In this economic policy speech at the Cincinnati Music Hall, President Roosevelt begins by joking about how he messed up the opening music by requesting “Garryowen,” which the band apparently did not know how to play. Roosevelt argues that the trusts are a natural result of the prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution and that we cannot pride ourselves on progress and prosperity while denouncing the men who made this possible. He compares the present situation to flood control; just as one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it, so too America cannot end corporations but can study and regulate them so that they can “subserve the public good.” Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution and asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. He advocates for free trade, noting that the lifting of tariffs for trust-made goods would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, he recommends federal oversight, calling for legislative solutions and perhaps a constitutional amendment. He reminds the crowd that, as part of the executive branch, he is limited in his ability to stop the trusts alone. Roosevelt encourages the crowd not to “be made timid or daunted by the size of the problem” and concludes with the assertion that “all men, rich and poor alike, shall obey the law alike and receive its protection alike.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1902-09-20
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
