on White House letterhead, 1p. 4to., Washington, Feb. 19, 1906 to Chancellor John Allison of the Nashville Chancery Court Chambers. Here Roosevelt responds to what was probably a suggestion concerning the construction of an additional transcontinental railroad, writing in part: "...I should heartily back such a railroad, but I fear it is out of the question to get our country to go into it just now, especially with the Panama Canal in hand...". It was only in 1906 that William Gorgas managed to eradicate yellow fever in the Canal Zone, paving the way for actual construction to begin in earnest. Light soiling, overall very good.