Railroads--Freight--Rates--Law and legislation

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

President Roosevelt praises the characters in William Allen White’s book Stratagems and Spoils, and compares them to some contemporary politicians. Roosevelt has been disgusted by some recent speeches by William Jennings Bryan, who he characterizes as a demagogue. He reflects that on any issue, it is impossible to not have some allies whose reasoning on the issue is completely different, using Upton Sinclair as an example. While Roosevelt holds Sinclair in contempt, he recognizes that he also can provide good service in helping Roosevelt effect change in the meat-packing industry. Roosevelt similarly comments on several senators in relation to the railroad rate bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin Ide Wheeler

President Roosevelt thinks that Benjamin Ide Wheeler’s letter was very interesting, and believes Wheeler is correct that the business people were foolish. He comments on the way railroad rebates and rate legislation has been handled, and says that he “raised the issue arbitrarily in just the sense that Lincoln raised the slavery issue arbitrarily when the issue was the preservation of the Union.” He agrees that the current legislative session has been very good, but understands Wheeler’s anxiety about who will take up the mantle of leadership after Roosevelt’s term ends. Roosevelt believes that Secretary of War William H. Taft would be a good candidate, and comments on Secretary of State Elihu Root as well.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Rudolph Garfield

President Roosevelt writes to Commissioner of Corporations Garfield regarding the results of his investigations into railroad rates. While open rates do not appear to be unlawful, they are a strong argument for the passage of the railroad rate bill currently being considered by Congress. Roosevelt asks for a list of the secret rates that were not discontinued before the publication of the report, as well as a list of cases Rudolph believes should be presented to the Department of Justice for possible action. Roosevelt believes future development on this issue will involve antitrust law instead of interstate commerce law, as the government examines if there is “any radical remedy for the existence of a great corporation acting as the Standard Oil Company has been shown by your report to act.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis

President Roosevelt approves of the speech of George Wood Wingate that Jacob A. Riis shared with him, and comments that Wingate “is a fine old fellow and is doing excellent work.” Roosevelt thinks it was funny how quickly the opposition to the railroad rate bill went away.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ansley Wilcox

President Roosevelt thanks Ansley Wilcox for the pleasant note. He is glad that the rate bill “is now practically through.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt sends Senator Lodge a history of the Chandler-Bailey-Tillman matter regarding the passage of the Hepburn Act.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William McIntosh

President Roosevelt thanks William McIntosh, managing editor of The News, for the editorial he sent him. Roosevelt assures McIntosh that he is already having people look at the issue McIntosh raised. However, his power to directly effect change is limited, and the matter depends on Congress and the courts. He is glad the matter of railway rate legislation is approaching a successful conclusion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-15

Letter from William H. Moody to Theodore Roosevelt

Attorney General Moody sends President Roosevelt the account he requested of the conference Moody had with Senators Benjamin R. Tillman and Joseph W. Bailey. Moody recounts the circumstances leading to the conference, and the discussions he had with Roosevelt prior to the conference regarding an amendment to the Hepburn bill and the ability of Congress to limit the ability of courts to issue interlocutory injunctions. Moody told the two senators Roosevelt’s thoughts on the matter and found them to be largely in agreement, leading to the creation of a draft amendment. This amendment had some difficulty in the Senate, and Moody told Tillman and Bailey that it may be difficult for an amendment that the executive branch had a hand in crafting to pass, and suggested that they collaborate with Senator William B. Allison on the creation of a new amendment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to E. P. Bacon

President Roosevelt feels that E. P. Bacon must not have seen his previous telegram in which he confirmed his stance on rate legislation and clarified that the Allison amendment to the Hepburn bill only clarifies portions of the bill without changing its substance. He chides Bacon for his “concern” about the Allison amendment, which Roosevelt believes shows ignorance about the matter, and which may jeopardize the rate bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-08

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to W. F. Hill

President Roosevelt assures W. F. Hill and the members of the Pennsylvania State Grange that he is standing by his position regarding rate legislation and is hopeful that Congress will as well. Roosevelt feels that the Hepburn bill meets his views and believes that if it is enacted into law it will help solve the railroad rate problem.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William B. Allison

President Roosevelt tells Senator William B. Allison that, upon reflection, the actions of the people opposed to railroad rate legislation has put those in favor of a bill in a position where they should not hesitate to try to pass a bill with the cooperation of the Democrats. Roosevelt finds himself increasingly in favor of the proposition to forbid the granting of temporary injunctions in the matter, and discusses how an amendment containing this might be passed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas G. Harris

President Roosevelt thanks Thomas G. Harris for the panholder, which he believes speaks well of Harris’s work as a wheelwright. Roosevelt will sign the railroad rate bill if it passes “in proper shape.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to E. P. Bacon

President Roosevelt responds to E. P. Bacon’s letter about Senator John C. Spooner’s proposed amendment to the railroad rate bill. The amendment would be an effective deterrent against railroads making motions for a stay simply to cause delay. However, Roosevelt believes that the courts will not grant excessive stays. The bill can be passed without the amendment, which could be passed as a separate law in the future if necessary. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert J. Beveridge

President Roosevelt found Senator Beveridge’s sketch of Napoleon in relation to his current battles with Congress interesting, although he does not believe in “the very un-Napoleonic idea” of going out of business following a defeat. Roosevelt cannot make Secretary of War William H. Taft believe that a measure “he has most at heart” is beaten. He has dropped everything about the Philippine bill until after the statehood and railroad rate bills are finished.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Sereno Stansbury Pratt

President Roosevelt appreciated Sereno Stansbury Pratt’s recent Wall Street Journal article. Pratt responded to a letter from George Brinton McClellan Harvey which suggested that following tension between Roosevelt and Republican leaders in the Senate, Roosevelt’s popularity would wane by the end of his second term. Roosevelt assures Pratt that he is not concerned with his personal popularity, but rather with doing what is good for the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt asks Ambassador Reid to give King Edward VII the enclosed letter. He discusses the trouble that Germany is causing at the Algeciras Conference, after Kaiser William II did not honor his promise to instruct the Germans to follow Roosevelt’s instructions. Roosevelt believes that Germany believes that it can defeat both England and France now that Russia is out of the way. Domestically, Roosevelt believes that the railroad rate bill will pass after “mild troubles,” including Senator Nelson W. Aldrich losing “both his head and his temper.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A. J. Cassatt

President Roosevelt and Attorney General William H. Moody agreed with the Interstate Commerce Commission on an amendment to the Hepburn railroad rate bill that meets the point that A. J. Cassatt made in his letter. However, Senator Philander C. Knox disagrees with the amendment and prefers the bill as-is, and Roosevelt has given up the effort to pass the amendment. Roosevelt believes that the Hepburn bill should be passed in its current form.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon

President Roosevelt encloses a copy of Attorney General William H. Moody’s proposed amendment to the railroad rate bill, which he would like Speaker of the House Cannon to show to Representative A. Barton Hepburn. Moody, Roosevelt, and two members of the Interstate Commerce Commission find the amendment satisfactory, and believe that it would avoid any question of the constitutionality of the bill. After Cannon and Hepburn have discussed the matter, Roosevelt would like Cannon to see him to discuss matters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Zebina Ripley

President Roosevelt thanks William Zebina Ripley for the letter and pamphlet. In regards to the Hepburn bill, Roosevelt agrees with Ripley’s desire to allow cooperative agreements between carriers, although he does not think anything can be done at present. He appreciates what Ripley has written on this subject.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edmund H. Hinshaw

President Roosevelt thanks Representative Hinshaw for sending him the clipping about the Hepburn railroad rate bill and says that he believes that the most important part of the bill is the “prompt application of the rate schedule” as directed by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Congress has done everything that it can to ensure that the bill will not be held up by the courts in the event of an appeal. However, Roosevelt notes that there is no way to completely prevent any legislative action from being appealed to the courts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-20