Letter from Charles Eliot to Theodore Roosevelt
Charles William Eliot writes to President Roosevelt regarding his feelings on how labor unions must be regulated.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-12-12
Your TR Source
Monopolies--Government policy
Excerpt from New York Times on President Roosevelt’s inauguration
On the occasion of his inauguration, the New York Times re-examines President Roosevelt’s record of the past three years, and asks, can the nation expect an even bolder Roosevelt in the years to come? Roosevelt’s policies and actions of the past three years are subjected to a critical analysis.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1905-03-04
Creator(s)
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge
President Roosevelt writes to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge about a complicated issue the State Department is facing, regarding whether or not it should arbitrate a contract dispute between two American telegraph companies in Panama. Roosevelt does not believe that diplomatic intervention from the Department of State is appropriate in this situation, because the dispute is between two American companies.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-06-16
Creator(s)
Letter from Otto S. Jonas to William H. Taft
Otto S. Jonas, secretary of the Independent Retail Tobaconnists Association, argues in favor of the Tobacco Trust litigation being put before the United States Supreme Court.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1912-01-30
Creator(s)
Copies Of Telegraphic Correspondence With President Taft
Series of telegrams documenting the efforts of the National Cigar Leaf Tobacco Association and the Cigar Manufacturers’ Association of America to convince President Taft to examine the “Tobacco Trust” case that they believe violates the Sherman Act.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-11-06
Creator(s)
Letter from Brooks Adams to Theodore Roosevelt
Brooks Adams thanks Theodore Roosevelt for introduction and kindness. Adams supports absolute control of all property by monopoly or regulation of prices subject to monopoly by government. Adams expresses his conviction by quoting Bible passage, Luke 9:62.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-06-14
Creator(s)
Address of President Roosevelt at Cincinnati, Ohio (prepared copy)
In the script for an economic policy speech to be delivered at the Cincinnati Music Hall before many captains of industry, President 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 while denouncing the men whose “commanding business ability” made it possible. He uses the example of how one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it; therefore, America cannot end corporations but can and must study and regulate them. Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution. Labeling the “demagogic denunciation of wealth” to be unwholesome and even dangerous, he asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. Roosevelt opposes lifting tariffs for trust-made goods, as that would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, Roosevelt 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.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1902-09-20
Creator(s)
Address of President Roosevelt at Cincinnati, Ohio (delivered copy)
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)
A second Yorktown
In a scene reminiscent of the surrender at Yorktown, a man portrays Lord Cornwallis labeled “Special Privilege” offering his sword to President Wilson portraying George Washington, with William Jennings Bryan on the right and Oscar W. Underwood on the left. Standing behind the British officer are soldiers laying down their standards labeled “Monopoly, Tariff, Banking, Food Adulteration, Lobbyism, [and] Rail Road Rule.”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1914-02-21
Creator(s)
Memorandum from Ray H. Mattison to Allyn F. Hanks
Ray H. Mattison responds to Superintendent Hanks’s request for advice on the content of the address to be given at the dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Park Historian Mattison includes a number of Roosevelt quotations on a variety of topics and his opinion on the focus of the address.
Collection
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Creation Date
1949-05-21
Creator(s)
Merely recognizing a fact
A large businessman labeled “Centralized Wealth” uses candle snuffs labeled “Control of Credit, Control of Bank Deposits, Control of Transportation, Control of Public Utilities, Control of Food Supply, Control of Natural Resources, Control of Business, [and] Control of Wall Street” to extinguish candles labeled “Initiative, Untainted Success, Ambition, Independence, [and] Individualism.” An insert shows Puck talking to a socialist speaker. Caption: Puck (to Socialist orator) — Sit down! You don’t have to talk. This large person is making socialists faster than you can make them!
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1911-01-18