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a ae ‘ " ot x Mareh 2, 1950 * Oo. 7 HEYORANDUM xe \* t AE: Documents of the Bureau of Corporations A x4 President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909 forcibly and successfully resisted the accoutsition by the United States Senate of records of the Erecutive Departments of the Government and thereby established an unequivocal policy tn relation thereto. On January lb, 1909 the Attorney General was directed by a Senate resolution to advise whether legal proceedings had been instituted against the United States Steel Corpo- ration on account of the absorption by tt of another corpo- ration and to advise his reasons for non-action if in fact there was none. » 1909, President Roosevelt in a special message to the Senate stated the Attorney General had acvised him there was insufficient grounds for legal action against the Steel Corporation. The Senate thereafter being unable to secure documents from the Attorney General in regard to this matter summoned Ferbert Knox Smith, Head of the Bureau of Corporations before it and ordered him to produce certain papers and documents under penalty of imprisonment if he refused. Mr. Smith reported this to President Roosevelt who oraered him in writing to turn