Your TR Source

Railroads--Corrupt practices

Search by Date Range

Clear Filters

10 Results

Letter from Leslie M. Shaw to Theodore Roosevelt

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 Andrew Carnegie to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Andrew Carnegie to Theodore Roosevelt

Andrew Carnegie accepts President Roosevelt’s invitation and sets a date for their luncheon. Carnegie congratulates Roosevelt on Archibald B. Roosevelt’s recovery. Roosevelt now has time for other matters. Issuance of capital stock to finance railroads needs to be regulated. Carnegie will show Roosevelt his speech for the Peace Conference and hopes to receive suggestions. He thinks that he will have greater success if Elihu Root goes to the Hague with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-12

Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt

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

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 Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Moody

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Moody

President Roosevelt suggests Attorney General Moody hedge his bets while writing to Mr. Hepburn about approving the bill by saying that the law may require further modifications beyond the limits of the bill, but that bill itself is a good one. Roosevelt wants to make sure that they are able to address the worst abuses of the railroads before they consider themselves to be “entirely satisfied with anything that we are doing.” He asks Moody to look over the enclosed letter from Governor Benjamin B. Odell.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-18

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to Theodore Roosevelt

William Meyer Lewin had spoken with Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp about rumors that the receivership of the Western Maryland Railroad has been worked up to affect the public and Congress. This is one of several such receiverships aimed to reduce actual earnings, wrecking the finances of the company while ensuring that it could declare bankruptcy without its owners losing control of the property.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-16

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Jonathan Bourne to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Bourne asks William Loeb, secretary to Theodore Roosevelt, whether Roosevelt has any knowledge of the Spokane Rate Case that will soon come before the Interstate Commerce Commission. There is a rumor in Portland, Oregon, that the President supports the businessmen in the case and Bourne wonders if this is true because if it is true, he would like to present to Roosevelt the views of leading area businessmen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-13