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Lot 104
T. Roosevelt Addresses "Midnight Ride to the Presidency" After McKinley Assassination While Tackling Gold Standard & Currency Reform, An Incredible TLS!
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Theodore Roosevelt
Oyster Bay, NY, August 27, 1903
T. Roosevelt Addresses "Midnight Ride to the Presidency" After McKinley Assassination While Tackling Gold Standard & Currency Reform, An Incredible TLS!
TLS
A fine content typed letter signed as President "Theodore Roosevelt", two pages, 6.75" x 10.75", Oyster Bay, N.Y., August 17, 1903. On White House letterhead to John C. Shaffer, publisher of the Chicago Evening Post, with several holograph emendations. In this letter, President Roosevelt addresses financial reform, refutes allegations of freeloading on his special train trips by explaining they followed the precedent set by President McKinley, whose funeral journey was Roosevelt's first trip, and stresses the importance of cautious, rather than drastic, changes to the currency system. Pages are loosely mounted side by side on a 13.75" x 10.75" cardboard sheet and able to be removed and conserved handsomely. Show-through from mounting, otherwise very good, with a fine and bold signature.

In full:

"My dear Mr. Shaffer:

I was much pleased with your excellent editorial on the Miller case. Why any human being should desire me to issue a further statement about that case I cannot imagine. My two letters covered the matter in its entirety. The action was taken exactly in accordance with those two letters.

Is there any chance of your being out this year? I should like to see you.

On financial matters, after exhaustive consultations with the representatives of all the various interests I could reach in the East and in the West, I find that the general opinion is strongly to the effect that it would be far more dangerous to do anything revolutionary as regards our currency system than to do nothing. If possible, we should have one or two simple remedial measures, but surely no more at this time. The best and soundest business men do not believe in asset banking and even where they feel there are mistakes that can be improved, they differ among themselves radically as to what steps should be taken for improvement. For example, most of them say there should be an improvement of the laws regarding the currency, and they also say that it is important to have power to contract the currency when to expand it, but there is complete disagreement as to how it can best be reached.

By the way, I do not know whether you have noticed the attack made upon me by the Sun about the special train service on my trips. Of course, in this matter I have followed exactly what was done by President McKinley. My first trip was like the one on the train bearing his body from Buffalo to Washington and thence to Canton. As a matter of fact, the railroads have all competed eagerly for the privilege of taking the President on these trips, just as in the presidencies of Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, and myself. Of course, the trips do not cost the government anything, but the railroads. Equally, of course, no millionaire could pay for such a trip out of his own pockets.

In New York, public officials are forbidden to ride free on railroads. In New Jersey, the railroads are required to carry them free. In Washington I followed the custom set by my three predecessors; and if I had not followed the custom I should have had to give up any idea of making these trips at all. The only difference has been that whereas President McKinley took his cabinet along, I did not. Aside from that I followed the line he had planned, and my Pacific Coast trip simply carried out and completed the trip he had begun and left undone.

Faithfully yours,
Theodore Roosevelt."

During Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, his administration pursued policies that supported the gold standard as a way to stabilize the economy and ensure confidence in the currency. His administration also dealt with issues such as the protection of the gold reserves and maintaining the strength of the currency against inflationary pressures.

In addition to his financial policies, Roosevelt also made efforts to modernize the American financial system, including regulating trusts and advocating for banking reforms. His legacy in financial matters was one of ensuring stability and fairness in an increasingly industrialized and complex economy, and the gold standard played a central role in that effort during his administration.

During his presidency, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a mission to improve the aesthetic quality of American coinage, believing that the designs of U.S. coins had become uninspired. In 1905, he personally enlisted the renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign several denominations of U.S. coins as part of his broader "pet crime" of beautifying the nation's currency. Roosevelt particularly admired classical coin designs from ancient Greece and wanted the new coins to reflect that level of artistic achievement. Saint-Gaudens' designs, most notably the $20 Double Eagle gold coin, are considered some of the most beautiful coins ever produced by the United States. Though Saint-Gaudens faced significant technical challenges in adapting his high-relief designs to mass production at the U.S. Mint, the collaboration between the president and the artist resulted in coins that were both stunning and iconic, embodying Roosevelt's vision of blending artistry and patriotism in American symbols.

Roosevelt also addresses allegations of freeloading during his special train trips across the country, which had drawn public criticism. He firmly refutes these accusations by explaining that his actions followed the precedent set by his predecessor, President William McKinley. Roosevelt notes that his first such trip was to accompany McKinley's body after his assassination, and he continued using the same arrangements as previous presidents, with the railroads competing for the honor of transporting the President. He points out that the government did not pay for these trips, as the railroads bore the costs, and underscores that he even deviated from McKinley's practice by not bringing his cabinet members along. Roosevelt's defense illustrates his careful adherence to established presidential customs while attempting to defuse criticism by highlighting the continuity between his actions and those of prior administrations.

In April-May, 1903, Roosevelt made a grand tour of the Western United States, making his historic visit to Yosemite along the way; but Roosevelt's love for the railway system started at least two years earlier: coming into office following William McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt pledged to maintain the fallen President's policies so as not to upset the nation in a time of mourning, and this surely extended to his travel by train. He became the first President to use an entire train dedicated to his campaign staff, and used it to deliver 673 speeches over 14,000+ miles and across 25 states over the course of nine weeks during his bid for the White House. His historic "Midnight Ride to the Presidency" in the wake of McKinley's assassination became legendary; as did his 1904 tour of Pennsylvania, and his trip in 1905 from Jersey City to Lakewood, N.Y., the station for the Chautauqua Institution.

John Charles Shaffer (1853-1943) is remembered as the President and publisher of the Chicago Evening Post; however before this, he was the founder of the Richmond State Railway Company and subsequent owner of streetcar lines in Indianapolis and Chicago. As a fellow lover of the railroad, Shaffer would have keenly understood Roosevelt's irritation at being accused of being simultaneously a freeloader and abuser of Presidential privilege. Shaffer was much more than a sympathetic newspaperman; he was also a strong supporter of Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party and a close friend, so much so that he carried a letter granting him immediate admittance to the President.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 13.75" x 10.75"
  • Medium: TLS

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