Your TR Source
President Roosevelt will dine with Wayne MacVeagh and Justice White on Tuesday. They will discuss “corporation matters.” Roosevelt has a high regard for Mr. Trigg but would prefer to appoint a “good Republican” to the judgeship.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-12
Theodore Roosevelt is “pleased” with what Henry White told Chief Justice White. Roosevelt is interested in White’s views on reciprocity. He is looking forward to hosting Henry White at Oyster Bay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Theodore Roosevelt asks Henry Cabot Lodge if he previously wrote to Lodge in detail about his handling of the Algeciras Conference and the Alaskan Boundary dispute. If this is the case, Roosevelt requests to see the letters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-15
President Roosevelt returns letters and telegrams to Attorney General Bonaparte. Roosevelt asks Bonaparte to consult with Supreme Court Justice Edward Douglass White and Judge Waller Thomas Burns about appointing a special counsel to investigate the violation of neutrality incidents on the border with Mexico. Roosevelt wants to assure the Mexican government that something will be done at once and does not want to wait for reports from secret service agents. Roosevelt asks about the status of the whiskey cases.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-24
President Roosevelt tells Attorney General Bonaparte that Secretary of State Elihu Root is anxious to appoint a special counsel to assist the Texas District Attorney in the prosecution of people who have violated neutrality laws against Mexico. Root thinks it should be someone from Texas, and Roosevelt asks Bonaparte if Alford Warriner Cooley or one of Bonaparte’s people knows anyone who might be a good choice. Roosevelt suggests several people to check with, and asks Bonaparte to keep in touch with the State Department.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-13
President Roosevelt describes to Mark Sullivan the considerations that have gone into his selections for federal judgeships. Roosevelt reviews his appointments in detail, noting that some were made at the request of the local organization and some against their wishes. The goal in each case was to appoint someone “of the high character, the good sense, the trained legal ability, and the necessary broad-mindedness of spirit…essential to a good judge.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-13
President Roosevelt asks Attorney General Bonaparte for his opinion of E. D. Saunders as a candidate for District Judge of Louisiana. Saunders comes recommended from Louisiana politicians and judges. Roosevelt also asks about Judge James Wickersham of Alaska.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-09
President Roosevelt would like to be able to “get off into the woods somewhere for a holiday,” but does not think it will be possible for him to do so for a variety of reasons. Among other reasons, Roosevelt is cognizant of his time in the presidency growing shorter, and wants to make sure he is able to accomplish what he wants to. He believes Lyman Abbott is correct in his view of the Allison amendment, and says that it simply lists what Roosevelt has always maintained that the Hepburn bill contained. Recent discussion of the inheritance tax has amused Roosevelt, as there is already a law on the books which had been deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court several years ago.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-09
President Roosevelt thanks J. M. Dickinson for the information and will send the letter to Justice White.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-12-07
Edwin A. Van Valkenburg presents arguments against the Supreme Court’s decisions in the Standard Oil and Tobacco Trust cases.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-21
A. J. Gilbert writes to Theodore Roosevelt to give Roosevelt his opinion concerning the opinions of Supreme Court Justices’ Edward Douglas White and John Marshall Harlan. Gilbert suggests once people understand the full meaning of the court’s decision, something will to cause control over big business.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-11
During a gathering at the Fifth Regiment Armory honoring James Gibbons, Marshall F. Ziegler says an unnamed gentleman who sat in between President William H. Taft and Edward Douglas spoke negatively about the contents of his speech, astounding Ziegler.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-10
Henry White recounts an encounter with Chief Justice Edward Douglass White to whom he conveyed a message from Theodore Roosevelt on the recent Standard Oil decision. He shares the chief justice’s thoughts on the case before confiding in Roosevelt the details of a conversation with President Taft on “the situation in Canada” and difficulty the president is having with the two senators from Rhode Island. He closes with an inquiry as to whether he can stay with the Roosevelts in Oyster Bay before departing on a trip to Europe in June.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-24
Richard Wilson Knott encloses an article he wrote yesterday regarding the Supreme Court’s decision in the Standard Oil Case. Knott fears that the Supreme Court will leave too little room for interpretation of their decisions, and trusts that Theodore Roosevelt feels the same way and will stand his ground on trust-busting.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-17
Franklin C. Morehead requests a meeting with Theodore Roosevelt for advice to get his “great work…on the road to success,” a work in which Edmund Clarence Stedman expressed confidence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-20
John Clay Davies comments on Ezra P. Prentice’s resignation as Chairman of the New York State Committee. He believes there needs to be a practical reorganization of the party machinery, especially since the younger element have been unable to participate effectively. Davies discusses that public officers need to be divorced from personal interests.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-01-17
The author comments on President William H. Taft’s surprising desertion of Justice Charles Evans Hughes, especially since he was most likely to be appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This elevation would be a reward since Hughes’ appointment to the Court removed him as a prominent candidate from the 1912 Presidential campaign, making Taft’s renomination more likely. Therefore, it is astonishing that Taft would honor Justice Edward Douglass White, a Democrat. Additionally, the author argues that the balance of power in the country now rests with the Vatican and Cardinal James Gibbons. The fear of losing the Catholic vote in the Presidential campaign has pushed Taft to appease them by elevating a Catholic to the Chief Justiceship. Hughes should resign and join the Protestant New National Party.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-12-12
Attorney General Bonaparte updates President Roosevelt on the outcomes of several Supreme Court cases. The Court has ruled against the Roosevelt Administration in the employers’ liability cases. Bonaparte provides a summary of the judges’ opinions in the event that he wants to send a special message to Congress urging a passage of the law that the court would deem constitutional based on the case. The Court ruled against the administration in the Williamson case, but on grounds that allow it to be tried again. As expected, the Court overturned the conviction of Major Carrington, who was sentenced in the Philippines to 40 years. Bonaparte asks Roosevelt’s advice on waiting to take action on Christian Schuebel’s nomination as Senator Fulton has requested. Finally, Bonaparte writes that Tracy C. Becker will help with prosecutions in Oregon.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-06
Theodore Roosevelt sits in a chair with a bull moose who is crying and looking up at him. In the background a vision shows crowds cheering as Roosevelt is sworn in as president by Chief Justice Edward D. White, while an old and beaten William H. Taft looks on. Caption: Of all sad words of tongue or pen, / The saddest are these: “It might have been!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1913-02-26
Justice Holmes responds to a letter from President Roosevelt, in which he discusses the outcome of the Alaskan Boundary dispute with England. Holmes had showed Neville Chamberlain (Mr. C.) an earlier letter of Roosevelt’s, which could have been understood, though it was not intended, as a threat, and that may have affected the outcome. Both Holmes and Justice Edward White believe it was a “personal triumph” for Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-21