Author: Straus, Oscar (1850-1926). U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt, Straus was the first Jewish Cabinet Secretary.
Title: Autograph Letter Signed by Theodore Roosevelt's Former Secretary of Commerce and Labor Oscar Straus Who Had the Distinction of Being the First Jewish Cabinet Secretary, Asking James B. Pond Details As to When to Assemble in the Green Room As Part of the Reception Committee for Maeterlinck's First American Lecture.
Description: New York, December 29, 1919. 1919. - Over 30 words penned on his 3-1/4 inch high by 5-1/8 inch wide card, embossed with his address "5 West Seventy-Sixth Street / New York" along the top. Having accepted American impresario and lecture agent James B. Pond's invitation to serve on the committee welcoming Maurice Maeterlinck to America. Straus requests that Pond "Kindly advise me what hour to assemble in the Green Room". Straus also inquires if he can bring his wife to the event "Can I bring Mrs. Straus with me?" Signed "Oscar S. Straus". There is a small piece out from the top left corner. Very good. President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of Commerce and Labor Oscar Straus (1850-1926) was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary. Born in Otterberg, Germany, he emigrated with his family to Talbotton, Georgia and subsequently moved to New York City. A graduate of Columbia Law School, he practiced law before becoming a merchant and subsequently served as President McKinley's United States Minister to the Ottoman Empire and Ambassador to Ottoman Turkey. It was in that capacity that, in 1899, he was asked to approach Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Turkey to request that the Sultan write a letter to the Moro Sulu Muslims of the Philippines requesting that they not resist American occupation and assist the Americans. This was successfully achieved. Sadly, the Moro Rebellion which broke out in 1904 was notorious for the atrocities committed by Americans upon the indigenous people among which was the Moro Crater Massacre in which American forces slaughtered all but 6 of approximately 1,000 Moro natives, including women and children, who had taken refuge in the Bud Dajo crater. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Straus to the position of United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor. His position placed him in charge of the US Bureau of Immigration and he ordered immigration inspectors to work with the Secret Service and the local police to enforce the Anarchist Exclusion Act, deporting immigrants who held Anarchist political beliefs. Straus unsuccessfully ran for the Governorship of New York in 1912. He later became chairman of the public service commision of New York State and was president of the American Jewish Historical Society. James B. Pond, the American impresario and lecture agent who headed the J.B. Pond Lyceum Bureau, brought the great Belgian poet Maurice Maeterlinck to America for a series of lectures. The first lecture took place at Carnegie hall on January 2nd, 1920. Unfortunately Maeterlinck failed to carry out his intention to lecture in English because of his labored "phonetic" English. He declared his intention to continue his lectures in French and have the translation read by another person. As a result, the lecture tour was a failure and lawsuits ensued on both sides. Very good .

Keywords: AMERICANA; BUSINESS; UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF COMMERCE AND LABOR; OSCAR STRAUS; MERCHANT; AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED; ALS; SIGNATURE; AUTOGRAPH; TWENTIETH CENTURY 20TH CENTURY; JAMES B. POND; THE J.B. POND LYCEUM BUREAU; LECTURE; MAURICE MAETERLINCK; RECEP


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