Your TR Source
Samuel H. Chauvenet writes to Theodore Roosevelt about the railroad industry. Chauvenet discusses the impact of tariffs and taxes on freight costs. According to Chauvenet, the public will soon demand that the government control the railroads. If this happens, Chauvenet suggests that the railroads enlist men similar to the Army and Navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-26
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.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-14