400. THEODORE ROOSEVELT Fine content T.L.S. "Theodore Roosevelt" with holograph postscript on Metropolitan letterhead, 1p. 4to., [New York], Jan. 8, 1917 to James M. Beck. In part: "...I am mighty pleased that you liked the article, and what I said about Wilson's proposal. But, is it not extraordinary that American people should be completely taken in?...". At bottom he adds: "...Good for you! I am glad you dared to speak so frankly that men could not mistake your meaning". Light soiling, else very good. Of course, it is no secret that Roosevelt and Wilson were at political odds on nearly every issue. It is entirely possible that T.R.'s ire had been raised over how Wilson approached big business Wilson broke with the "big-lawsuit" tradition of his predecessors Taft and Roosevelt as "Trustbusters", finding a new approach to encouraging competition through the Federal Trade Commission, which stopped "unfair" trade practices. Coincidentally, a year later to the day Wilson would make his famous Fourteen Points address, introducing the idea of a League of Nations. $800 - 1,000