October
6, 1903 – Peter O. Elliott, the Minneapolis religious crank who
was arrested yesterday after trying to secure an audience with President Theodore Roosevelt, has subsequently been found insane and taken to the government
asylum.
Persons charged with insanity in the District of Columbia must be formally committed to an asylum after an examination in open court, and this method will be pursued in Elliott’s case.
In his talk at the police station Elliott declared he went to the White House because the President asked him to come and see him. He said he carried a pistol to protect himself and did not intend to do any harm to the President. Among Elliott’s possessions were numerous clippings describing and relation to incidents in the life of President Roosevelt and cards of the Minneapolis Patent Company of Minneapolis.
Elliott has been a resident of Minneapolis for 15 years, and believed by acquaintances here to be a harmless visionary. He spent most of his time on patents that he was perfecting, and was a well-known figure in South Minneapolis.
Weather permitting, Elliott was known to address anyone who would listen on topics such as economics, sociology and politics until his audience grew tired or hissed him off the street.
In these speeches, which were little more than tirades against existing conditions and institutions, Elliott more than once suggested his intention of harming the President, while in private conversation he said he was going down to Washington and that if Roosevelt would not see him, he would force the President to grant an interview.
Apparently, Elliott wanted a federal appointment, and his grievance against the nation’s chief executive was that an appointment was not given to him. He also claimed that he was going to marry Alice Roosevelt.
Persons charged with insanity in the District of Columbia must be formally committed to an asylum after an examination in open court, and this method will be pursued in Elliott’s case.
In his talk at the police station Elliott declared he went to the White House because the President asked him to come and see him. He said he carried a pistol to protect himself and did not intend to do any harm to the President. Among Elliott’s possessions were numerous clippings describing and relation to incidents in the life of President Roosevelt and cards of the Minneapolis Patent Company of Minneapolis.
Elliott has been a resident of Minneapolis for 15 years, and believed by acquaintances here to be a harmless visionary. He spent most of his time on patents that he was perfecting, and was a well-known figure in South Minneapolis.
Weather permitting, Elliott was known to address anyone who would listen on topics such as economics, sociology and politics until his audience grew tired or hissed him off the street.
In these speeches, which were little more than tirades against existing conditions and institutions, Elliott more than once suggested his intention of harming the President, while in private conversation he said he was going down to Washington and that if Roosevelt would not see him, he would force the President to grant an interview.
Apparently, Elliott wanted a federal appointment, and his grievance against the nation’s chief executive was that an appointment was not given to him. He also claimed that he was going to marry Alice Roosevelt.
Minneapolis Journal; “Elliott is in an Asylum. Minneapolitan Who Tried to Call on Roosevelt Is Declared to Be Insane. He made No Resistance When Taken to the Asylum—Friends Are Silent.”; Oct. 6, 1903; p. 1.
Peter O. Elliott
Minneapolis Journal; Oct. 6, 1903; p. 1.
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