Anti-Wilson TLS on Tariffs, Political Bosses, Taxes, Farmers, and the Cost of Eggs

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Item: 23669

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ROOSEVELT, THEODORE. (1858-1919). Twenty-sixth president of the United States. TLS. (“Theodore Roosevelt”). 1¼pp. 4to. New York, July 9, 1912. On The Outlook letterhead. To American clergyman, lecturer and author MADISON CLINTON PETERS (1859-1918). With some minor corrections in Roosevelt’s hand.

“If you work for Wilson nationally, you are working for Murphy in New York, Taggart in Indiana, Sullivan in Illinois, and, in short, for the bosses everywhere. Moreover, consideration of the Democratic platform and the action of the Democratic Congress this year will, I am sure, show you that you can in no way retard the cause of progress in the United States more effectively than by helping to put the Democrats into power. By the ‘tax on the table’ of which you speak, I suppose you mean giving the farmer his share of the benefits of the protective tariff. Of course I could not consent to discriminate against the farmer. As a matter of fact the tariff has almost nothing to do with the high cost of living as far as food products are concerned, with the possible exception of sugar. For instance, butter, eggs, and milk, as you doubtless know, have gone up in price in the last twenty years as much as any other products, and these are absolutely unaffected either by the tariff or the trusts. There are certain points where changes in the tariff, and wise actions about the trusts, can help in the cost of living. But if our people get any idea that a change in the tariff, or such action toward the trusts, as advocated at the Baltimore Convention, will be of the slightest service to them, then it is a case of Euphriam [sic] feedeth on wind…”

Roosevelt, a larger-than-life figure, simultaneously represented reform, conservation and the American spirit. He overcame health problems in his youth to serve in New York politics and famously led his Rough Rider regiment during the Spanish-American War. After accelerating through the offices of governor, assistant secretary of the navy and vice president, he became, upon President McKinley’s assassination in 1901, the youngest man ever to serve as president of the United States. During his two terms, he opposed big labor while expanding the power of the presidency, developing consumer protection laws, creating national forests and winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve the Russo-Japanese War.

As Roosevelt’s second presidential term drew to a close in 1908, he threw his support behind his close friend and secretary of war, William Howard Taft. With the president’s endorsement, Taft won the Republican nomination and handily beat his Democratic opponent, William Jennings Bryan. However, shortly after Taft took office, Roosevelt felt betrayed when the new president appeared to oppose TR’s previous anti-trust efforts. As early as summer 1910, Roosevelt was contemplating a challenge to Taft in the 1912 presidential election. His unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in June 1912 led to the subsequent founding of the Progressive or “Bull Moose” party which led to TR and Taft splitting the Republican Party votes and contributing to Woodrow Wilson’s (1856-1924) election as the 28^th President of the United States. The candidates’ plans to reduce the influence of trusts were central to the election as were discussions of the tariffs enacted by Taft in 1909, which were meant to help farmers, but raised the cost of most goods. Ultimately, challenges to the tariffs resulted in the adoption of the 16^th Amendment, which established the modern federal income tax.

Our letter, written just a week after the Democratic National Convention concluded in Baltimore, attacks the Democratic platform, and calls out political bosses such as Indianapolis Mayor Thomas Taggart (1856-1929); Charles Francis Murphy (1858-1924), the longest serving boss of New York City’s political machine, Tammany Hall; and Cook County’s political boss Roger Charles Sullivan (1861-1920), all of whom played a critical role in securing the Democratic Party’s nomination of President Woodrow Wilson. In our letter, he quotes the book of Hosea 12:1: “Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt,” which criticizes one of the tribes of Israel for their spiritual emptiness resulting from their pursuit of idols.

A prolific writer, Roosevelt, “used authorship to promote his favorite beliefs and tell of his various adventures in and out of the political world,” (The Oxford Companion to American Literature, Hart). His works ranged from biographies to political treatises. For the last ten years of his life, the bulk of his writing focused on faith. Influenced by his Christian upbringing, Roosevelt subscribed to the doctrine of “muscular Christianity,” which emphasized the relationship between physical and spiritual health. Roosevelt rarely spoke about his faith, preferring that his actions speak for themselves. However, in 1909, he became a contributing editor for a small Christian weekly, The Outlook, and, in 1917, Roosevelt detailed the importance of attending church in an interview with The Ladies’ Home Journal entitled: “Nine Reasons Why Men Should Go to Church.”

Peters was a minister, lecturer and author of such popular works as The Great Hereafter, Justice to the Jew: The Story of What He Has Done for the World, Wit and Wisdom of the Talmud, The Genius of the Jew, The Birds of the Bible, Abraham Lincoln’s Religion, the biography of Jewish financier of the American Revolution Haym Salomon, and How to be Happy Though Married.

Written on two sheets of The Outlook stationery. Folded and creased with a slight stain affecting part of Roosevelt’s signature. In very good condition.