Your TR Source

Railroad companies--Corrupt practices

Search by Date Range

Clear Filters

8 Results

Letter from Thomas T. Chaloner to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Thomas T. Chaloner to Theodore Roosevelt

Thomas T. Chaloner asks Theodore Roosevelt why rich corporations do not give the public a square deal and gives the example of his attempts to sell his train stop device to railroad companies. Chaloner knows his device could save lives, yet the railroad companies do not want to pay to install the device and therefore turn Chaloner away. Chaloner believes railroad companies are selling all the stock and bonds to foreign nobles, catering to them rather than making railroads safer for Americans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-18

Creator(s)

Chaloner, Thomas T.

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft reviews the history of a proposed meeting between President Roosevelt and representatives of railroad interests. Banker Harry Bowly Hollins, being “fearful of a financial panic through the country,” believed that public confidence could be restored by President Roosevelt meeting with representatives of the railroads about their adherence to the Rate Bill. At first, it was thought the meeting should be with railroad presidents, but subsequently, a meeting with J. Pierpont Morgan was deemed to be better. Having discussed the proposal with Roosevelt, Taft relayed the latter’s doubts about the usefulness of such a meeting, but that he was willing to meet with Morgan, as long as everyone understood it was not at his request.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-11

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt tells Attorney General Bonaparte to pause the case proceedings regarding alleged rebate practices by the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company, pending further investigation. Roosevelt encloses a memorandum describing the proposed investigation into the situation by St. Louis Attorney General Henry W. Blodgett.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Memorandum of investigation of alleged illegal practices by the Ann Arbor Railroad Company and others at Toledo, Ohio, August 14th and 15th, 1906.

Memorandum of investigation of alleged illegal practices by the Ann Arbor Railroad Company and others at Toledo, Ohio, August 14th and 15th, 1906.

A memorandum from an investigation taking place in Toledo, Ohio, August 14 and 15, 1906, detailing the investigation of illegal practices by railroad companies. Since 1897, the Toledo Ice & Coal Company has been unfairly benefiting from free or discounted rates on the transportation of materials, the shipment of ice, and tourist railroad tickets from the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. Many of the stockholders of the Toledo Ice & Coal Company are employees of the Ann Arbor Railroad Company. The Toledo Ice & Coal Company also undercut its competitors and sold ice to hospitals at a discounted rate far below the legal published rate for ice shipments. The Pere Marquette Railroad Company similarly provided favors to an individual in Milford, Michigan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-14

Creator(s)

Unknown

Statement on government regulation of railroads and other corporations (edited)

Statement on government regulation of railroads and other corporations (edited)

President Roosevelt argues that the federal government must regulate interstate commerce and the railroad corporations, especially to stop over-capitalization. However, he affirms that he is against the Sherman Anti-Trust Act notion that all corporations are bad, and he opposes the arbitrary reduction of rates or government direction of railroad operations, especially considering the need for private investment in railroad infrastructure. He states that his views on these matters have not changed since he was the Governor of New York, and that his executive actions and all laws passed by Congress regarding the issue of interstate railroad commerce in the past six years have been positive.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919