Interstate commerce

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Brown McKinley

President Roosevelt agrees with Representative McKinley’s comments on the amount of constructive, beneficial legislation accomplished by Congress in the past seven years. He lists specific pieces of legislation that he feels “form a record of substantial legislative achievement in harmony with the best and most progressive thought of our people.” Roosevelt argues that electing William H. Taft will ensure such progress continues.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-09

Letter from William H. Moody to Theodore Roosevelt

Supreme Court Justice Moody presents President Roosevelt with some general rules of constitutional interpretation in light of his understanding of Charles Fremont Amidon’s speech. Moody mentions how interstate commerce has changed in recent years and that the courts must determine what commerce is national, what is local, and what role the nation has in it. Moody encourages Roosevelt to strike all reference to Amidon’s speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-09

Letter from Leslie M. Shaw to Theodore Roosevelt

Leslie M. Shaw is glad that President Roosevelt will be meeting with a committee of railroad men. Shaw notes that “at least three-fourths of the accumulated wealth of the United States has been unearned,” referring to value increases of land and real property over time. The difficulty is in how to “adjust matters that every man who has contributed capital or effort toward the development of our country shall have his fair share of the results of American effort.” Shaw identifies the corporate evils in the railroad industry as rooted in granting rebates and special privileges, and corporate control of corporations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-14

Letter from Martin A. Knapp to Theodore Roosevelt

Chairman Knapp of the Interstate Commerce Commission sends President Roosevelt some minor alterations and additions to a letter dealing with railway facilities and how the license plan is applied to industrial corporations. Knapp advocates for government facilitation of private investment in railroad infrastructure so profits and progress can continue to grow and asserts that is “plainly inadvisable” for the government to seize control of the railways.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-21

Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt

Charles Stedman Hanks gives his opinion on what will make the Hepburn Act more successful and what constitutes a legal merger of railroads. Hanks cites various examples of suspicious stock prices, mergers, and rates of sales for land that indicate the Hepburn Act can be tightened to be more effective in regulating the railroads. He claims that a large percentage of Americans believe that railroad traffic rates are too high.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-10

Rules for playing the terminal game

Charles Stedman Hanks details what he views as problematic statistical inaccuracies practiced by railroad companies and their statisticians that will interfere with the effectiveness of the Hepburn bill. In his letter, Hanks describes the “terminal game” document as a “hypothetical case” based on facts he had Mr. Harriman work out, which he hopes will impress upon President Roosevelt what the railroad terminal situation means as applied to the statistical reports and to the regulation of rates by the Commission. The document includes an illustration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-10

Letter from William H. Moody to Theodore Roosevelt

While Attorney General Moody believes that Henry W. Taft’s memorandum is the result of careful thought inspired by the difficulties in enforcing trust law and similar laws, he is unwilling to express a final opinion on the second condition, which deals with imposing conditions upon corporations engaged in interstate commerce. Moody fears the relation between the large corporations and the national government, especially the legislative branch.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-24

Letter from Henry Clay Frick to Philander C. Knox

Henry Clay Frick writes to Senator Knox, asking that President Roosevelt send for Henry H. Porter and several others in regards to the railroad.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-03

Letter from Philander C. Knox to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Knox shares his views on the inevitability of the federal government assuming supervisory control over the regulation and taxation of rail transportation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-19

Notes on regulation of transportation

Notes on the regulation of transportation commerce and related legislation with respect to the Constitution and how it has been interpreted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10

Amendment to the Hepburn Bill

William E. Chandler suggests edits to the Hepburn Bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward C. Stokes

Theodore Roosevelt appreciates Edward C. Stokes’s letter and is glad he liked what Roosevelt said about business. He holds up the National Banking Act as the one to follow but the analogy works better with the Inter-State Commerce Law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles McCarthy

Theodore Roosevelt suggests that Charles McCarthy write to James R. Garfield about the bill. He wants to put all big business concerns doing interstate traffic under an organization controlled by the federal government. Other businesses would be controlled by rigorously applied interstate law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Balthasar Henry Meyer

Theodore Roosevelt invites Balthasar Henry Meyer to discuss the recent activity related to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roosevelt would like to hear Meyer’s opinion on this matter, because Meyer served on the State and the National Commission. He asks when Meyer will next be in New York. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alfred P. Thom

Theodore Roosevelt is pleased with Alfred P. Thom’s letter. He followed Thom’s guide, emphasizing the injustice done to the states by allowing other states to neutralize their activities in the interest of commerce.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-04-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the Interstate Commerce Commission

President Roosevelt asks the members of the Interstate Commerce Commission if a general raise of railway rates is necessary. Roosevelt thinks some rates might need to be raised, but others night be too high already. He asks if the members of the commission feel it might be wise to unofficially announce that there will be an investigation into whether a raise is necessary, so that those who want a raise might consider carefully before taking action.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward H. Davis

President Roosevelt acknowledges receiving the protest of the Manufacturers’ Bureau against legislation governing child labor, and informs Edward H. Davis, secretary of the organization, of his firm support for such a law, as well as an employers’ liability law. Roosevelt is certain that under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution an employers’ liability law can be passed, and thinks that Congress should pass a law prohibiting child labor as soon as possible.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward A. McGrath

In accordance with the Congressional Act of February 23, 1905, to promote the security of railroad travel, President Roosevelt awards Edward A. McGrath with a Medal of Honor for risking his life to save a child who had wandered on the railroad tracks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert J. Beveridge

President Roosevelt tells Senator Beveridge that he does not believe the child labor bill Beveridge proposes has the support of organized labor, as Beveridge claimed. When Roosevelt spoke with labor leaders, the most anyone would say was that they supported the idea behind the bill, but did not seem to think it would be effective. Roosevelt was glad to find a position for Spencer F. Eddy in Argentina.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Judson C. Clements

President Roosevelt is concerned about the injunction issued by Judge Thomas Goode Jones which forbids the enforcement of Alabama rate laws. He believes the federal government should decide any matter related to interstate commerce, and he wants to ensure that there is due process. Roosevelt asks Judge Judson C. Clements of the Interstate Commerce Commission to investigate the matter discretely and send him a full report on the merits of the case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-03