Railroads and state

Assistant Attorney General Cooley recounts a conversation he had with Martin A. Knapp regarding a meeting with Charles S. Mellen of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company. At a meeting at the White House at which Roosevelt was present, Mellen seemed unsure if keeping steamship lines operated by his railroad might violate the Sherman Antitrust Act. Knapp’s recollection was that Roosevelt declined to express an opinion in the matter. In light of this, Cooley sees no reason not to proceed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-03

Senator Lodge relays a conversation he had with Governor Curtis Guild about newspaper reports that the national government is opposed to the railroad merger. He asks President Roosevelt to supply any proof, if it exists, that just because the government is following railroad activity it is not thereby indicating any opposition to the Governor. Lodge will send Roosevelt the French report on the sale of rifles. He discusses the testimony of Lieutenant Leckie and John I. Kleiber at the Senate hearing on the Brownsville Affair.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-14

Henry Lee Higginson returns letters from Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou and of Professor F. W. Taussig. Higginson asserts that Taussig is not a reliable source from whom to understand the opinion of the business community. He believes the extent of the depression in the stock market was great, but he does not regard it as a matter of consequence to the speculative market. Such corrections are to be expected. However, the railroads are hesitant to build more track until the future legislation and its effect on rates is understood.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-04

F. W. Taussig, a professor of economics at Harvard University, tells President Roosevelt that he disagrees with the view that the economic depression was caused by the government’s policy regarding the railroads. Taussig argues that speculation is a healthy sign for the economy and that the high rates on loans, which is chiefly responsible for slowing the growth of the railroads, are common at the end of a period of rising prices. Taussig assures Roosevelt of his support for the administration’s policies.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-26

John A. Sleicher hopes the president will rescind oppressive regulation of small newspapers. Conde Hamlin of the St. Paul Pioneer Press agrees. Hamlin thinks William Jennings Bryan has “queered himself” but will be nominated nonetheless. Governor Frank S. Black and his wife Lois are returning from vacation. Sleicher hopes Black will be a delegate at the New York state convention and also recommends Herbert Parsons for the state committee. Sleicher tells Loeb to take pictures on an upcoming trip out West.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-21

Edwin S. Conway writes to Republican Senator Shelby Cullom protesting an amendment to the Interstate Commerce Commission law that would allow shippers to appear before court and present wrongs against them. As a shipper, he views this as another way for railroads to maintain an advantage, seeing as they are more organized than shippers. He commends President Roosevelt’s character and believes Roosevelt is looking out for the needs of the shippers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-25

John Revelstoke Rathom responds to President Roosevelt’s recent request for a statement regarding the sentiments “for and against the making of railroad rates through Governmental agency.” Rathom acknowledges his own stance in favor of the railroads but assures Roosevelt that the words presented are a true statement in regard to “a side of this great subject that I do not believe has yet been adequately presented.” Rathom highlights the circumstances surrounding the “Bacon Convention” in Chicago led by E. P. Bacon in showing that the business community, although not necessarily friends of the railroads, are largely against the principle of governmental regulation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-14

Minister to China Conger reports to Secretary of State Hay that China strongly wishes the United States to take an active role in brokering peace between Japan and Russia. In particular, Conger believes it would be beneficial for the United States to guarantee transfer of the railway in Manchuria to China, rather than Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-31

As requested, Charles Ray Dean sends Benjamin F. Barnes a memorandum concerning the Intercontinental Railway Commission.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-17

William Hutchinson Cowles reports that President Roosevelt is expected to win the election in the state of Washington by at least 20,000 votes. The impression Gifford Pinchot had before coming to Washington is probably due to reports concerning the large defection from the Republican Party on the state ticket, which was the result of an attempt to prevent the passage of a law creating a state railway commission. Cowles discusses the candidates and issues on the state ticket.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-17

Edward P. Moore sets out his plan for the construction and funding of a new, improved railroad line. Moore proposes that creating such a line would allow for many improvements in traditional railroad operation, would bring benefits to the country through the construction of highways parallel to the railroad tracks, and could be done economically through the issuing of bonds and investing in sources of electricity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-29

Justice Norcross outlines the history of Nevada, starting with Secretary of War Charles A. Dana’s account of President Abraham Lincoln’s fight to make it a state so that it could support a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Norcross goes on to describe the rich mineral resources of the state, its contributions to the country, and the current troubles it faces, especially regarding transportation and railroad rates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-11

Judge Charles A. Prouty, of the Interstate Commerce Commission, believes that “railroads must either obey the law as laid down by the Interstate Commerce Commission or they must pass into the hands of the United States Government.” Such a proposition does not alarm him, as “nearly every other civilized country in the world, except perhaps great Britain, has done so to its advantage, and what is done elsewhere can be done if necessary by the United States of America.” While Prouty prefers effective government regulation of railroads, if the railroads refuse to operate under these regulations, the government will have just cause to act.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-02-27

Uncle Sam holds a shovel as he faces a number of rocks in Panama: “opposition,” “Dem. opposition,” and “R.R. lobby opposition.” Caption: “Well, I’m here at last, but it’s a tough road!”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-25

President Roosevelt begins to chop down the “Bryanism” tree with branches of “bank guaranty law,” “radicalism,” “government ownership of railroads,” and “sensational issues.” A cat or raccoon that has the face of William Jennings Bryan is trapped up in the tree. On the ground are several wood chips: “Standard Oil controversy,” “Define your attitude toward labor.–T.R.,” and “Haskell incident.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

This cartoon possibly was drawn by a young Frank Godwin, who was born in Washington, D.C., to a newspaperman father. Frank was 15 (four years before this cartoon’s publication) when he secured his first job as an artist. He lived around Philadelphia, and in New Jersey, most of his life. 

President Roosevelt tries to place as many of his fingers on the switchboard: “arbitration,” “spelling,” “nature fakirs,” “national resources,” “railroads,” “GOP,” “foreign relations,” “Navy,” “Army,” “Taft,” and “business.” His left foot is has just hit the “our colonies” bell and his right foot is on the “legislation” lever. Roosevelt says, “I said no!” A handwritten addition reads, “Keep up the good work! You are doing all right.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Many cartoonists drew many cartoons during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and lifetime about his “strenuous life” — but, they drew more about his catholicity of interests, his fervid activities, his range and mastery of different subjects, his remarkable memory, grasp of issues, and foresight in determining how to act. All manner of observers marveled at Roosevelt’s mature hyperactivity, whether in intellectual pursuits, politics, or leisure; and cartoonists always had a ready-made topic awaiting them on slow days in the newsroom.

Justice William R. Day of the Supreme Court writes a dissenting opinion related to a number of appeals involving the Interstate Commerce Commission. He believes that the powers given to the Interstate Commerce Commission have been interpreted too narrowly by the court, and that the judgements of the Circuit Court should be affirmed. Justices John Marshall Harlan and Joseph McKenna concur in the dissent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-14

Supreme Court Justice Holmes presents the opinion of the court regarding several appeals from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York involving the Interstate Commerce Commission, Edward Henry Harriman and Otto H. Kahn. Holmes rules that the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission to compel testimony is limited, and only applies when conducting investigations into specific breaches of the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-14

Alabama Governor B. B. Comer has returned from his trips to Washington, D.C., and New York, but he would only speak of the social engagements he attended and not of government affairs. In addition to meeting with several Southern governors, Comer met with President Roosevelt, the “great trust buster and wielder of the large cane in general,” and was impressed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-09

Government investigations have revealed that many railroads have been violating portions of the interstate commerce act with regards to rebates and monopolies, and a number of railroad executives will be called upon to testify before the Interstate Commerce Commission. It is anticipated that testimony will show that the passage of the Elkins law did not stop the practice of paying rebates, but simply changed the form they took. This article presents additional analysis of what is expected to be presented to the commission, as well as the anticipated witnesses to be called.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-09