May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Angier: Busy though I am, I must take time to send you just this line of personal acknowledgement and thanks. Evidently, you are the right kind of American. Sincerely yours, Mr. E. A. Angier, 30 Capitol Avenue, Atlanta, Ga.[*991*] [*Baird*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Sir: This will be presented by Dr. Thompson M. Baird of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, who is an applicant as a Surgeon-Major in the Medical Reserve Corps. Dr. Baird was in my regiment as a private, but during the prolonged sickness of our Surgeon, Dr. Massie, he acted as Surgeon of the Squadron. He was a most excellent soldier, ever ready to endure hardship, and devoted to his duty. He was later recommended to me as a Surgeon. I believe it would be to the interest of the Army to have him in the Medical Corps. Sincerely yours, Surgeon-General, U. S. Army, Washington, D.C. May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Baker: Good for you! I would like to have you with me, if you come up to the requirements but up to the present time the Secretary of War, whom you say is your brother, says I cannot go. Sincerely yours, Mr. J. C. Baker, 67 West 126th Street, New York City. May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Baldwin: It is not possible for me to continue as Trustee of the American University. I was put on when I was President, but now it is quite impossible for me to give any service, and I cannot allow my name to be associated with any institution, and especially with any important and valuable institution, where I cannot possibly render service. With great haste, and good wishes, Faithfully yours, Mr. Charles W. Baldwin, Secy., The American University, TRUSTEES Washington, D.C. 1817 (on opposite page)May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Bates: If I am given that division, nothing would give me more pleasure than to have a troop, or a company of Onondaga Indians, and their kinsfolk. It would be fine! Sincerely yours, Mr. Erl A. Bates, Pres., 943 S. State Street, Syracuse, N. Y. May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Bellows: I thank you, but I can only suggest that such matters be referred to the War Department at Washington. Sincerely yours, Mr. B. F. Bellows 524 W. Austin Street, Nevada, Mo. 3250 (on opposite page)May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Benn: I thank you for letting me see your verse, but I would much prefer that you dedicate them to someone else. So many similar requests are made that it is impossible for me to comply with them. I appreciate your courtesy, and regret that it is necessary for me to make this decision. Sincerely yours, Mr. A. W. Benn, 4561 Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Ills. May 1st, 1917. My dear Professor Bingham: I have at once sent the letter to General Squier. Sincerely yours, Prof. Hiram Bingham, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 3003 [*Borah*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Senator: I earnestly hope I am allowed to have that division, and that the Harding amendment passes. I think the Democrats should be warned of the danger of doing what they seem inclined to do, in making this merely a political war. It I am allowed to go, it will be the greatest [help] pleasure to me, to have you with me, but I cannot make a promise now, for I must go over my lists and find out just the capacity in which you could do best work, and in which you would desire to go. I can use you somewhere sure. Faithfully yours, Hon. William E. Borah, Washington, D.C. May 1st 1917. My dear Mr. Bosse: That's such a very nice letter of yours that, busy though I am, I must send you just this line of personal acknowledgement and thanks. I am so overwhelmed with work now, that it is just impossible for me to attempt anything additional at this time. I am so sure that I cannot do what you have in mind, that I hate to have you come over here; and after all, think you had better write me. Sincerely yours, Mr. Adolphe E. Bosse, 1544 Wallace Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 4086 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Brown: I am sorry, but I have absolutely no influence in those matters. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Frank G. Brown, 2030 W. Venango Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 1869 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Brown: I thank you for your courteous invitation of April 30th, but as things are now I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Frank Brown, 1 Madison Avenue, New York City. May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Brush: That's such a very nice letter of yours, that I must send you just this line of personal acknowledgement and thanks. Sincerely yours, Mr. George S. Brush, Zanesville, Ohio. 2325May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Campbell: I thank you, but I don't believe there is anything I can do in such a matter. I am now bending every effort to get permission to raise my division. With hearty thanks, Sincerely yours, Mr. J. W. Campbell, St. Anthony Hotel, San Antonio, Texas.[*6108*] May 1st, 1917. file Dear Carey: That's an excellent letter of yours, and I wish I could give you definite information, but I can't. As for Irvine, I will try my best to take him, if I am given the chance. [The Administration in my case as in Woods seems most reluctant to treat the war as anything ??cept an opportunity to qualify personal spite.] Sincerely yours, Mr. Robert D. Carey, Careyburst, Wyo.6066 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Carroll: Will you get Nolan and Mann to send in their applications? Obviously, they are men of the very stamp I wish. I am sorry to say that I think your feelings about the Administration's attitude toward the division are justified. With hearty good wishes, Faithfully yours, Mr. Francis M. Carroll, 68 Devonshire Street, Boston, Mass. 6022 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Crane: You could get into any court by going there. Of course, no stranger must apply to Colonel Roosevelt for letters of introduction. Sincerely yours, Mr. Bertram Crane, 16 Park Place, Princeton, N.J. 821May 1st, 1917. My dear Mrs. Crow: That's a very patriotic letter of yours. I shall put it at once on file. Sincerely yours, Mrs. C. R. Crow, 415 East Walnut Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Sent to Dr. Derby 8862May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Chanler: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to send you this note, and ask if you will dine with him at Sagamore Hill, Wednesday evening at 7:30; or if that is impossible, will you have lunch with him Friday at 1:30? Sincerely yours, Mr. Winthrop Chanler, 32 Liberty Street, New York city. [?4241]May 1st, 1917. Dear Miss Chapman: The men who wish to come with me would not come if merely said I wished to train them, and not to have them fight. I should lose the all moral force in my appeal, if I said I merely wished to train and send others to fight. I have already, in the clearest way, asked permission to get the men to France to train, and then go with them to the front at the earliest possible moment. Faithfully yours, Miss Elizabeth Chapman, 325 West 83nd Street, New York City. 34242May 1st, 1917. Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt greatly regret that it is not possible for them to accept the kind invitation of The Rubinstein Club to breakfast on May the Fifth. Mr. William Roger Chapman, Pres., The Rubinstein Club, Waldorf Astoria, New York. 34243May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Daniels: That's a capital editorial. I thank you for it. There has been a persistent attempt, I am sorry to say, instigated by men at Washington, who were influenced by political reasons, to escape permitting me to help raise a force to go to Europe at the earliest possible moment. One of the methods employed has been to try to make believe that this was antagonistic to the principles of universal service. I thank you for the letter in which you so clearly show what the facts are. Faithfully yours, Mr. G. B. Daniels, Oakland Enquirer, Oakland, Calif. 4244May 1st, 1917. Dear Dr. Delevanti: I am sorry, but Colonel Roosevelt is so overwhelmed with work at this time that it is an impossibility for him to attempt anything additional. With regret. Sincerely yours, Dr. Edward P. Delevnti, Edgar Court, Manhattan Street, N.Y. 4245May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. de Sumichrast: It would be a pleasure [????] to see you, but I am absolutely unable to be of assistance to you. I have no means whatever of aiding you, as you suggest - I can't help believing that Judge Grant himself would tell you this, if you asked him. With real regret that I am not able to be of assistance, I am Sincerely yours, Mr. F. C. de Sumichrast, Harvard Club, 27 West 44th Street, New York City. 34246 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Dunleavy: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your courteous letter of April 21st. Sincerely yours, Mr. T. J. Dunleavy, Hotel Hayward, Los Angeles, Cal. 34247 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Eaton: I thank you but I am powerless in such a matter, and can only suggest that you take it up with the War Department at Washington. Sincerely yours, Hon. B. A. Eaton, Station D.R.R. No 1, Milwaukee, Wis. 34248 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Edwards: I am very sorry, but it is impossible for me to do as you suggest. With great regret, Sincerely your, Mr. Chas. Jerome Edwards, Press., The Brooklyn Club, 131 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 34249 May 1st, 1917. My dear Sir: I am not able to speak specifically as to your plan, but of course I most cordially welcome any movement which will enlist the travelling men of the United States in such shape that their great influence will be expressed for National Defense. Sincerely yours, Mr. J. W. Elvebach, Secy., Commercial Travelers' National Patriotic League, Grand Forks, W.D. 34250 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Estes: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. E. W. Estes, Ex. Secy., The Broadway Association, 1482 Broadway, N.Y.C. 34251May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Fleck: I regret I must refuse your kind invitation. Since election I have received in the neighborhood of 600 requests for speeches, and many of them I am sorry to have to refuse. I am simply overwhelmed with work just now, and it is a physical impossibility for me to make another engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Henry T. Fleck, Chairman, Red Cross Benefit, High School Choral Organizations, Hunter College, Park Avenue % 68th St., New York. 34252 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Fleming: That's mighty nice of you. Believe me, I appreciate your offer, and thank most cordially. Faithfully yours, Mr. Wm. H. Fleming, Augusta, Ga. 34253 May 1st, 1917. My dear Major Foster: I have waited a few days, hoping the strain on Colonel Roosevelt would let up, but his work is heavier rather than lighter, so that I know it is impossible for him to comply with your request. I am very sorry. Sincerely yours, Major Joseph E. Foster, 1548 Thatford Avenue, Ozone, Park, L.I. 34254May 1st, 1917. Dear Miss Greenleaf: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your courteous letter of April 14th. Sincerely yours, Miss Sue Greenleaf, 776 Bush Street, San Francisco, Cal. 34255 TELEGRAM May 1st, 1917. Mr. John C. Greenway: Bisbee, Ariz. Cannot answer definitely. The Senate has acted most wisely but the Washington politicians are doing everything they can to prevent efficient action at present and above all to prevent our going. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met Mag. Off. 34256 May 1st, 1917. My dear Colonel Jameson: I earnestly hope that I shall have a chance to use you, in connection with my division. As for your politics concerning Home Rule, they happen to be my own, and it will be a genuine advantage to have an officer of the British Army, who is a strong Home Ruler, with my division, and it ought to help win co-operating with the allies. With hearty thanks, Sincerely yours, Colonel J. Eustace Jameson, 8 Waterloo Place, Paul Mall, London, S.W. English. 34257TELEGRAM [*Farm*] May 1st, 1917. The Farm Journal, Philadelphia, Pa. I heartily endorse your request that the farmers plant the largest possible crops. My own farming land is very limited, but we are planting as much extra in beans, potatoes, and turnips as possible. My brother-in-law Douglas Robinson, who has a farm in Herkimer County, and another in Grayson and Smith Counties, Virginia has put all this available extra tillage land in with potatoes, turnips, and some corn. We need grain for food. None of it should be used for liquor, and the government should put a stop to the use of any grain for liquor in view of the possible food shortage. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "COLLECT" 4258 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Fergg: I thank you, and greatly appreciate your letter of the 30th ultimo. Sincerely yours. Mr. Joe Fergg, 17 East 24th Street, New York. 34259 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Goss: That's fine. I appreciate the editorial to the full, and I deeply touched by it, and also by your letter. Believe me, I shall try to deserve your good opinion. Faithfully yours, Mr. Charles F. Goss, 937 Lexington Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. 34260 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Hagan: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your very courteous letter of April 25th. Sincerely yours, Mr. John Hagan, 161 West 36th Street, New York. 34261May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Hammond: I thank you for your kind invitation, but as things are now I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. G. M. Hammond, Pres., New York Athletic Club, Central Park South, N.Y. 34262 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Hanna: That's fine. I hope I am given that division, and I hope that it will be possible to use you, although of course I cannot promise. I am filling your application, and the accompanying one. Sincerely yours, Mr. L. B. Hanna, Fargo, W. D. 35263 May 1st, 1917. Dear Harrison: In some position, for every reason, I shall certainly want your son in my division, if I am allowed to go. With hearty thank, Faithfully yours, Mr. Russell H. Harrison, 708 Newton Claypool Bldg. Indianapolis, Ind. 34264 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mrs. Hicks: That's very nice of you. Believe me, I appreciate it. Sincerely yours, Mrs. John Hicks, 525 Algoma Street, Oshkosh, Wis. 34265 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mrs. Holmes: I don't know what I will be allowed to do, so in the meantime I can only pass your letter on to the division headquarter for file, in case I can allowed to go to the front. You have no conception of how very busy I am. I am returning your enclosures. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Sarah M. Holmes, c/o F. A. West 110th Street N.Y. 34266May 1st, 1917. Dear Mrs. Hooker: To my very great regret, I have already recommended Proctor for that position. I am not on the committee, and I don't suppose I shall be consulted about it at all. If so, I will certainly remember Mr. Potter in case Proctor is turned down. I do wish I could see you. Elon, of course, is about nineteen different kinds of a trump. Faithfully yours, Mrs. E. H. Hooker, 16 East 67th Street, New York. 34267 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Horner: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles F. Horner, Chairman, Kansas City, Mo. 34268 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Hunt: I want men from every state in my division, but I don't want a regiment composed of men from any one state. I thank you for your courteous letter, and have passed it on to the Division Headquarters for proper file. Sincerely yours, Mr. Pal Hunt, Jefferson City, Mo. 34269 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Imes: That's very good pf you. I thank you for your courtesy. Sincerely yours, Mr. G. Lake Imes, Tuskegee Institute, Ala. 34270 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Johnson: I think that plan is capital, and I only hope I shall be able to have it at hand, in the event of raising a division. Sincerely yours, Mr. Douglas W. Johnson, Columbia University, New York City. 34271[*Keese*] May 1st, 1917. Gentlemen: I regret I must refuse your kind invitation. Since election I have received in the neighborhood of 700 requests for speeches, and many of them I am sorry to have to refuse. I am simply overwhelmed with work just now, and it is a physical impossibility got me to make another engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Phillip H. Keese, Mr. William Bayne, Mr. Frank M. Bailey, Mr. J. Edward Townsend, Mt. Ottilia I. Poe, Lakewood Masonic Temple Co., Detroit at Andrews Ave., Lakewood, Ohio. 34272[*file*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Lady Kingston: That's a very nice letter of yours, and I fully appreciate it, but I am sorry to say that it is out of the question for Mrs. Roosevelt and myself to undertake anything more. You cannot image the innumerable demands made upon us, and my [the] utter impossibility to [of] meeting one in a hundred. Again thanking you, I am, Faithfully yours Countess of Kingston, 14 East 60th Street, New York City, 34273 May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Kornicker: Your letter of April 30th, addressed to Colonel Roosevelt, is received. In view of the nature of your request, will you e good enough to let me know what knowledge Colonel Roosevelt has of you, from a military standpoint? Sincerely yours, Mr. Jacob L. Kornicker, 399 Broadway, New York. 34274 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Lansburgh: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Henry Lansburgh, 420 Seventh Street, Washington, D.C. 34275Form 260 WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM TELEGRAPH AND CABLE WESTERN UNION GEORGE W. E. ATKINS, VICE-PRESIDENT NEWCOMB CARLTON, PRESIDENT BELVIDERE BROOKS, VICE-PRESIDENT RECEIVER'S No. TIME FILED CHECK SEND the following Telegram, subject to the terms on back hereof, which are hereby agreed to May 1st, 1917. Mr. George Lee, Boston, Mass. DEEPLY APPRECIATE INVITATION FROM YOU AND MADELINE BUT IT IS A PHYSICAL IMPOSSIBILITY TO ACCEPT. GREAT REGRET THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34275 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Lehmann: I am very sorry, but it is a physical impossible for me to go to Buffalo. With real regret, Sincerely, yours, Mr. George C. Lehmann, General Secretary, Buffalo Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo, New York, 34277 May 1st, 1917. Dear Judge: That's fine. Give me warm regards to Mrs. Linsey. I was delighted with Costigan's appointment, but I am very much afraid that Administration at Washington is against giving me my division, for political reasons. Faithfully yours, Hon Ben B. Lindsey, Juvenile Court, Denver Colo. 34278 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Mackie: That's very good of you. I thank you for your courtesy. Sincerely yours, Mr. H. A. Mackie Genl. Mgr., Scientific Instrument Co., 206 Humphrys, Bldg., Atlantic City, N.J. 34279 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Mahdesian: I am sorry, but under my arrangement with the Metropolitan Magazine it is impossible for me to comply with your request. Sincerely yours, Mr. Axshag Mahdesian, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York. 32480May 1st, 1917. My dear Dr. Manning: As yet it looks as if the [politicians] Administration will refuse to let me go. You can guarantee that [your] any endorsement of yours will receive my most careful consideration, if I am allowed to go! I thank you most heartily for what you said in your sermon to the Loyal Legion. Faithfully yours, Rev. William T. Manning, 187 Fulton Street, New York. 34281May 1st, 1917. My dear Congressman Mapes: I thank you, and have immediately sent Mr. Shaw's application to the Division Headquarters for reference if I am allowed to raise that division. With hearty thanks, Faithfully yours, Hon. Carl E. Mapes, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 34282May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Messell: That's such a very nice letter of yours, that busy though I am, I must send you just this line of personal acknowledgment and thanks. Sincerely yours, Mr. Andrew Messell, 70 Vernon Street, Springfield, Mass. 34283[*Mitchel*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Mayor: I am sending you two letters from Mr. Ambrose, relative to Hammerling. Mr. Ambrose is an entirely responsible man. Faithfully yours, Hon. John P. Mitchel, Mayor, City of New York, New York. 34284May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Mitchell: I wrote to Fennessy at once. It is good to hear from you. Faithfully yours, Mr. John Mitchell, 230 Fifth Avenue, New York. 34285[*Moore*] May 1st, 1917. Dear Alex: I am much interested in Mr. Shea's letter. It is impossible to answer his question off hand. [On the one hand] It is very important that there should be no improper economy in the things that are necessary, but at a time such as this we should transfer labor and expenditure from superficialities to necessities. Let me illustrate exactly what I mean by two or three examples. I know one or two rich men, with big estates, who are employing laborers in numbers to shift big trees from one place to another. This ought not to be done. Those men should be employed in raising beans and potatoes, because the need to be met is to provide against food shortage, and not to transplant shade trees. Again we need every ship carpenter, every mechanic acquainted with boat building, for the purpose of constructing, at the earliest moment, boats to hunt down submarines, and cargo boats. Therefore, the Government should stop all building of pleasure boats, and should use the [engineers of [?]] shipwrights as bomb mechanics engineers of capability to aid in the construction of the submarine chasers, and cargo boats, which it is imperatively necessary to produce. Again I love flower 34286- 2 - gardens; but this is the time to use the space for vegetables. In short, let every form of expenditure and labor be for productive purposes, so as to meet the vital needs created by this great war. Faithfully yours, Mr. Alexander P. Moore, The Pittsburgh Leader, Pittsburgh, Pa. 34287May 1st, 1917. My dear Mrs. Murray: I am sorry I am unable to accept your very kind invitation, and in this more than busy time, I am able to send you only a word in commendation of the work of your organization. As I understand it, your organization will supply all that women can do for the success of the war. I fear the majority of our people do not realize the seriousness of our national situation. I am therefore glad that you women are [up and doing] - all you can in a spirit of real preparedness - to urge men of all classes, to enlist for the war, assuring them, as your society does, that they need have no anxiety for the loved ones they will have left at home, so far as material comforts are concerned, because you will look after them, and provide for their necessities. As a fellow American I thank you for what you are doing, and sincerely trust your organization will meet with the success it so richly deserves. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Thomas E. Murray, V.P., Catholic Women's Social & Civic League for War dependents, Brooklyn, New York. 34288May 1st, 1917. Dear Dr. Myers: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Rev. Cortland Myers, Tremont Temple Baptist Church, Boston, Mass. 34289May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. McKnight: I regret I must refuse your kind invitation. Since election I have received in the neighborhood of 700 requests for speeches, and many of them I am sorry to have to refuse. I am simply overwhelmed with work just now, and it is a physical impossibility for me to make another engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. L.E. McKnight, Chairman, Traffic & Transportation Club, Memphis, Tenn. 34290May 1st, 1917. Dear Mrs. McQueen: That's such a very nice letter of yours, that I must send you just this line to assure you of my deep appreciation of your courtesy. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Elizabeth L. McQueen, 7 Stephenson Park, New Rochelle, N.Y. 34291May 1st, 1917. Dear Dr. Nazarian: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Rev. A. H. Nazarian, 261 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 34292May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Noyes: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your courteous letter of the 24th. Sincerely yours, Mr. N. P. Noyes, Stonington, Conn. 34293May 1st, 1917. Dear Captain O'Grady: That's such a very nice letter of yours that busy though I am, I must send you just this line of acknowledgment and thanks. Sincerely yours, Captain W. L. D. O'Grady, 3905 Broadway, New York. 34294May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Palmer: I can only suggest that you take up that matter with Mr. Gifford Pinchot of Milford, Pennsylvania. Sincerely yours, Mr. H.S. Palmer, Homestead Farm, Machiasport, Maine. 34295May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Patton: I thank you for your telegram, which has been properly placed in the Division Headquarter's files. Of course, I haven't the faintest idea what the Administration will permit me to do. Won't you get in touch with Seth Bullock of Deadwood, South Dakota? Sincerely yours, Mr. W.H. Patton, Hoquim, Wash. 34296May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Pedler: I appreciate your letting me see your song, but my dear sir, you must not ask me to express an opinion. You have no conception of the multitude of similar demands made upon me. Sincerely yours, Mr. Robert L. Pedler, 1 Reservoir Terrace, Lawrence, Mass. 34297[*Percy*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Senator: Three cheers for Mr. Smith! That's an admirable letter of his to Parker, and I hope it will do good. Faithfully yours, Hon. Leroy Percy, Greenville, Miss. 34298May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Peugnet: I know nothing whatever of that matter, but have submitted your letter to my nephew, Senator Robinson, at Albany. Sincerely yours, Mr. Ramsay Peugnet, Treas. Silk Industry Home Defense League, 354 Fourth Avenue, New York. 34299May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Power: That's very nice of you. I thank you, and will you extend to Mrs. Power my warm regards? Sincerely yours, Mr. John S. Power, 14 Irving Place, New York. 34300May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Pumphrey: If you will refer to the recently published articles by Brand Whitlock, you will get the information you desire. Sincerely yours, Mr. Ralph Pumphrey, McLeon, Ills. 34301[*Pupin*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Sir: I thank you for your kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. M.L. Pupin, Philosophy Hall, Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York. 34302TELEGRAM May 1st, 1917. Mr. Milton D. Purdy, Minneapolis, Minn. COLONEL ROOSEVELT CAN SEE YOU METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE OFFICE NEW YORK TWELVE OCLOCK FRIDAY. J.M. STRICKER Secretary. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 303May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Read: I thank you for your very courteous letter, but Colonel Roosevelt is so overwhelmed with work that it is impossible for him to advise you in that matter. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. William F. Read, Jr., 211 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 34304May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Record: I would write to Wood at once, but he has gone away, or to be more accurate, has been taken away by the Administration. Sincerely yours, Mr. George L. Record, Commercial Trust Bldg., Jersey City, N.J. 34305May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Roberts: That's such a very nice letter of yours, that busy though I am, I must send you just this line of personal acknowledgment and thanks. Sincerely yours, Mr. W.B. Roberts, The Valley Bank, Rosedale, Miss. 34306[*Robertson*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Sir: I greatly appreciate your letter, and the clipping. I thank you for your courtesy. Sincerely yours, Mr. I. Affleck-Robertson, 409 Madison Avenue, Scranton, Pa. 34307May 1st, 1917. Dear Senator Robinson: Colonel Roosevelt asked me to send you the enclosed, with a copy of his answer. Sincerely yours, Hon. Theodore Douglas Robinson, Senate of the State of New York, Albany, New York. [*letter from Ramsay Peugnet 354 - 4th Ave, N. Y. enclosed*] 34308 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Russell: I regret I must refuse your kind invitation. Since election I have received more than 600 requests for speeches, and many of them I am sorry to have to refuse. I am simply overwhelmed with work just now, and it is a physical impossibility for me to make another engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Gordon M. Russell, Broad & Diamond Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. 34309 [*Russell*] May 1st, 1917. Dear Gordon: [No] You have no idea of the number of requests, such as yours, that I receive, and Gordon, it is an unwise type of request. If Lincoln had been asked to give 500 individual messages, instead of the one Gettysburg speech, there would [not be any] none of them worth reading. In a very small way, the comparison holds with me. No man writes anything worth writing who responds to the thoroughly kind and well-meant requests which come to him by the hundreds, for "inspiring messages". Take some sentence from what I have already written, or said; let me know what it is, and I will sign it, and send it to you. Faithfully yours, Rev. Gordon M. Russell, Broad & Diamond Sts., Philadelphia, Pa. 34310[*Schuyler*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Secretary: Isn't it possible to choose someone else in my place as Vice President in the Authors' League? I am so overwhelmed with work, that it is utterly impossible for me to do for the Authors' League what I think a Vice President should do. I, therefore, very earnestly request that you will get someone else for the position. If you cannot do this, then I reluctantly accept for this year, but with the understanding that someone else must be elected in my place next year. Faithfully yours, Mr. Eric Schuyler, Secy., Authors' League of America, 33 West 42nd Street, New York. 34311May 1st, 1917. My dear Colonel Scott: That's a fine letter of yours. I thank you from my heart. If I am allowed that division, it is a rather curious thing, [but] that I shall hope to have two Alabama Colonels, Gordon Johnston, and Jim Shelley. Sincerely yours, Colonel D. M. Scott, Headquarters Ala. Division, United Confederate Veterans, Selma, Ala. 34312May 1st, 1917. My dear Miss Sion: I greatly regret it is impossible for me to take any such action. Sincerely yours, Miss Carlotta P. Sion, 289 Vincent Ave., Lynbrook, N.Y. 34313May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Sopris: That's a fine letter of yours. How could a man be a better American than three-quarters Colorado, and one-quarter Sioux. I hope I can have the older boy of yours with me, if I go with that division. Faithfully yours, Mr. W. R. Sopris, San Juan, Porto Rico, Cuba. 34314[*Squier*] May 1st, 1917. Sir: This is to endorse very warmly, an application that has been made to you by Professor Hiram Bingham of Yale. Professor Bingham has done very extraordinary exploring work in the Andes. If I am to have a division, I hope to have him under me. He is an all around good man, of the best type, and anyone who gets him will be lucky. Faithfully yours, Major General Squier, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. 34315May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Steinmetz: I thank you heartily for your letter of April 29th, and assure you of my deep appreciation. Sincerely yours, Mr. Joseph A. Steinmetz, 1421 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 34316May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Stevens: Joe Bishop as Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission, has sent such a report on Hamilton Foley that I don't think it will be possible to use him. Sincerely yours, Mr. John F. Stevens, 52 Broadway, New York. 34317 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Stevens: That's very good of you, and I thank you for your very kind offer, but as things are now, I am unable to say anything definite in the matter. I sincerely trust the Administration will permit me to raise the division. Sincerely yours, Mr. W. X. Stevens, 724 Haight Bldg., Seattle, Wash. 34318 TELEGRAM May 1st, 1917. Mr. Maco Stewart, Jr., Texas Troop Commander, New Willard Hotel, Washington, D. C. COLONEL ROOSEVELT CAN SEE YOU METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE OFFICE NEW YORK TWELVE OCLOCK FRIDAY. J. M. STRICKER Secretary. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34319May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Straus: I am returning herewith the pictures, one of which Colonel Roosevelt has gladly autographed. However, it is impossible for him to comply fully with you request, and upon consideration I am sure you will appreciate this. Sincerely yours, Mr. Philip G. Straus, 1628 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, Md. 34320 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Swisher: I thank you for your courteous letter, but I do not expect to go to Scranton, and therefore, I am unable to accept your kind invitation. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles C. Swisher, Scranton Adv. Club, Scranton, Pa. 34321 May 1st, 1917. Dear Dr. Taylor: I am very sorry. You must not ask me to do that. I should spend all of my time being honorary pall-bearer, and writing tributes, if I once created the precedent. You have no idea of the overwhelming demands made upon me. With regret, Sincerely yours, Rev. B. R. Taylor, St. George's Rectory, Schenectady, New York. 34322May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Taylor: Indeed, I would be glad to have a confederate soldier with me, but under the circumstances I think you had better let the younger men do their part this time. With hearty thanks, Sincerely yours, Hon. George W. Taylor, Demopolis, Ala. 34323May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Thompson: That's mighty nice of you. Now, I don't want in any way, to interfere with that young man's future. All I wished was that he should receive enough of a rebuke to emphasize the matter, and if you will permit me to make the suggestion, I will be glad to have him reinstated now, on the ground that what has been done to him has warned him, and that therefore the purpose has been accomplished. With hearty thanks for your courtesy, I am, Sincerely yours, Mr. A. W. Thompson, Chairman, Board of Managers, Washington Terminal Co., Baltimore, Md. 34324[*file*] May 1st, 1917. Dear Thompson: The maple sugar has come, and I am very much obliged to you. The objection to my having that division is, of course, purely political. With many thanks. Sincerely, Mr. Charles E. Thompson, Stoneleigh Court, Washington, D. C. 34325May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Thompson: Don't have a dinner for me now. This is not the time. It is awfully good of you to think of me. Faithfully yours, Mr. C. S. Thompson, American Defense Society, 303 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. 34326 May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Todd: I am sorry, but this is nothing I can do in such a matter. I could only suggest that you interest your friends in your case. Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles W. Todd, Drawer N, Trenton, N.J. 34327 May 1st, 1917. My dear Count Tolstoy: Through you I send my most hearty congratulations and good wishes to the men who have lead the Russian people in this great [step] movement for democratic freedom. I speak to them as a fellow democrat and a fellow radical, when I urge them, for the sake of the ultimate welfare of the mass of the people of Russia, to see that their striking victory is used with such moderation and wisdom as to prevent all possibility of reaction. I have the keenest sympathy with your program for religious, political, and industrial freedom for all, and for equality of opportunity for all. It is not a very easy thing to carry through such a program; and in any such great movement as yours, the danger, at the point you have reached, comes almost as much from well meaning unbalanced extremists who favor the revolution, as from the reactionaries themselves. As you have put it, the torch of enlightenment fired the revolt; see that the light of the torch is not dimmed by any unwise and extreme action, and above all not by any of those sinister and dreadful deeds which a century and a quarter ago in France produced the Red Terror, and then by reaction the White Terror. All 34328- 2 - of us who love liberty, [and] who believe in political and social and industrial democracy, are now looking with eager hope to Russia; not only for your sakes, but for our own sakes, we beg you, [to continue your] exactly as by courage and disinterestedness you have [in] forc[ing]ed through the revolution ,so by wisdom and self- control [in accepting] to secure for your country the permanent benefits of the revolution. Very faithfully yours, Count Ilya Tolstoy, c/o Gernard Sandler, 261 Broadway, New York. 34329May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Tomlinson: That's very good of you, and I thank you for your very kind offer, but as things are now, I am unable to say anything definite in the matter. I sincerely trust the Administration will permit me to raise the division. Sincerely yours, George T. Tomlinson, Baldwineville, N. Y. 34330[*Tustin*] May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Tustin: I thank you for your courteous letter of April 28th, but I have no power in that matter. Sincerely yours, Mr. G. M. Tustin, Bloomsburg, Pa. 34331May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Vallens: I have no power whatever to do anything in that matter. You should communicate with the government. Sincerely yours, Mr. Eugene Vallens, 164 East 86th Street, New York. 34332May 1st, 1917. My dear General Vignal: The attached explains itself. Mr. Terrien came to me in person, and referred me to you. Of course, I cannot tell whether I would be allowed to raise a division, but I shall do my best. I should like to have your judgment about Mr. Terrian, and all other French applicants (including a gentleman who introduced himself as Count de Lafayette). Sincerely yours, General Vignal, 10 Bridge Street, New York. 34333May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Walk: I thank you for your letter, and sympathize with it. Many men are rejected by wooden-headed creatures when they could render admirable service and of course you can't wake the enthusiasm of the people if we don't give them something to be enthusiastic about. Faithfully yours, Mr. James Wilson Walk, 737 No. Corinthian Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 34334INTRODUCTION. England has in this war reached a height of achievement loftier than that which she attained in the struggle with Napoleon; and she has reached that height in a far shorter period. Her giant effort, crowned with a success as wonderful as the effort itself, is worthily described by the woman who has influenced all those who speak and read English more profoundly than any other woman now alive. No other writer could describe England's effort with [only] such knowledge, power and interest. Mrs. Ward writes nobly on a noble theme. This war is the greatest the world has ever seen. The vast size of the armies, the tremendous slaughter, the loftiness of the heroism shown and the hideous horror of the brutalities committed, the valor of the fighting men and the extraordinary ingenuity of those who have designed and built the fighting machines, the burning patriotism of the peoples who defend their hearthstones and the far rea[d]ching complexity of the plans of the leaders - all are on a scale so huge that nothing in past history can be compared with them. The issues at stake are elemental. The free peoples of the world have banded together against tyrannous militarism and government by caste. It is not too much to say that the outcome will largely determine, for daring and liberty-loving souls, whether or not life is worth living. A Prussianized world would be as intolerable as a world ruled over by Actila or by Timur the Lame. It is in this immense world crisis that England has played her part; a part which has grown greater month by month. Mrs. Ward enables us to see the awakening of national 34335- 2 - soul which rendered it possible to play this part; and she describes the works by which the faith of the soul justified itself. What she writes is of peculiar interest to the United States. We have suffered, or are suffering, in exaggerated form, from most (not all) of the evils that were eating into the fibre of the British character three years ago - [not to mention] and in addition from some purely indigenous ills of our own. If we are to cure ourselves it must be by our own exertions; our destiny will certainly not be shaped for us, as was Germany's, by a few towering autocrats of genius, such as Bismarck and Moltke. Mrs. Ward shows us the people of England in the act of curing their own ills, of making good, by gigantic and self-sacrificing exertion in the present, the folly and selfishness and greed and soft slackness of the past. The fact that England, when on the brink of destruction, gathered her strength and strode resolutely back to safety, is a fact of happy omen for [ourselves] us in America, who are now just awaking to the folly and selfishness and greed and soft-slackness that for some [?] we have been showing. As in America, so in England, a surfeit of materialism had produced a lack of high spiritual purpose in the nation at large; there was much confusion of ideas and ideals; and also much triviality, which was especially offensive when it masqueraded under some highsounding name. An unhealthy sentimentality - the antithesis of morality - has gone hand in hand with a peculiar sordid and repulsive naturalism. The result was a soil in which various noxious [needs] weeds flourished rankly; and of these the most noxious was professional pacifism. The professional pacifist has at times festered in the diseased tissue of 34336- 3 - almost every civilization; but it is only within the last three quarters of a century that he has been a serious menace to the peace of justice and righteousness. In consequence, decent citizens [notions] are only beginning to [?] and the base immorality of his preaching and practice; and he has been given entirely undesired credit for good intentions. In England as in the United States domestic pacifism has been the most potent ally of alien militarism. At first this service was rendered without pay. The silly creatures of both sexes, who composed the majority of the leaders in professional pacifist movement, were actuated by sheer timidity, or by an uneasy thirst for self-advertisement, or by sheet puzzled-headedness [men]. But gradually these dupes fell under the way of more sinister and more powerful intellects. In both England and the United States, of recent years, some of the Pacifist[s] leaders have been such merely because [this] their predominant characteristic could not be brayed out of them with a mortar; but others were hired by Germany. In the United States pro- Germanism (which is merely another name for one form of anti- Americanism) has been the main prop of the pacifist agitation for nearly three years. In England, as the researches of Miss Boyle O'Reilly have shown, German influence is the central and guiding feature of every important pacifist association. In both countries professional pacifism, of the ultra type, has shown itself profoundly unpatriot. The damage it has done the nation has been limited only by its weakness and folly; [?] those who have [?sed] it have served the devil to the full extent which [its] their limited powers permitted. 34337- 4 - There were in England - just as there are now in America - even worse fo[r]es to national honor and efficiency. Greed and selfishness, among capitalists and among labor leaders, had to be grappled with. The sordid baseness which saw in the war only a chance for additional money profits to the employer, was almost matched by the fierce selfishness which refused to consider a strike from any but the standpoint of the strikers. But the chief obstacles to be encountered in rousing England were sheer shortsightedness and that apathetic indifference which springs from dullness of apprehension. A considerable time elapsed before it was possible to make the people understand that this was a peoples war, that it was a matter of vital personal concern to the people as a whole, and to all individuals as individuals. In America we are now encountering much the same difficulties, due to much the same causes. In England the most essential thing to be done was to wake the people to their need, and to guide them in meeting the need. The next most essential was to show to them, and to the peoples in friendly lands, whether allied or neutral, how the task was done; and this both as a reason for just pride in what had been achieved, and as an inspiration to further effort. Mrs. Wards books - her former book, and her present one - accomplish both purposes. Every American who reads the present volume must feel a hearty and profound respect for the patriotism, energy and efficiency shown by the British people when they became awake to the nature of the crisis; and furthermore, every American must feel stirred with the desire to see his country now emulate Britain's achievement. 34338- 5 - In In this volume Mrs. Ward draws a wonderful picture of the English in the full tide of their successful effort. From the beginning England's naval effort and her money effort have been extraordinary. By the time Mrs. Ward's first book was written, the work of industrial preparedness was in full blast; but it could not yet be said that England's army in the field was the equal of the huge, carefully prepared, thoroughly co-ordinated military machines of those against whom and beside whom it fought. Now, the English army is itself as fine and as highly efficient a military machine as the wisdom of man can devise; now, the valor and hardihood of the individual soldier are being utilized to the full under a vast and perfected system which enables those in control of the great engine to use every unit in such fashion as to aid in driving the [man] mass forward to victory. Even the Napoleonic contest was child's play compared to this. Never has Great Britain been put to such a test. Never since the spacious days of Elizabeth has she been in such danger. Never, in any crisis, has she risen to so lofty a height of self-sacrifice and achievement. In the giant struggle against Napoleon England's own safety was secured by the demoralization of the French fleet. But in this contest the German naval authorities have at their disposal a fleet of extraordinary efficiency, and have devised for use on an extended scale the most formidable and destructive of all instruments of marine warfare. In previous coalitions England has partially financed her continental allies; in this case the expenditures have been on an unheard-of scale, and in consequence Englands 34339- 6 - active industrial strength, in men and money, [and] in business and mercantile and agricultural ability, has been drawn on as never before. As in the days of Marlboro and Wellington so now England has sent her troops to the continent; but whereas formerly her expeditionary forces, altho of excellent quality, were numerically too small to ne of primary importance, at present her army is already, by size as well as by excellence, a factor of prime importance, in the military situation; and its relative as well as absolute importance is steadily growing. Mrs. Ward's book is of high value as a study of contemporary history. It is of at least as high value as an inspiration to constructive patriotism. THEODORE ROOSEVELT Sagamore Hills, May 1st, 1917. 4340INTRODUCTION. England has in this war reached a height of achievement loftier than that which she attained in the struggle with Napoleon; and she has reached that height in a far shorter period. Hergiant effort, crowned with a success as wonderful as the effort itself, is worthily described by the woman who has influenced all those who speak and read English more profoundly than any other woman now alive. No other writer could describe England's effort with [only] such knowledge, power and interest. Mrs. Ward writes nobly on a noble theme. This war is the greatest the world has ever seen. The vast size of the armies, the tremendous slaughter, the loftiness of the heroism shown and the hideous horror of the brutalities committed, the valor of the fighting men and the extraordinary ingenuity of those who have designed and built the fighting machines, the burning patriotism of the peoples who defend their hearthstones and the far [reading] reaching complexity of the plans of the leaders - all are on a scale so huge that nothing in past history can be compared with them. The issues at stake are elemental. The free peoples of the world have banded together against tyrannous militarism and government by caste. It is not too much to say that the outcome will largely determine for daring and liberty-loving souls, whether or not life is worth living. A Prussianized world would be as intolerable as a world ruled over by Actila or by Timur the Lame. It is in this immense world crisis that England has played her part; a part which has grown greater month by month. Mrs. Ward enables us to see the awakening of national [?]341- 2 - soul which rendered it possible to play this part; and she describes the works by which the faith of the soul justified itself. What she writes is of peculiar interest to the United States. We have suffered, or are suffering, in exaggerated form, from most (not all) of the evils that were eating into the fibre of the British character three years ago - [not to mention] and in addition from some purely indigenous ills of our own. If we are to cure ourselves it must be by our own exertions; our destiny will certainly not be shaped for us, as was Germany's, by a few towering autocrats of genius, such as Bismarck and Moltke. Mrs. Ward shows us the people of England in the act of curing their own ills, of making good, by gigantic and self-sacrificing exertion in the present, the folly and selfishness and greed and soft slackness of the past. The fact that England, when on the brink of destruction, gathered her strength and strode resolutely back to safety, is a fact of happy omen for [ourselves] us in America who are now just awaking to the folly and selfishness and greed and soft-slackness that for some years we have been showing. As in America, so in England, a surfeit of materialism had produced a lack of high spiritual purpose in the nation at large; there was much confusion of ideas and ideals; and also much triviality, which was especially offensive when it masqueraded under some highsounding name. An unhealthy sentimentality - the antithesis of morality has gone hand in hand with a peculiarly sordid and repulsive materialism. The result was a soil in which various noxious needs flourished rankly; and of these the most noxious was professional pacifism. The professional pacifist has festered in the diseased tissue of 42-3- almost every civilization; but it is only within the last three quarters of a century that he has been a serious menace to the peace of justice and righteousness. In consequence, decent citizens [actions] are only beginning to [?] and the base immorality of his preaching and practice; and he has been given entirely undesired credit for good intentions. In England as in the United States domestic pacifism has been the most potent ally of alien militarism. At first this service was rendered without pay. The silly creatures of both sexes, who composed the majority of the leaders in the professional pacifist movement, were actuated by sheer timidity, or by an uneasy thirst for self-advertisement, or by sheet puzzled-headedness [men]. But gradually these dupes fell under the way of more sinister and more powerful intellects. In both England and the United States, of recent years, some of the Pacifist[s] leaders have been such merely because [this] their predominant characteristic could not be brayed out of them with a mortar; but others were hired by Germany. In the United States pro-Germanism (which is merely another name for one form of anti- Americanism) has been the main prop of the pacifist agitation for nearly three years. In England, as the researches of Miss Boyle O'Reilly have shown, German influence is the central and guiding feature of every important pacifist association. In both countries professional pacifism, of the ultra type, has shown itself profoundly unpatriot. The damage it has done the nation has been limited only by its weakness and folly; [it has] those who have [?ed] it have served the devil to the full extent which [its] their limited powers permitted. 34343- 4 - There were in England - just as there are now in America - even worse fo[r]es to national honor and efficiency. Greed and selfishness, among capitalists and among labor leaders, had to be grappled with. The sordid baseness which saw in the war only a chance for additional money profits to the employer, was almost matched by the fierce selfishness which refused to consider a strike from any but the standpoint of the strikers. But the chief obstacles to be encountered in rousing England were sheer shortsightedness and that apathetic indifference which springs from dullness of apprehension. A considerable time elapsed before it was possible to make the people understand that this was a peoples war, that it was a matter of vital personal concern to the people as a whole, and to all individuals as individuals. In America we are now encountering much the same difficulties, due to much the same causes. In England the [The] most essential thing to be done was to wake the people to their need, and to guide them in meeting the need. The next most essential was to show to them, and to the peoples in friendly lands, whether allied or neutral, how the task was done; and this both as a reason for just pride in what had been achieved, and as an inspiration to further effort. Mrs. Wards books - her former book, and her present one - accomplish both purposes. Every American who reads the present volume must feel a hearty and profound respect for the patriotism, energy and efficiency shown by the British people when they became awake to the nature of the crisis; and furthermore, every American must feel stirred with the desire to see his country now emulate Britain's achievement. 34344- 5 - In In this volume Mrs. Ward draws a wonderful picture of the English in the full tide of their successful effort. From the beginning England's naval effort and her money effort have been extraordinary. By the time Mrs. Ward's first book was written, the work of industrial preparedness was in full blast; but it could not yet be said that England's army in the field was the equal of the huge, carefully prepared, thoroughly co-ordinated, military machines of those against whom and beside whom it fought. Now, the English army is itself as fine and as highly efficient a military machine as the wisdom of man can devise; now, the valor and hardihood of the individual soldier are being utilized to the full under a vast and perfected system which enables those in control of the great engine to use every unit in such fashion as to aid in driving the [man] mass forward to victory. Even the Napoleonic contest was child's play compared to this. Never has Great Britain been put to such a test. Never since the spacious days of Elizabeth has she been in such danger. Never, in any crisis, has she risen to so lofty a height of self-sacrifice and achievement. In the giant struggle against Napoleon England's own safety was secured by the demoralization of the French fleet. But in this contest the German naval authorities have at their disposal a fleet of extraordinary efficiency, and have devised for use on an extended scale the most formidable and destructive of all instruments of marine warfare. In previous coalitions England has partially financed her continental allies; in this case the expenditures have been on an unheard-of scale, and in consequence Englands 34345- 6 - active industrial strength, in men and money, [and] in business and mercantile and agricultural ability, has been drawn on as never before. As in the days of Marlboro and Wellington so now England has sent her troops to the continent; but whereas formerly her expeditionary forces, altho of excellent quality, were numerically too small to ne of primary importance, at present her army is already, by size as well as by excellence, a factor of prime importance, in the military situation; and its relative as well as absolute importance is steadily growing. Mrs. Ward's book is of high value as a study of contemporary history. It is of at least as high value as an inspiration to constructive patriotism. THEODORE ROOSEVELT Sagamore Hills, May 1st, 1917. 34346[*Washburn*] May 1st, 1917. Dear Charley: That's very interesting. I thank you for showing it to me. Good luck! Sincerely, Mr. Charles G. Washburn, 83 Union Street, Worcester, Mass. 34347[*Wheeler*] [*file*] May 1st, 1917. Gentlemen: This will be presented by Mr. John N. Wheeler, President of the Bell Syndicate, Incorporated, a newspaper corporation. He wishes to apply to the Officers Reserve Corps. I have known Mr. Wheeler for a number of years, and have found him upright, energetic, intelligent, and a gentleman in every respect. I believe he would make an excellent officer. Sincerely yours, To the Examining Board, Officers Reserve Corps, Governor's Island, N. Y. 34348May 1st, 1917. Dear Mr. Whidon: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your courteous letter of recent date. Sincerely yours, Mr. Daniel D. Whidon, 421 J. Green Bld., Seattle, Wash. 34349May 1st, 1917. My dear Dr. Williams: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Rev. Elmer Lynn Williams, 159 Locust Street Chicago, Ills. 34350May 1st, 1917. My dear Mr. Wilson: That's mighty nice of you. I am very much pleased and encouraged by what you write. Sincerely yours, Mr. Samuel Blake Wilson, 543 Calvert Bldg., Baltimore, Md. 34351[*Woodruff*] May 1st, 1917. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This will be presented by ex-Congressman Roy O. Woodruff, an old friend of mine. If I am allowed to raise a division, I have informed Major Woodruff I shall ask him to take a commission under me, so that it is needless to say that I have great confidence and belief in him. I bespeak all courtesy for him. Sincerely yours, 34352May 1st, 1917. My dear Dr. Young: That's a fine sermon of yours. I thank you for it. Faithfully yours, Rev. Dr. S. Edward Young, Bedford Presbyterian Church, Nostrand Ave. & Dean St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 34353 May 2nd, 1917. Dear Captain Barker: I am sorry, but it is impossible for me to attempt anything additional now. Sincerely yours, Captain E. E. Barker, Adventurers Club, Chicago, Ills. [*295*] Form 260 WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH AND CABLE GEORGE W. E. ATKINS, VICE-PRESIDENT NEWCOMB CARLTON, PRESIDENT BELVIDERE BROOKS, VICE-PRESIDENT RECEIVER'S No. TIME FILED CHECK SEND the following Telegram, subject to the terms on back hereof, which are hereby agreed to May 2nd, 1917. Colonel D. C. Collier, Hotel Shoreham, Washington, D. C. Discolls given name is Thomas. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34354May 2nd, 1917. My dear Mr. French: That's a particularly nice letter of yours, and I appreciate it to the full. Give my warm regards to your nephew John Weekes, and tell him I remember that ride well. He drove me like a gun! Faithfully yours, Mr. F. P. French, 241 West 77th Street, New York City. 34355May 2nd, 1917. Dear Dr. Goff: I thank you for your courteous letter of April 23rd, but I am powerless to be of any assistance in the matter. With regret, Sincerely yours, Dr. A. L. Goff, 222 Miller Bldg., North Yakima, Wash. 34356May 2nd, 1917. My dear Mr. Kracke: I am so very sorry it is an absolute impossibility to accept your kind invitation. If I could make an exception in your case I would, but it just is not possible. Faithfully yours, Mr. F. J. Kracke, Commissioner of Plant & Structures, New York City. 34357May 2nd, 1917. Dear Mr. Loeb: I have sent General Michener's letter to the Division Headquarters, at 753 Fifth Avenue, to be filed, in connection with William L. Tinter's application. Captain Dame is in charge of the Division Headquarters, and the telephone number in Plaza 3102. Sincerely yours, Mr. Wm. Loeb, Jr., 120 Broadway, New York. 34358May 2, 1917. My dear Mr. Warden: Of course, everything done to help the Allies must be done in a way that would not hamper them. If they wish me to do anything, they will ask me. It would embarrass them and not only serve no useful purpose, but would even be mischievous if I should make any proposal to them which might give offense to President Wilson, who is the head of the nation, and who is in a position to give very material aid to the Allies, and whom naturally and properly our Allies would be very loathe to offend in any way. While in my judgment many things might be done, if the Administration would permit, it is nevertheless true that it would be a mere embarrassment to our Allies to help them in a way of which President Wilson does not approve. You may remember that the State Department, acting for the administration, censored General Joffre's remarks because it was deemed that these remarks were favorable to the plan I had advocated. This was not an action that was lost on either our French or English visitors. This is, of course, for your private information. Faithfully yours, Mr. Henry Warden, Lee Hill Farm, Hazel Hill, Fredericksburg, Va. 34359May 3rd, 1917. Dear Mr. Hyde: Colonel Roosevelt directs me to acknowledge with thanks your courtesy in letting him see your song. He would much prefer, however, that the dedication be made to someone else, because so many demands are made upon him all of which he is obliged to refuse. Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles Hyde, 144 West Street, Battle Creek, Mich. 34360NIGHT LETTER. May 3rd, 1917. Hon. Julius Kahn, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. Earnestly hope you will back the Harding amendment. The men whom I would raise ought not to be asked to enlist in the regular army or National Guard. I wish I could be allowed to raise an Army Corps of at least two divisions. Then in each brigade we could put a regular regiment, and two volunteer regiments. I would gladly take command of a brigade if we could get first class regular officers for the corps and division heads. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 34361NIGHT LETTER. May 3rd, 1917. Cal. O'Loughlin, Hibbs Bldg., Washington, D.C. Have telegraphed Kahn and Dent. Can we not get the President in the open. T. R. 34362NIGHT LETTER. May 3rd, 1917. William Potter, 2nd St. & Erie Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. Come to Sagamore Hill Sunday afternoon either at three or five, but not between those hours. T. R. 34363[*N. Y. C. Rub? Club*] TELEGRAM May 4th, 1917. Mrs. Charles G. Braxmar, 256 West 132nd Street, New York City. I greatly regret it is not possible for me to accept your kind invitation. I beg to extend through you my heartiest greetings to the patriotic gathering. With all good wishes, THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Office. May 4th, 1917. Dear Mr. Fencher: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Hon. E. R. Fencher, Cleveland, Ohio. 34364 DAY LETTER. May 4th, 1917. Mr. F. O. Fuller, Speaker of House, Austin, Texas. I am deeply touched by the resolution by the Senate and House of the Texas Legislature. If it were a physical possibility I should accept by my engagements are such that it is absolutely impossible for me to get away prior to the date you mention. I am more than sorry, for you do not need to be told how heartily I admire the fighting men of Texas, past and present. If I am allowed to raise a division I am planning to get as many Texans as possible in that division. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34365May 4th, 1917. My dear Miss Haskell: Don't you think you had better spare yourself the bother of a trip to New York to see me, and write me instead? But, if you care to come on, then can you be at Hotel Langdon, Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, next Tuesday afternoon at 3 o'clock? Faithfully yours, Miss Mary E. Haskell, 314 Marlborough Street, Boston, Mass. 34366DAY LETTER May 4th, 1917. Mr. W. P. Hobby, Lieut. Governor, Austin, Texas. I am deeply touched by the resolution by the Senate and House of the Texas Legislature. If it were a physical possibility I should accept but my engagements are such that it is absolutely impossible for me to get away prior to the date you mention. I am more than sorry, for you do not need to be told how heartily I admire the fighting men of Texas, past and present. If I am allowed to raise a division I am planning to get as many Texans as possible in that division. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34367 May 4th, 1917. My dear Miss Morgan: I wish I could accept, but just at present it is an impossibility for me to make another engagement. I find it almost impossible to cover the work that I am doing. With thanks and great regret, Sincerely yours, Miss Anne Morgan, 219 Madison Avenue, New York City. 34368 May 4th, 1917. My dear Mr. Potter: I send my congratulations to you, and through you to all your men on the occasion of the raising of the flag. Our business now is to show that Americanism means something! With all good wishes, Faithfully yours, Mr. William Potter, 2nd & Erie Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. 34369May 5th, 1917. Dear Mrs. Anderson: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, and it is very interesting that a copy of "Columbiad" should be in your possession, and of course especially interesting in view of its having been presented by the author to your distinguished great-grandfather. With many thanks, Faithfully yours, Mrs. Paul G. Anderson, 1735 New Hampshire Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C.735 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Beckford: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. I have put it on file. Sincerely yours, Mr. Wm. Hale Beckford, 30 North 5th Street, Philadelphia, Pa.[*3201*] [*Benton*] May 5th, 1917. My dear Judge: That's one of the very nicest letters I have received at all, and I thank you most heartily. Faithfully yours, Hon. George A. Benton, Supreme Court Chambers, Rochester, N.Y.1768 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Blount: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, and I thank you for it. What a trump the Governor must be! Faithfully yours, Mr. W. M. Blount, B. & S. E. Ry. Co., Union Springs, Ala.5807 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Brown: Yes, I got that letter from Cunningham Graham, and I answered it. I recently got another. It is a pleasure to have heard from you, and I look forward to seeing you. Faithfully yours, Mr. H. Harris Brown, c/o Redmond & Co., 33 Pine Street, New York.1852 May 5th, 1917. My dear Chevalier Bruni: That's a very nice letter of yours. Mrs. Roosevelt appreciated it as much as I did. Sincerely yours, Chevalier Louis Bruni, Laredo, Texas.1591 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Bullen: It is not possible for me to say for publication now, more than I am saying, and I cannot take action about an Aviation Corps until I see whether I can get my own division sent abroad. Sincerely yours, Mr. Percy S. Bullen, The LONDON Daily Telegraph, 66 Broadway, New York.5640 [*Bullis*] May 5th, 1917. My dear little friend: That's a very nice letter of yours, and I am very much interested with the plans of you, and of Buster, for the future; and tell you father that I think what he says about little Warren and your mother must be exactly right! Faithfully yours, Miss Iola May Bullis, 6575 Edison Park Ave., Chicago, Ills.3112 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Burnham: I will enlist Indians in my division just as I did in the Spanish War. I have filed your letter. Sincerely yours, Mr. John B. Burnham, 233 Broadway, New York.[*379*] [*Burkett*] May 5th, 1917. My dear Senator: That's might nice of you. I wish you could have been in Chicago. I doubt if Mrs. Roosevelt goes west with me. Faithfully yours, Hon. E. J. Burkett, Lincoln, Nebr. May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Conroy: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, and I congratulate you on the pamphlet. I have put your name down at once, in the division. Sincerely yours, Mr. George R. Conroy, 133 Peterboro St., Boston, Mass. 8005 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Cosgrove: Fisher struck me as a fine young fellow, but I had no idea of his literary capacity. I wish I had received your letter before I saw him. Sincerely yours, Mr. J. O. H. Cosgrove, c/o The World, Pulitzer Bldg., Park Row, N.Y. 8496 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Crawford: That's such a nice letter of yours that I must send you this line of acknowledgment and thanks. I doubt if I will be able to take you with me, but you have shown exactly the patriotic spirit that I particularly admire. Faithfully yours, Mr. Elbert J. Crawford, San Antonio & Aransas Pass Ry. Co., San Antonio, Tex. [*Aransas Pass*] 8806 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Cutler: That's mighty nice of you. I thank you for the letter, and I thank you for the check, which will be used at once in connection with our Division Headquarters. Faithfully yours, Mr. Otis H. Cutler, 30 Church Street, New York. 8749 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Childs: I thank you for your letter of May 1st, and am very sorry but I could not possibly do that. Will you be good enough to so advise Mr. Edwards? Sincerely yours, Mr. William Hamlin Childs, 17 Battery Place, New York. 34370May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Coit: Three cheers for Mrs. Hasbrouck, the laundress! That's a family to be proud of! I wish you would tell her that I regard her as representing the very best type of American. Faithfully yours, Mr. Charles W. Coit, 1019 Park Avenue, Rochester, N. Y. 34371May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Cole: I deeply appreciate the action of Sidney and Selby counties. May I, through you, thus publicly express my appreciation? Good luck! Sincerely yours, Hon. Ralph D. Cole, Columbus, Ohio. 34372 [*Eaton*] May 5th, 1917. Dear Howard: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, but I don't dare to give you any advice, for I haven't the slightest idea what the Administration will do. If I am granted the division, I wish you could come on and let me have a talk with you. Faithfully yours, Mr. Howard Eaton, c/o Commonwealth Trust Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. 34373May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Edwards: I have received your telegram and letter. My son answered you by my direction. I never told you I would accept your unit. I told you that Sloan Simpson was raising a regiment, part of which would be composed of Texas men. If I am given authority to raise a sufficient number of men, I have no question I could use many of yours. I cannot make a definite committal now. Sincerely yours, Mr. E.W. Edwards, Portage Hotel, Akron, Ohio. 34374May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Engel: I regret I must refuse your kind invitation. Since election I have received in the neighborhood of 700 requests for speeches, and many of them I am sorry to have to refuse. I am simply overwhelmed with work just now, and it is a physical impossibility for me to make another engagement of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles I. Engel, 309 Broadway New York. 34375May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Fisher: Don't you think the position I have already publicly [made] taken is the best way of meeting the situation at present? Sincerely yours, Mr. Irvin Fisher, New Haven, Conn. 34376 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mrs. Freeman: That's one of the nicest letters I have received. I thank you, and deeply appreciate it. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Elizabeth Freeman, 49 West 12th Street, New York. 34377May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Freeman: I thank you for your courteous letter. I, of course, think it was unfortunate that the House did not adopt an amendment substantially like the Harding amendment in the Senate, which in no way interferes with conscription. (I have always heartily favored the obligating principle - 2 1/2 years before Mr. Wilson did!) I appreciate your statement that you hope that the conference report will be adopted with the Harding amendment in it. Sincerely yours, Hon. Richard P. Freeman, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 34378May 5th, 1917. My dear Major French: I am absolutely unable to give you advice. I haven't the slightest idea what the Government intends to do. Sincerely yours, Major L.H. French, Stratford Hotel, Chicago, Ills. 34379May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Gilbert: I wish I could accept, but it is absolutely out of the question. I admire Captain Rice, although I do not recall the visit of which you speak. It is unfortunate that it is impossible for me to accept such an invitation at the present time. Sincerely yours, Mr. Newton W. Gilbert, 14 Wall Street, New York. 34380May 5th, 1917. My dear Dr. Goodale: I don't doubt that I could take Robert with me, if I am given the chance to go; but of course I haven't an idea yet whether I will be given the chance. I don't believe in rejecting good men for merely technical reasons. Faithfully yours, Dr. J.L. Goodale, 258 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. 34381 May 5th, 1917. My dear Dr. Goodhue: I am up to my ears in work, so I can only send you this line of hearty thanks for your interesting letter. Sincerely yours, Dr. E.N. Goodhue, Kalaupapa, Hawaii. 34382 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Goodyear: I haven't an idea what the Administration intends to do, so that I am powerless to advise you. Sincerely yours, Mr. A.C. Goodyear, Buffalo, New York. 34383 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mrs. Hammond: I thank you for the telegram of Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Yawger, and yourself. It is impossible for me to speak as you suggest, so all I can do is to send you my hearty good wishes for the success of your meeting. Faithfully yours, Mrs. John Hays Hammond, 4 West 49th Street, New York. 34384 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Hartford: I thank you, and greatly appreciate your action. Sincerely yours, Mr. William J. Hartford, 304 Madison Avenue, New York. 34385 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Hawley: I am greatly obliged to you for your patriotic offer. If I am allowed to go to the front, I haven't a question that the Government will let me accept it. Sincerely yours, Mr. R.B. Hawley, 129 Front Street, New York. 34386 [*Henderson*] May 5th, 1917. My dear Governor: I have just learned with the most genuine pleasure, of your interview, urging that I be allowed to go with a division to France. Believe me, my dear Governor, I appreciate your action, and I thank you from my heart. Faithfully yours, [Hon.] Governor Charles Henderson, Montgomery, Ala. 34387May 5th, 1917. My dear Miss Henderson: It is a pleasure to hear from you. I appreciate your letter. Will you present my warm regards to your betrothed, Lieutenant Goodwin? If I am allowed a division, he is exactly the type of man I would like with me, but I suppose the English Army authorities would detail the men themselves. At present I haven't an idea whether I will be allowed to have a division. With all good wishes, Sincerely yours, Miss Margot Henderson, Hotel Marselles, New York. 34388 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Henning: That's a very nice letter of yours. I shall put it on file to use if I am given the opportunity to raise the division. Sincerely yours, Mr. I.W. Henning, c/o Racquet & Tennis Club, 27 West 43rd Street, New York City. 34389 [*Henshaw*] May 5th, 1917. My dear little friend: That's a very nice letter of yours, and I wish you well in every way. Your friend, Miss Helen Henshaw, 171 West 71st Street, New York. 34390May 5th, 1917. Dear Hoster: That's fine. You gave me information that I really wished to have. That's a mighty interesting memorandum that you have just sent, and I am very much obliged to you for it. Good luck always! Faithfully yours, Mr. William Hoster, New York American, Washington, D.C. 34391 May 5th, 1917. My dear Huidekopfer: Good for you! You may be sure I haven't forgotten you, and won't. Give my love to Helena. Faithfully yours, Mr. Frederic L. Huidekopfer, 1512 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 34392[*Hullings*] [*[May 5, 1917]*] Dear Congressman: Three cheers for you, and for your four sons! It did me good to get your letter. With hearty thanks, Faithfully yours, Hon. William J. Hullings, Oil City, Pa. 34393May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Ingersoll: I thank you for your courtesy, but you must not ask me to express an opinion. So many similar requests are made that it is impossible for me to comply with them. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. R.S. Ingersoll, c/o J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 34394May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Kemp: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. I shall take you, if I possibly can. Sincerely yours, Mr. Harry E. Kemp, 1953 Railway Exchange, St. Louis, Mo. 34395May 5th, 1917. Dear Brother Klinck: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, and I thank you with all my heart. I haven't time for more! Faithfully yours, Mr. Jacob A. Klinck, 85 Argyle Road, Brooklyn, N.Y. 34396[*Lansing, Robert*] [*Secretary of State*] May 5th, 1917. Sir: The enclosed letters explain themselves. I refer the matter to the Department for such action it can take. Sincerely yours, To the Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 34397May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Livingston: If I can take you, you are evidently the type of man whom I would like to have. Sincerely yours, Mr. Robert A. Livingston, Jr., 65 West 44th Street, New York. 34398May 5th, 1917. My dear Major Loeffler: Your letter give me the greatest pleasure. Good for Frank Weller Loeffler! He is a chip of the old block. And good also for your nephew, Charles H. Brown! Quentin, I am happy to say, is with out[sic] own aviation corps at Mineola. The other three boys are in the Officers Reserve Corps, like your nephew. Good luck to you, friend and [commander!] comrade! Faithfully your[s,] fellow American Major Charles D.A. Loeffler, 1632 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 34399May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. McAlister: Mr. Roosevelt is glad to hear that you are doing so well. He is absorbed in work and is not able to write to you personally, nor can he advise you as to what you shall do after graduation. He has no power to secure admissions to West Point, and has no college "under supervision", or any power to get any scholarships. He regrets he is unable to help you. Sincerely yours, Mr. Russell McAlister, 1839-16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 34400May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. McCarthy: I not merely earnestly hope, but confidentially anticipate, that Wisconsin's position will be a leading one in this war. No State made a greater record in the Civil War: no State has shown in its governmental affairs a better spirit, one more characteristically American; and no State has given [more] such leadership to all Americans in social and civic matters. To a peculiar degree, the population of Wisconsin typifies the Americanism of the future. We are a nation [of] akin to, but different from, every nation in Europe. We come from different stocks, we have many different strains of blood running in our veins; but we are Americans, all of us, Americans and nothing else. Now is the time for every man in the United States to show that he knows but one flag to which to pay allegiance, and that his loyalty to this great nation is absolutely single in its devotion. I earnestly hope and believe that Wisconsin will take the same [lead and] leading position now in this war, when America's [position] standing in the world at large is at stake, that she took over a half a century ago, when America's existence as a nation was at stake. Sincerely yours, Mr. Charles McCarthy, Legislative Reference Library, Madison, Wis. 34401[*McCormick*] May 5th, 1917. Dear Medill: The article referred to was published in the New York World, as per clipping enclosed, simultaneously with the London papers. Faithfully yours, Hon. Medill McCormick, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 34402May 5th, 1917. My dear Dr. McKim: That's a fine sermon. I thank you for letting me see it. Sincerely yours, Rev. Randolph H. McKim, Church of the Epiphany, Washington, D.C. 34403May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Menken: Indeed, I was very, very glad to go with you to Chicago, and I think we had a successful time. I am sending you that picture for Mr. McMillan. It gives me real pleasure to send it to him. Faithfully yours, Mr. S. Stanwood Menken, 31 Pine Street, New York. 34404May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Merrick: I only hope that things will shape themselves so that I can take Major Vincent. He is evidently the right type of man. Of course, I cannot make any promise at present. Sincerely yours, Mr. H. H. Merrick, Armour & Co., Chicago, Ills. [*I most warmly thank you for, and congratulate you on, the really great success of the meeting.*] 34405May 5th, 1917. My dear Captain Moffett: That's fine. I thank you, and I shall keep on file the copy of the recommendation of you by Colonel Dodd. That's worth having! [sir.] I don't know whether the chance will come when I can ask to have you with me, but nothing would give me more pleasure. But Fitch comes before you on the "waiting list", my dear Captain; so I can't promise. Sincerely yours, Captain W.P. Moffet[sic], Fort Sheridan, Ill. 34406 [*Moton*] May 5th, 1917. Gentlemen: That's mighty nice of you. I brought your matter before Leonard Wood the other day, but received no definite answer. I wrote to Governor Henderson at once. Faithfully yours, Mr. R. H. Moton, Principal, Mr. Emmett J. Scott, Secy., Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Ala. 34407[*D?*] [*Sp?*] May 5th, 1917. My dear Madam Muzio: Mrs. Roosevelt showed me your letter, and it touched me much. Indeed, if I ever get the chance to use your apartment, it would be a great pleasure to do so; but just now it does not seem likely that the Administration will permit me to go abroad. Sincerely yours, Madam J. Stanley Muzio, c/o Mrs. H. L. Clark, Bryn Mawr, Penna. 34408May 5th, 1917. My dear Newton: I am really obliged to you for the beautiful memorial volume. It is a fitting record for your beloved father. In great haste, Sincerely yours, Mr. Richard Newton, Jr., 2 East 41st Street, New York. 34409May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Noel: I am much interested in the letter, and thank you for it. I wish I could give you any definite information on any of the subjects you touch! Sincerely yours, Mr. Dix W. Noel, 42 West 44th Street, New York. 34410May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Oldham: I deeply appreciate the action of Sidney and Shelby counties. May I, through you, thus publicly express my appreciation? Sincerely yours, Mr. Harry Oldham, Sidney, Ohio. 34411May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Owen: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. You have always been a good friend of mine. You and I , my dear Senator, are Americans first, and we put patriotism far above party. Again heartily thanking you, I am Faithfully yours, Hon. Robert L. Owen, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 34412May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Pach: About a week ago I telephoned up to your office and asked the young lady to send me a small sized picture of the Colonel, that he is obliged to present to a minister - I think it is a Methodist minister somewhere near Oyster Bay - who is going abroad. Mr. McMillan and Mr. Merrick, two men who were very largely instrumental in bringing about the big meeting at Chicago a week ago to-day, and who contributed personally so much to the success of Colonel Roosevelt's meeting, both have requested autographed photographs directly to the Colonel, in connection with [their] other personal matters; so I am obliged to ask you for a picture for each of these gentlemen as well. I think if you send pictures about the size of the one you sent down today for Mr. Williams, it will be very good for Messrs. Merrick and McMillan, and then the small cabinet one for the minister. Sincerely yours, Mr. George Pach, 570 Fifth Avenue, New York. 34413May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Palmer: I thank you for your very kind invitation, but as things are now I dare not make any additional engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Eric H. Palmer, Brooklyn Press Club, 365 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 34414May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Read: That's a mighty nice note of yours. I thank you for it. Sincerely yours, Mr. William F. Read, 209 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 34415May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Read: Hampton Moore has shown that he is a proGerman and anti-American. He is evidently unfit to sit in the American Congress, and it is an outrage that he should be kept there. Sincerely yours, Mr. William F. Read, Jr., 209 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 34416 [*Robertson*] May 5th, 1917. My dear young friend: I like your letter, and I am sure that you and your brothers are just the right type; but I don't know whether I will be sent abroad in this war, and I am sure you ought not to go while you are so young. Faithfully yours, Mr. Teddy Robertson, R. F. D. #16, Anchorage, Ky. 34417May 5th, 1917. My dear General Rondon: Your cable greatly pleased me. I have done everything I could to bring this nation into the war on behalf of civilization, and democracy, and the freedom of small wel-behaved[sic] nations. Now, if only the Government will permit me, I wish to go abroad with an expeditionary force. I hope you have received, through the Ambassador, the report of what I said concerning you at the American Geographical Society. I have felt that it was a great injustice that you were not given the gold medal both by the British and the American Geographical Societies. You have done the greatest geographical work that has been done anywhere in the world in the last ten years. Faithfully yours, General Candido Rondon, Manaos, Brazil. [*Kermit, and my other three sons are enlisted in the army.*] 34418[*Ross*] May 5th, 1917. [*file*] TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Professor E. A. Ross of the University of Wisconsin is going to Russia for the American Institute of Social Service. Professor Ross is an old personal friends of mine, a radical democrat in both industrial and political matters. He is one of our most profound social writers, a gentleman of the highest character. He is in hearty sympathy with the Democratic movement in Russia. I cordially commend him and bespeak all possible courtesy for him. Sincerely, 34419May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Schwartz: That's the kind of a letter that gives me real pleasure, and you are the kind of an American in whom I believe with all my heart. Sincerely yours, Mr. Harry Schwartz, 105 East 22nd Street, New York. 34420May 5th, 1917. My dear Mrs. Shearer: That's one of the very nicest letters I have received. I thank you with all my heart. Good luck always! Faithfully yours, Mrs. Margaret Van Valkenberg Shearer, Wellsboro, Pa. 34421May 5th, 1917. Dear [Mr.] Simonds: That's a capital pamphlet. Lord, how I wish it could be distributed as a tract throughout the United States! Faithfully yours, Mr. Frank Simond[sic], Associate Editor, New York Tribune, New York. 34422May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Stalnaker: That's one of the very pleasantest letters among the many pleasant letters I have received. I thank you from my heart. Sincerely yours, Mr. Randolph Stalnaker, Fort Henry Club, Wheeling W. VA. 34423May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Sleicher: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. I am greatly interested in what you saw in the "Spectator", and what you say of Judge Day. Sincerely yours, Mr. John A. Sleicher, c/o Leslie's New York. 34424May 5th, 1917. My dear Mrs. Smart, That's a nice letter of yours to Mrs. Roosevelt. Of course, I have no idea what I can do. I have sent your letter to my son-in-law, Dr. Derby. Faithfully yours, Mrs. Mary Smart, 1127-6th Street, Coronado, Calif. 34425May 5th, 1917. My dear Judge Stephens: That's most kind of you. As far as I know, I never heard of de Costa, and I have not been able to find out anything about him, or about Mr. Apkins. The Fall River Steamship Company has a record of a man named Winston, who was in charge of the Pantry Department, but they know nothing of de Costa. I have taken the matter up with the State Department. With hearty thanks for your courtesy, I am Sincerely yours, Hon. J.E.R. Stephens, H.B.M. Court, Zanzibar 34426[*Private*] May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Taintor: You are evidently right. The Administration is blocking my proposal to use hundreds of thousands of men at once. They are acting in the spirit of McClellan, [while I am] we are acting in he spirit of Grant! Faithfully yours, Mr. Giles Taintor, 53 State Street, Boston, Mass. 34427TELEGRAM May 5th, 1917. Mr. R.M. Tobin, Hibernia Bank, San Francisco, Cal. I earnestly wish you all success in your meeting on behalf of Ambrie Fund for French soldiers. Good luck to you. I hope I shall be allowed to go with a division across to fight beside the French soldiers. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. "COLLECT" 34428 May 5th, 1917. Dear Mrs. Toys: That's mighty nice of you. I hope I shall have a chance to wear those socks in the trenches. Sincerely yours, Mrs. George B. Toys, 252 Beech Avenue, Toronto, Canada. 34429May 5th, 1917. My dear Mrs. Tracy: I wish I could accept, but it is a physical impossibility. You have no conception of the multitude of requests being made of me. With all good wishes, Sincerely yours, Mrs. C.E. Tracy, Highland Falls, N.Y. 34430[*Thayer*] May 5th, 1917. Dear Billy: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. If they had any vision in Washington, they would let me [take that division] go with those troops abroad; but I very gravely doubt whether they will do so. Sincerely yours, Mr. William R. Thayer, 8 Berkeley Street, Cambridge, Mass. [*How I wish you would write those XX volumes!*] 34431May 5th, 1917. My dear Major Vincent: I am much interested in your letter, but until the division is allowed I am absolutely in the dark as to what to write to you. I will keep your letter on file for future reference, but that is all I can do. Faithfully yours, Major C.R. Vincent, The Rookery, Chicago, Ills. 34432 May 5th, 1917. My dear Mr. Walker: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. I thank you with all my heart. Sincerely yours, Mr. Harry W. Walker, Blvd. & Elm St., Springfield, Mo. 34433May 5th, 1917. My dear Captain Weiner: As yet I have not been [able] empowered to raise volunteers at home, and it would be useless striving for permission to raise a foreign legion. I thank you for all your letters, I cannot try to acknowledge them specifically; you have no conception how busy I am. I can do nothing with your offer; if I am allowed raise a division, that is the utmost can hope for. Faithfully yours, Captain C. Weiner, Ewell Castle, Surrey, England. 34434May 5th, 1917. Dear Mr. Weir: Your letter of April 19th is received. I have written as you requested. Sincerely yours, Mr. William J. Weir, 17 Wyman Street, Worcester, Mass. 34435[*White*] May 5th, 1917. Dear W. A. Isely must be the type of man who would give me the kind of service I most need. But the Washington people haven't the slightest intention of letting me go, if they can help it. They would rather make this a paper war, if possible, but if not that then they want to make it a Democratic war. They are much more anxious to spite Leonard Wood and myself than to uphold the honor of the nation or beat Germany. Good luck to Mrs. White! Always yours, Mr. William Allen White, The Emporia Gazette, Emporia, Kans. 34436COPY. Sagamore Hill, May 6th, 1917. Dear Dr. Buenz: I hope the enclosed will be of assistance. I do not write to the Attorney General because I am in doubt what I ought to say from the purely legal standpoint. Hoping that you will be allowed to go, and that your health will speedily improve, I am Very sincerely yours, (Signed) Theodore Roosevelt. Dr. Karl Buenz, Hamburg American Bldg., 41 Broadway, New York.5037 COPY. Sagamore Hill, May 6th, 1917. To the Secretary of State Sir: I wish very respectfully but earnestly to urge that the request of Dr. Kal Buenz, made on the insistence of his physician, be complied with and that he be permitted to return forthwith to Germany. I have known Mr. Buenz a long time. He is in all his personal and private actions a man of strict honor and probity. What he has done as a representative of the German Government has been done in accordance with the public code of that Government, and the responsibility lies with the Government and not with Dr. Buenz. These things have not been done since we broke off relations with Germany. They were done before, when our relations with Mr. Buenz's superior officers, in the Home Government and at the Embassy, were those of official friendship and good understanding. For what then occurred it was there, his governmental chiefs, who were responsible and it seems to me that we should not now punish him for their actions when we continued to treat them on a footing of entire friendship. If he had done anything since the Aulanador was sent away, and after our relations with Germany had been rendered, the case would of course be entirely different.5035 - 2 - Any information he could give the German Government about us the German Government of course already has. Therefore, it does not seem to me that any harm could come from permitting him to return to Germany; and his health furnished a genuine reason why the privelege[sic] should be permitted him. Very respectfully yours, (Signed) Theodore Roosevelt.5036 May 7th, 1917. My dear President Alderman: That's a mighty nice letter of yours. If I can get those two young fellows with me, nothing would please me more, but the first thing is to catch the rabbit! I wish your Virginia Senators and Congressmen would back up my position. Faithfully yours, Mr. Edwin A. Alderman, Pres., University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.[*170*] May 7th, 1917. My dear Mr. Armour: I am greatly pleased by your telegram. I shall certainly want to [make] take part of a regiment from Chicago; but my dear sir, I have had so many applications that I have had to make it a rule that I would not take an entire regiment from any one state. I believe I could raise a division from Illinois alone, or New York alone, or Texas alone, to mention only three states. I shall, however, take just as big a proportion of a Chicago regiment as possible. I earnestly hope I may be allowed to help raise a division, and accompany it in command of a brigade, and that this division shall be sent over with the first expeditionary force. I cannot thank you enough for your offer, and I believe you have exactly given the reason why the division should be raised and sent to the front at the earliest possible moment. Faithfully yours, Mr. J. O. Armour, Chicago, Ills.May 7th, 1917. Dear Senator Frelinghuysen: Indeed, I will autograph that picture with the greatest pleasure. Will you permit me to express my deep appreciation of your attitude in connection with my request to help raise a division, and accompany it to the war front? Faithfully yours, Hon. Joseph Frelinghuysen, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 34437 TELEGRAM. May 7th, 1917. Mr. F.O. Fuller, Speaker of the House, Austin, Texas. I very greatly regret it is impossible for me to accept your invitation. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34438 May 7th, 1917. My dear Mr. Hinebaugh: I hate to say no, but I am sure you will realize that if I began to ask for appointments, it would literally be endless. I just can't do it. I would do it for Donohue at your request, if I could possibly do it at all. I think I have refused at least one hundred requests from Illinois. Faithfully yours, Mr. W.H. Hinebaugh, Central Life Ins. Co., Ottawa, Ills. 34439May 8th, 1917. My dear Mrs. Banks: That's a mighty nice letter of yours, and I appreciate the enclosed clipping. I only wish that it were likely I [will] would be allowed to go abroad with a division. Faithfully yours, Mrs. Elizabeth Banks, 5 Robert Street, Adelphi, Strand, London, England. 3405 [*Sunday Schoolers World*] May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Brown: All I can do is to send you my hearty good wishes for the success of your gathering, and this I gladly do. Faithfully yours, Mr. Frank L. Brown, Metropolitan Tower, New York.2326 May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Burton: That's mighty nice of you. I thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. In great haste, Faithfully yours, Mr. Pomeroy Burton, Hotel Plaza, New York.1164 May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Campbell: I thank you for your kind invitation, but as things are now, I dare not make engagements of any kind or sort. With regret, Sincerely yours, Mr. Alvin Allen Campbell, Newark, N. J.6212 May 8th, 1917. My dear Dr. Carter: That's mighty nice of you. I am overwhelmed with work, and all I have time to do is to say what a pleasure it is to hear from you. If the chance comes when I can use you, it will be a pleasure to do so. Faithfully yours, Dr. L. Carter, 118 East 85th Street, New York City.May 8th, 1917. Dear Mr. Cooper: Your letter and telegram have both come. I have written the Adjutant General as you request. Faithfully yours, Mr. John Wallace Cooper, 811 Putnam Bldg., Davenport, Iowa. 8450 [*file*] May 8th, 1917. Sir: Mr. John Wallace Cooper, the General Manager of the National Life Insurance Company of Montpelier, Vermont, and now in Davenport, Iowa, is an applicant for a commission in the Quartermasters Reserve Corps. He has had large business experience, and he has been four years Scout Commissioner for the boy scouts in Davenport, and is a member of the American Legion. I am not personally acquainted with his military qualifications, but I believe, from all I hear, that he would make a good officer. Sincerely yours, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C. 8451[*Texas*] [*R. Barker*] May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Barker: I very greatly appreciate that resolution. Doubtless my telegram that I had to send in response, has arrived. I enclose a copy, and it is with very little regret that I cannot accept. Sincerely yours, Mr. Bob Barker, Chief Clerk, House of Representatives, Austin, Texas. 34440[*Baker*] May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Secretary: Many thanks for your letter of May 5th. You say that the questions [made] raised by my letter are "simple when stripped of personal considerations." You then describe the war in Europe, and the objects to be achieved by the United States in sending over a force to take part in the contest. I, of course, entirely agree with what you thus say, as to the nature of the war, the need of our sending over an efficient force to depress the morale of the enemy and raise that of our friends, etc. Your next paragraph indicates that your present intention is to send over a portion of the "regular professional army of the United States" (rather than use a force, such as I suggest); and you state in the following paragraph that in consequence your mind "justifies the conclusion" expressed in your letter of April 13th. But my dear Mr. Secretary, this is the direct reverser [to] of the conclusion of your letter of April 13th. In that letter you approved the recommendation of the general staff, that the regular army of the United States should not be sent over as [part of] an expeditionary force, but, on the contrary, [it] should in its entirety be kept here to train the selective draft army; and you dismissed, as of "sentimental" and not "military" 34441- 2 - value, the idea of sending over this force at once. In your present letter you take the ground that such a force should be sent over, and give as two of the reasons that it would depress the morale of the enemy, and stimulate the morale of our associates in arms. I entirely agree with the position taken by you in this letter as to immediately sending an expeditionary force abroad, and as to the fact that it would, among other objects, achieve the two above mentioned. But permit me, my dear Mr. Secretary, to say that this shows that you have reversed the action of the general staff, which you approved in your letter of April 13th, and surely the need of such reversal, as regards the most vital military matter[s] which must immediately be decided, shows that my criticism of the men who gave you the advice was exactly justified. The matter of most immediate importance, which the staff had to decide at the time you wrote me on April 13th, was whether we should at once begin sending forces to the other side, or whether the entire regular army and everybody else fitted to do any soldiering should be kept on this side to train our army for a year or two, [and then] in order, as you phrased it in your letter, to use the army for the decisive effect[s] in the later stages of the war. The 34442- 3 - general staff adopted the latter view, as you [expressed] stated it in your letter of April 13th. I protested, with all possible emphasis, against this view. The French and the military authorities, with the utmost emphasis, have since protested against it also, and have taken, in this matter, exactly the position which I took in my letter to you, and in my letters to Senator Chamberlain and Mr. Dent, and in my public utterances. From your letter, and from the statements in the press, I gather that the Administration has now reversed the position which [had been] was thus taken by the general staff, and, as regards [the] sending abroad an expeditionary force, has come to the position I have so earnestly advocated, and which I set forth in detail in the letter that you have now answered. There remains the question of the composition of [a] the force; and inasmuch, my dear Mr. Secretary, as in one of the vital matters the general staff mi[d]sled you, and inasmuch as my advice [was] has proved to be right, I beg you to at least consider the reasons I now advance for the advice I propose to give, as regards another phase of the matter. There is every reason why a portion of the regular army should go abroad. There is also every reason why, in view of the smallness of the regular army 34443- 4 - and the need of its giving instruction, this proportion should not be too large. There is, therefore, every reason why the force should consist of a proportion of the regular army as a nucleus, [and then as efficient as possible] with an efficient volunteer force [would go like it] under [its lead] and with it. Under the act of March 2nd, 1899, volunteer regiments were raised which, in actual service in the Philippines, did almost as well as the regular regiments, especiallly when mixed with them. My own regiment in Cuba [were] was raised under substantially similar legistlation, and so I know, at first hand, of what I am speaking. Our own regular troops, not having been trained in modern warfare, would themselves need some preliminary training in the theatre of war before we could expect them to be as good as their French or English allies, or German foes. Volunteer regiments, chosen as above indicated, and used, as hereinafter outlined, in close association with the regulars, could be made almost as good as the regulars during this period of training - and here again, my dear Mr. Secretary, remember that I am not making a mere guess, for I am stating what actually occured in connection with my regiment at Santiago, and with the other United States volunteer regiments in the Philippines. I, therefore, respectfully, but earnestly, suggest, that I be allowed, under the direction of the War 34444- 5 - Department, to raise, or help raise, an army corps of two divisions. Inasmuch as we have no artillery fit to go into the battle front abroad, and inasmuch as it is at least doubtful whether artillery ought to be included permanently in the organization of an infantry division, I assume you would not wish for this first expeditionary force to have artillery. Furthermore, I believe you will find that the wisest military men do not sympathize with the plan of having one divisional regiment of cavalry with each division. Cavalry should be able to act as a mass. [together.] I, therefore, very earnestly recommend that in connection with each division we raise a three-regiment brigade of cavalry. As long as the fighting [was] is in the trenches, this cavalry [would] will be used dismounted, and [would] will represent an addition to the infantry strength of equal value. (As soon as we began to fight [in] outside the trenches, the two brigades could be joined together, and could be used as a small cavalry division, under the direction of the corps commander.) [Each division] Each of the two divisions sent over would thus consist, in addition to the supply, transportation, and other services, of 3 three-regiment infantry brigades, one three-regiment cavalry brigade, a regiment of engineers, and a regiment of machine guns. (I will 34445- 6 - give you the details of the organization [of this], if you so desire, and send you also a carefully wrought out blue print of the entire organization of the division). For a corps of two divisions, therefore, there would be six infantry brigades, 2 cavalry brigades, 2 machine gun regiments, and 2 engineers regiments, or 28 regiments in all. There should be one regular regiment in every cavalry or infantry brigade; eight regular regiments in all. This would leave 20 volunteer regiments. As regards 4 of these, I would suggest civilian colonels; 2 of them being of the National Guard; namely, Brigadier General Roger Williams of Kentucky, and Colonel Forman of Illinois; together with Colonel John Groome of the Pennsylvania State Constabulary, and John C. Greenway of Arizona. For the other 16 [men] colonels, together with the corps and divisional chiefs of staff and the like, [would be] I would suggest to you captains junior majors from the regular army, including such men as those I have mentioned - Frank McCoy, Fitz Hugh Lee, Edgar Collins, Phil Sheridan, Moseley, Gordon Johnston, Jim Shelley, Hugh D. Wise, the two Parker brothers - (one cavalry, [and] one infantry), [William] Smedberg Goethals, Quekenmeyer, Quackenbush, Baer, Fitch, Lincoln Andrews, and others. For brigade commanders I [should hope that you could] would suggest to you to appoint men like Lieutenant Colonel Allen, Colonel Howse, and Major Harbord. Rear Admiral Winslow, 34446- 7 - retired, would make an admirable brigade commander. The corps and division commanders would be, I presume, men already with the rank of General, whom you chose [?]; any men of the stamp of those mentioned in my previous letter, would do admirably. I would be glad to accept the junior brigade generalship, ranking behind the other 7 brigade commanders, as well, of course, as the division and corps commanders. This would be merely giving me the position which I held at the close of the Santiago campaign when, because of my conduct in the field, I was recommended by my superior officers, not only for promotion, but for the medal of honor and for brevets. In addition, I should trust that you would allow certain junior officers, men like Lieutenant Stonewall Jackson Christian, Lieutenant Wainwright, Lieutenant Chaffee, and others [in?] of like position[s], to come in as majors or adjutants, or with similar rank. If possible, I should like to use, in each volunteer regiment, two or three regulars, and six or eight, or ten reserve officers from the Plattsburgh and similar camps, together with half a dozen of the best regular non-commissioned officers, giving these the rank of second lieutenant. This would not represent an appreciable drawing off of strength from the body of men you wish to use in training 34447- 8 - the draft army, for you have about 35,000 men in the training camps, and this proposal of mine would only be to take out all told from the officers and non-commissioned officers of the regular army, and from the reserve officers, between 200 and 300 men, who would be employed in training some 40,000 volunteers. These volunteers would be men of exceptional quality for the war, with the special purpose of being immediately sent to the fighting line in Europe. Under this plan you would immensely increase the size of the army you sent abroad, and owing to the [position] nature of the volunteer regiments, 4/5 of whom would be [our] under regular officers, and all of them brigaded with regulars, the force would be almost, or practically as good as if composted solely of regulars; and yet you would not be sending abroad a wholly disproportioned amount of our small regular army, and would be enabled to use the others for the purposes of instruction at home. [Then] The two divisions at the front would be kept filled, all the losses being made good by recruits; and as rapidly as possible other divisions would be put beside them. In each case, as soon, or almost as soon, as raised, the brigades and divisions would be sent across to, or just behind, the theatre of war in France; or if this was impossible, at least to England; and there trained in bayonnet work, bombing, gasing, and all the other incidents of modern trench warfare. 34448- 9 - I have the highest respect for the individual officers and men of the National Guard, the greatest admiration for the patriotism of those who served on the border last year, and a thorough belief in the efficiency of the National Guard for its proper duty, which is purely state duty. But of course divided control between state and nation is thoroughly vicious. Moreover, many of the men in the National Guard are family men, supporting their families by their wages, and it is a cruel injustice to these men to take them to the front when there are literally millions of other men who ought to go first. Again, there are plenty of men in the National Guard who can do state work well, but who are not fit for a gruelling campaign. Therefore, the National Guard regiment should not be sent out as such, if there is [purpose equal] a desire either to do equal justice to the men, or to secure efficient results. Each [should] regiment should furnish a nucleus - which might be a quarter, or which might[y] be a half of its strength, and [it] which would be composed both of officers and enlisted men - and should, in most [places] cases, be put under the command of a regular officer; then, around this nucleus as a framework, could be built up a purely National United States [volunteer] regiment, either by volunteering or by the draft. Such a regiment [will] would be fit for duty very quickly, and would render admirable service; while at the 34449- 10 - same time [the] these guardsmen who ought not to be asked to undertake a foreign campaign would be left within the state to do the necessary and important state duty which the National Guard is peculiarly fitted to perform. The [selected] selective draft has been authorized by Congress. The Harding amendment (or some similar measure) will enable the Government to admirably use men who desire to serve, whose ardor it is certainly unwise to damp, who could render invaluable service, and who otherwise would be unused. If this amendment is adopted, and the Department authorizes me to raise a force as above outlined, I can at once assign the regular officers whom the Department desires as Colonels to different localities, where they can [take] raise[d] regiments, or battalions, already provisionally provided. We can get private help, precisely as in connection with the training camps. [we have had to have private help.] While, of course, we can['t]not act as instantaneously as if we had begun these steps a couple of months ago, yet we can act with great speed, and in a way to establish the best possible precedent[s], while at the same time, we are putting a substantial force of good fighting men on the firing 34450-11- line at the earliest possible moment. I am, sir, with great respect, Very sincerely, Hon. Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, Washington, D.C. 34451May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Evans: The sketch has come, and I am very much obliged to you for having let me see it. It is most kind of you. I return it to you as I think it ought to be in our possession. With renewed thanks, Faithfully yours, Mr. S. Keith Evans, 30 East 34th Street, New York. 34452 [*Garfield*] May 8th, 1917. Dear Jim: It is not possible for me to accept that invitation. I don't want to speak at all where it can be avoided; and even as it is I have accepted one or two invitations [to speak more than I like.] too many! Always yours, Mr. James R. Garfield, Garfield Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio. 34453TELEGRAM May 8th, 1917. Mr. F. H. Goff, Pres., Cleveland Trust Co., Cleveland, Ohio. I regret exceedingly I am unable to accept your very kind invitation. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Charge to Met. Mag. Off. 34454May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Harris; That's a mighty nice letter of yours. I am overwhelmed with work. I wish I [could find something to do myself,] were allowed to go ahead with the division! then I could [put you at work.] use you! Faithfully yours, Mr. N. F. Harris, Edgehill, Shadwell, Va. 34455[*Howze*] May 8th, 1917. Dear Colonel: That's very interesting; but of course I am anything but pleased over the prospect because I doubt if the Administration intends to permit me to go. Faithfully yours, Colonel Robert Howze, Headquarters Cavalry Div., El Paso, Tex. 34456May 8th, 1917. Dear Mr. Leiter: Your letter is indefinite; as far as its statements can be understood, they apparently indicate that you disbelieve in the Harding amendment. The proposition for the selective draft has now been adopted so, therefore, there can be no further pretense that the Harding amendment in any way antagonizes the Administration's draft measure. All that it does is to add to the army of the United States a force of men admirably calculated to do good work, [and] ready to be sent abroad immediately, who will not otherwise be used at all. By reading Senator Stone's [message] speech in opposition to the amendment you will see that he puts it frankly on political grounds. Indeed, so far as the opposition is not due to more puzzle headedness, it can only be due to politics, and politics of a very unwise and improper kind. You are, therefore, as its President, using the Army League of the United States to the detriment of the Army, and to the detriment of the United States, in the attitude you assume in this matter. Accordingly, I herewith resign as Honorary Vice President of the organization. Yours truly, Mr. Joseph Leiter, Army League of the U. S., Washington, D. C. 34457May 8th, 1917. Dear Mr. Merrick: That's a very nice letter of yours, and I thank you for it, and it gives me real pleasure to send you my autographed picture. Sincerely yours, Mr. H.H. Merrick, Chicago, Ills. 34458May 8th, 1917. My dear Major Miller: I am very much pleased with the receipt of your letter, and while I am overwhelmed with work, I must send you this line of thanks and congratulations. Unfortunately, it does not seem likely that I [will] shall be allowed myself to go abroad. You need not be told that in a democracy politics sometimes produce queer results! Sincerely yours, Major Walter Miller, 60th Canadian Bn. B.E.F., France. 34459May 8th, 1917. My dear Dr. Morrill: That's fine. I am very much obliged to you for the enclosure I have returned herewith. Do let me thank you with all my heart, for your kind and appreciative letter. Faithfully yours, Rev. C. L. Morrill, 3356 Tenth Ave., So., Minneapolis, Minn. 34460May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Odell: If I could accept any invitation, it would be one coming from you, and backed by Mayhew Wainwright, but it is a physical impossibility. I cannot do it. If I accept one such invitation as yours, my dear fellow, I should have to accept literally hundreds. Believe me, I am very sorry. Faithfully yours, Mr. Wallace Odell, Editor, Daily News, Tarrytown, N.Y. 34461May 8th, 1917. Dear Dr. Ward: Your letter of May 7th, addressed to Colonel Roosevelt, is received. Colonel Roosevelt will be glad to meet Miss Valiquet if she will come over to the Metropolitan Magazine Office, 432 Fourth Avenue, New York, at 12 o'clock Friday, May 11th. Sincerely yours, Dr. William R. Ward, 112 Chancellor Ave., Newark, N.J. 34462May 8th, 1917. My dear Mr. Webb: The really very handsome revolver has arrived. It is a most interesting relic, but the kind of a relic that ought to be kept by the person [that] who has associations with it. I am accordingly sending it back to you. It was exceedingly kind of you to let me see it. With renewed thanks, Faithfully yours, Mr. L. Webb, 123 Pembroke Street, Boston, Mass. 34463 May 9th, 1917. My dear Mr. Clark: I wish I could write that foreword, but it is a physical impossibility to grant such a request. I find it always entails dozens of other requests. That's a capital letter of yours. I am delighted you are to write that book. Sincerely yours, Mr. Thomas C. Clark, 111 Broadway, New York. 6804May 9th, 1917. Dear Mr. Goodrich: I am returning the Cutler check herewith with the corrected endorsement. Sincerely yours, Mr. David M. Goodrich, 60 Broadway, New York. 34464May 9th, 1917. My dear Mr. Hamilton: That's really interesting, and I thank you for letting me know about it. I wish to Heaven the Administration had been willing to have me take a division over. I applied three months ago, and could have had my division in England or France now, if I had been permitted. Sincerely yours, Mr. Claud T. Hamilton, 28 Cambridge Square, London, W., England. 34465 New York May 9 1917 Hon. Milton Kraus House of Representatives Washington DC I am sorry your telegram was delayed Colonel Roosevelt however was not in town today JM Stricker, Secretary 34466