Anthracite coal industry

Concentration in industry

Charles Richard Van Hise speaks of the nuances present in monopolies and unrestricted competition in the American economy. Van Hise gives the railroads system as an example of successful use of commissions with no price competition. His thesis proposes there can be great economic advantage to maintain a concentration of industry and therefore those corporations should not be broken up by enforcing the Sherman Act. Instead, commissions should be created to determine prices and Van Hise provides a list of powers these commissions should have and how to achieve success.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-09

Newspaper article from the New York Evening Post

Approves of President Roosevelt bringing together the anthracite coal miners and operators for discussion. Roosevelt will not arbitrate or suggest terms, but provide for an environment and circumstances that will “call for kindly discussion and mutual concessions.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902

Anthracite Coal Strike memorandum

Argues that the continuation of the Anthracite Coal Strike is the fault of the operators for not agreeing to any concessions or submitting to arbitration while insisting on the unconditional surrender by the miners. The strike cannot be considered a simple business matter as lack of coal is creating widespread suffering. Coal is a necessity and should be treated as such, i.e. like food.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-10-02

Telegram from Seth Low to Theodore Roosevelt

Mayor Low encourages a settlement of the Anthracite Coal Strike and believes that the welfare of the country demands the immediate resumption of anthracite coal mining.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-10-02

Summary of letter from J. H. Woodard

J. H. Woodard forwards information that might be useful with regard to the present controversy in the anthracite coal region.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis

President Roosevelt invites Jacob A. Riis to stay at the White House while he is in Washington, D.C., on December 14 and 15. He would like to discuss the Anthracite Coal business.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-04

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to A. J. Cassatt

President Roosevelt requests that A. J. Cassatt meet with him on October 3 in Washington, D.C., to discuss the failure of the coal supply, which is affecting the entire nation. Several coal and railroad operators have also been invited.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-10-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles A. Prouty

President Roosevelt feels that Interstate Commerce Commissioner Prouty has made a strong case. He remarks that he wishes the Senators from Vermont could be convinced to take a stand for railway rate legislation. Commissioner of Corporations James Rudolph Garfield’s report is complete, and Roosevelt hopes that the Interstate Commerce Commission will go into the case of railroad and oil transportation matters as thoroughly as soon as possible. In the meantime, he asks whether Prouty is going to look up the combinations involved in the anthracite coal business as well as those in bituminous coal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Moody

President Roosevelt informs Attorney General Moody he is fine with including the firm of J. Pierpont Morgan in the Anthracite Coal case, but does not believe it is necessary to use more than one name.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Philander C. Knox

President Roosevelt wishes Senator Knox a happy New Year and asks when Knox can drop by to discuss current issues the Department of Justice is facing regarding anthracite coal, the tobacco trust, and the International Harvester Company.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ray Stannard Baker

President Roosevelt does not understand how his refusal to sanction “the tyranny of capital over labor” could be contradicted by his refusal to allow labor to tyrannize. He highlights “a square deal for every man” and clarifies his stance on issues, particularly unions, for Ray Stannard Baker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt agrees with Owen Wister’s thoughts. Roosevelt is grateful to the American people even though he has had a great deal of work as president. Roosevelt notes his cabinet has been a huge support to him and is glad he owed the election to “Abraham Lincoln’s ‘plain people.'” The president expresses his frustration with certain journalists and newspapers who criticize Roosevelt about having too close of a connection with “the wicked” but who ignored Alton B. Parker’s “hand-in-glove intimacy” with James J. Hill, William F. Sheehan, and Thomas Taggart. Roosevelt acknowledges he has made mistakes, but many of the criticisms leveled at him are due to ignorance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Lee Higginson

President Roosevelt supports the removal of the duty on anthracite coal. However, the duty only increases the price of foreign anthracite coal by $0.67 per ton, and Roosevelt doubts that removing the duty would provide substantial relief.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-12-22

Letter from Oscar Trombitz to Theodore Roosevelt

Oscar Trombitz proposes a remedy to the anthracite coal monopoly, although it is slower than legal reform. He suggests using tidal energy to generate electricity on the coasts through a cooperative company. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-27

Letter from William Peters Hepburn to Theodore Roosevelt

William Peters Hepburn is in receipt of President Roosevelt’s note of the 29th which referenced Standard Oil and the coal ownership propositions that were put in the rate bill by the Senate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-30

Letter from Seth Low to Theodore Roosevelt

Seth Low provides Theodore Roosevelt with a summary of the negotiations with coal miners. Low states unionization could probably be avoided if wages are increased.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-24

Letter from Thomas B. Merchant and Leslie M. Merchant to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorneys Thomas B. and Leslie M. Merchant writes to request from President Roosevelt a copy of a letter which John Mitchell, President of the United Mine Workers of America, sent to Roosevelt. They need the letter for a trial they are litigating on behalf of Alexander D. Wales. The attorneys ask Roosevelt to forward the letter as quickly as possible to avoid subpoena.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-17

Letter from Charles Francis Adams to Charles J. Bonaparte

Charles Francis Adams expresses his views about President Roosevelt’s intervention in the Anthracite Coal Strike, which Adams believes was an “egregious blunder.” He encloses a copy of a speech that was prepared for an anti-imperialist meeting.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George von Lengerke Meyer

President Roosevelt is relieved that the coal strike is settled and reports that the bone was hurt by the accident, but his leg is healing.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1902-10-28

Hanna’s influence gone

Leading anthracite businessmen do not believe that there will be a strike. If a strike does occur, a large operator promised that Senator Hanna would not be allowed to interfere in order to further his political aspirations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902