” should get them no sympathy. He hopes, however, that Gooding will act against both the Western Federation of Miners on the one hand and the corporations on the other, and not fall into the errors of former Colorado Governor James Hamilton Peabody.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-16
President Roosevelt asks Lyman Abbott to look over an article by Philip Battell Stewart to consider it for publication in The Outlook. If he decides to publish it, Roosevelt asks Abbott to not use Stewart’s name, as he fears being that it could put him in danger of an assassination attempt by the Western Federation of Miners. He would like to see Abbott in Washington, D.C., sometime to discuss matters that have come up in Congress.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-16
President Roosevelt thanks Outlook publisher Lawrence F. Abbott for the letter, and reiterates that in working to produce reform and reduce the size of the largest fortunes, he wants to set out explicit steps and avoid vague language. He also wants to make sure that it is clear that he does not encourage “what is wicked among the labor people,” referencing “the hundreds of murders perpetrated under the foulest and most infamous circumstances by the members of the Western Federation of Miners,” which he considers Big Bill Haywood and Charles H. Moyer guilty of. While it is possible to go too far in the enforcement of order, Roosevelt considers it worse to encourage crime.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-28
President Roosevelt believes it is good for the country that Senator Knox and Senator Winthrop Murray Crane are in the Senate because they can serve there for 20-30 years, unlike Roosevelt, who will only serve four in the White House. He encourages Knox to address carefully the problems of capital and labor to avoid dividing the country into two parties. The president wishes he could get in touch with labor people to whom Knox could speak and learn their real feelings. Absent a visit to labor people, Roosevelt encourages Knox to pay attention to both capital and labor to avoid a situation like the one in Colorado where Governor James Hamilton Peabody did not present the issue as restoring law and order but pitted capital against labor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-10
President Roosevelt sends Attorney General Moody a report written by Commissioner of Labor Carroll D. Wright on the labor disturbance in Colorado. The report is not complete but Roosevelt believes it contains enough information to make a determination on whether the federal government should intervene. Roosevelt asks that Moody consider the report along with another being prepared by Colorado District Attorney Earl M. Cranston and report back to him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-28
President Roosevelt informs Commissioner of Labor Wright that John H. Murphy, counsel for the Western Federation of Miners, alleges that by mob violence the miners are prevented from taking advantage of mineral land laws. Roosevelt asks Wright to have his representative in Colorado investigate the charge and report to the United States District Attorney at Denver.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-06
President Roosevelt thanks Commissioner of Labor Wright for his letter from Marblehead, Massachusetts, and tells him to “take a full holiday,” inviting him to visit the Roosevelts at their home in Oyster Bay, New York. He expresses interest in hearing more about “Murphy.” Roosevelt includes a letter and articles by newspaperman Walter Wellman regarding the labor conflicts in Colorado involving the Western Federation of Miners, which Wellman regards as a criminal organization. Roosevelt shares Wellman’s negative view of labor leaders William Haywood and Charles Moyer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-14
Theodore Roosevelt would like Commissioner of Labor Wright’s investigator to see John H. Murphy in Colorado. Roosevelt wants to know the facts of what is happening there. He would like to know if the Western Federation of Miners has encouraged crime in the past or if employers have committed violence and the role of vigilantes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-13
President Roosevelt thanks William Grant Edens for the editorial published in the Tribune. He wonders if it is possible to investigate the matter and receive a report. Roosevelt has no power to interfere in the Colorado, Chicago, or New York strikes, but he is watching the situation through the Department of Labor and Bureau of Corporations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-10
President Roosevelt asks Philip Battell Stewart to send him the pamphlets they discussed about James Hamilton Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners. Roosevelt was told that Stewart or William Lenox could provide him with detailed statements “showing that there is no moral doubt” that the leaders of the Western Federation of Miners have used murder as a weapon in the past.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-03
Elbert F. Baldwin is out of town attending to the birth of his fifth child, Janet Sterling Baldwin. Baldwin shares his opinion with President Roosevelt that his friend John Hays Hammond should be Secretary of War William H. Taft’s vice presidential candidate. Hammond’s strength as a mining engineer and his sympathy with the Roosevelt administration’s conservation reforms would make him a good candidate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-06
Itasca County Attorney Thwing notifies Governor Johnson that a group of 200 “irresponsible strikers” pose a threat to the peace and suggests that Johnson send troops to relieve the sheriff and his deputies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-30
Minnesota Governor Johnson sends the text of a telegram to Itasca County Sheriff Hoolihan. The telegram, from Acting President of the Western Federation of Miners Mahoney, describes several arrests made without charges and threats of violence made by sheriff’s deputies against the striking miners. Johnson requests a statement from Hoolihan about the conditions on the ground.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-30
Sheriff Hoolihan informs Minnesota Governor Johnson that all arrests made have been made legally and are authorized by the county attorney who is on site.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-30
Citizens of Bovey, Coleraine, Nashwauk, and Grand Rapids have learned that members of the Western Federation of Miners have requested the removal of Sheriff William B. Hoolihan, and ask Governor Johnson to support Hoolihan and issue a statement regarding his position on “organizations flaunting the red flag of anarchy” in Minnesota.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-30
Citizens of Bovey, Coleraine, Nashwauk and Grand Rapids, now at Nashwauk
Sheriff Hoolihan informs Minnesota Governor Johnson of the situation in Itasca County. Hoolihan says striking miners from Finland, Austria, Italy, and Montenegro are holding daily meetings “under red flag,” making “anarchistic speeches” in foreign languages, and threatening non-sympathisers and men who want to work with violence. Hoolihan asks for the governor’s support in suppressing the meetings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-30
W. J. Stock forwards the contents of a telegram to Minnesota Governor Johnson, in which Teofilo Petriella accuses Sheriff William B. Hoolihan of turning union members and their families out of their homes. Stock maintains that this allegation is false, and invites Johnson to investigate the matter in person.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-25