Charles Edwin Loose became a prominent Utah industrialist and a key figure in the Utah Republican party at the end of the 19th century and his correspondence reflects this involvement. Born in Quincy, Illinois in 1853 to Betsey Jane and Robert Loose, C.E.'s father passed away the following year. Betsey Jane was a member of the Mormon Church and she with her family emigrated to Utah in 1860. Once in Utah the family settled in Payson. However Charles and his two brothers Robert Warren and William A. left home in the late 1860s and moved to the mining country of northwestern Nevada and north eastern California. For the next two decades the brothers worked in the mines of this area. Charles also did some prospecting in New Mexico and Mexico.
Loose moved back to Payson in 1887 in order to be closer to his mother and in 1888 married Mary Jane Patten. He settled permanently in Provo, Utah. Loose continued to be involved in mining. He had interests in several mines in Utah's Titnic District. He eventually became associated with Provo banker Reed Smoot. Thus when Smoot ran for the United States Senate in 1902 Loose was a principal backer in the campaign.
Politically, Loose was an active republican. He twice served on the state republican committee, as well as being a member of the republican national committee. In 1912 he was elected to serve as a delegate from Utah to the Republican National Convention. He was also elected to the Utah Senate twice.
The correspondence in this collection is all incoming to Loose and covers the period from 1904 to 1928. The majority of the letters were written by Reed Smoot. Other correspondents include members of the Republican National Committee and Utah Republicans. Many of the issues that Smoot addresses have their joint mining ventures. Smoot's position as chairman of the public lands committee in the Senate seems to have helped Loose at times. Also, the collection contains a report from the Globe Investigation company concerning union organizing that was occurring in the Utah mines. The letters have been placed into chronological order so that the events would unfold as they occurred.
Restrictions on Access :
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
Restrictions on Use :
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Charles Edwin Loose Political Correspondence must
be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Preferred Citation :
Initial Citation:
Charles Edwin Loose Political Correspondence USU_COLL MSS 172,
Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_COLL MSS 172,
USUSCA.
