“InoneofmylastletterstoyouIenclosedyouacopyofaletterofmine，inwhichIquotedfrom[Soandso’s]advocacyofmurder。
YoumaybeinterestedtoknowthatheandhisbrotherSocialists——
inrealityanarchists——ofthefranklymurderoustypehavebeenviolentlyattackingmyspeechbecauseofmyallusiontothesympathyexpressedformurder。In/TheSocialist/，ofToledo，Ohio，ofApril21st，forinstance，theattack[onme]isbasedspecificallyonthefollowingparagraphofmyspeech，towhichhetakesviolentexception：
“Wecannomoreandnolessaffordtocondoneevilinthemanofcapitalthanevilinthemanofnocapital。Thewealthymanwhoexultsbecausethereisafailureofjusticeintheefforttobringsometrustmagnatetoanaccountforhismisdeedsisasbadas，andnoworsethan，theso-calledlaborleaderwhoclamorouslystrivestoexciteafoulclassfeelingonbehalfofsomeotherlaborleaderwhoisimplicatedinmurder。Oneattitudeisasbadastheother，andnoworse；ineachcasetheaccusedisentitledtoexactjustice；andinneithercaseisthereneedofactionbyotherswhichcanbeconstruedintoanexpressionofsympathyforcrime。
“RememberthatthiscrowdoflaborleadershavedoneallintheirpowertooverawetheexecutiveandthecourtsofIdahoonbehalfofmenaccusedofmurder，andbeyondquestionincitersofmurderinthepast。”
April26，1906。
“/MydearJudge/：
“IwishthepapershadgivenmoreprominencetowhatIsaidastothemurderpartofmyspeech。Butoh，mydearsir，Iutterlyandradicallydisagreewithyouinwhatyousayaboutlargefortunes。
Iwishitwereinmypowertodevisesomeschemetomakeitincreasinglydifficulttoheapthemupbeyondacertainamount。Asthedifficultiesinthewayofsuchaschemeareverygreat，letusatleastpreventtheirbeingbequeathedafterdeathorgivenduringlifetoanyonemaninexcessiveamount。
“Youandothercapitalistfriends，ononeside，shyoffatwhatI
sayagainstthem。Haveyouseenthefranticarticlesagainstmeby[theanarchistsand]theSocialistsofthebomb-throwingpersuasion，ontheotherside，becauseofwhatIsaidinmyspeechinreferencetothosewho，ineffect，advocatemurder？”
OnanotheroccasionIwasvehementlydenouncedincertaincapitalisticpapersbecauseIhadanumberoflaborleaders，includingminersfromButte，lunchwithmeattheWhiteHouse；andthisattheverytimethattheWesternFederationofMinerswasmostferociousinitsdenunciationofmebecauseofwhatitallegedtobemyunfriendlyattitudetowardlabor。TooneofmycriticsIsetforthmyviewsinthefollowingletter：
November26，1903。
“Ihaveyourletterofthe25thinstant，withenclosure。Thesemen，notallofwhomwereminers，bytheway，camehereandwereatlunchwithme，incompanywithMr。CarrollD。Wright，Mr。WayneMacVeagh，andSecretaryCortelyou。Theyareasdecentasetofmenascanbe。TheyallagreedentirelywithmeinmydenunciationofwhathadbeendoneintheCourtd’Alenecountry；anditappearedthatsomeofthemwereontheplatformwithmewhenIdenouncedthistypeofoutragethreeyearsagoinButte。Thereisnotonemanwhowashere，who，Ibelieve，wasinanyway，shapeorformresponsibleforsuchoutrages。Ifindthattheultra-SocialisticmembersoftheunionsinButtedenouncedthesemenforcominghere，inamannerasviolent——andImaysayasirrational——asthedenunciation[bythecapitalisticwriter]inthearticleyousentme。Doubtlessthegentlemanofwhomyouspeakasyourgeneralmanagerisanadmirableman。I，ofcourse，wasnotalludingtohim；butImostemphatically/was/alludingtomenwhowritesucharticlesasthatyousentme。ThesearticlesaretobeparalleledbythesimilararticlesinthePopulistandSocialistpaperswhentwoyearsagoIhadatdinneratonetimePierpontMorgan，andatanothertimeJ。J。Hill，andatanother，Harriman，andatanothertimeSchiff。Furthermore，theycouldbeparalleledbythearticlesinthesametypeofpaperwhichatthetimeoftheMillerincidentinthePrintingOfficewereinaconditionofnervousanxietybecauseImetthelaborleaderstodiscussit。ItwouldhavebeenagreatmisfortuneifIhadnotmetthem；anditwouldhavebeenanevengreatermisfortuneifaftermeetingthemIhadyieldedtotheirprotestsinthematter。
“YousayinyourletterthatyouknowthatIam’onrecord’asopposedtoviolence。Pardonmysayingthatthisseemstomenottherightwaytoputthematter，ifby’record’youmeanutteranceandnotaction。AsidefromwhathappenedwhenIwasGovernorinconnection，forinstancewiththeCrotondamstrikeriots，allyouhavetodoistoturnbacktowhattookplacelastJuneinArizona——andyoucanfindoutaboutitfrom[Mr。X]ofNewYork。Theminersstruck，violencefollowed，andtheArizonaTerritorialauthoritiesnotifiedmetheycouldnotgrapplewiththesituation。
Withintwentyminutesofthereceiptofthetelegram，orderswereissuedtothenearestavailabletroops，andtwenty-fourhoursafterwardsGeneralBaldwinandhisregularswereontheground，andtwenty-fourhourslatereveryvestigeofdisorderhaddisappeared。TheMiners’Federationintheirmeeting，IthinkatDenver，ashortwhileafterwards，passedresolutionsdenouncingme。Idonotknowwhetherthe/MiningandEngineeringJournal/
paidanyheedtothisincidentorknowofit。Ifthe/Journal/
did，IsupposeitcanhardlyhavefailedtounderstandthattoputanimmediatestoptoriotingbytheuseoftheUnitedStatesarmyisafactofimportancebesidewhichthecriticismofmyhaving’laborleaders’tolunch，shrinksintothesameinsignificanceasthecriticisminadifferenttypeofpaperaboutmyhaving’trustmagnates’tolunch。WhileIamPresidentIwishthelabormantofeelthathehasthesamerightofaccesstomethatthecapitalisthas；thatthedoorsswingopenaseasilytothewage-
workerastotheheadofabigcorporation——/andnoeasier/。
Anythingelseseemstobenotonlyun-American，butassymptomaticofanattitudewhichwillcostgravetroubleifperseveredin。TodiscriminateagainstlabormenfromButtebecausethereisreasontobelievethatriotinghasbeenexcitedinotherdistrictsbycertainlaborunions，orindividualsinlaborunionsinButte，wouldbetoadoptpreciselytheattitudeofthosewhodesiremetodiscriminateagainstallcapitalistsinWallstreetbecausethereareplentyofcapitalistsinWallStreetwhohavebeenguiltyofbadfinancialpracticesandwhohaveendeavoredtooverrideorevadethelawsoftheland。Inmyjudgment，theonlysafeattitudeforaprivatecitizen，andstillmoreforapublicservant，toassume，isthathewilldrawthelineonconduct，discriminatingagainstneithercorporationnorunionassuch，norinfavorofeitherassuch，butendeavoringtomakethedecentmemberoftheunionandtheuprightcapitalistsalikefeelthattheyarebound，notonlybyself-interest，butbyeveryconsiderationofprincipleanddutytostandtogetheronthemattersofmostmomenttothenation。”
OnanotherofthevariousoccasionswhenIhadlaborleaderstodineattheWhiteHouse，mycriticswererathershockedbecauseIhadJohnMorleytomeetthem。Thelaborleadersinquestionincludedtheheadsofthevariousrailroadbrotherhoods，menlikeMr。Morrissey，inwhosesoundjudgmentandhighstandardofcitizenshipIhadpeculiarconfidence；andIaskedMr。MorleytomeetthembecausetheyrepresentedtheexacttypeofAmericancitizenwithwhomIthoughtheoughttobebroughtincontact。
Oneofthedevicessometimesusedbybigcorporationstobreakdownthelawwastotreatthepassageoflawsasanexcuseforactionontheirpartwhichtheyknewwouldberesentedbythepublic，itbeingtheirpurposetoturnthisresentmentagainstthelawinsteadofagainstthemselves。TheheadsoftheLouisvilleandNashvilleroadwerebitteropponentsofeverythingdonebytheGovernmenttowardsecuringgoodtreatmentfortheiremployees。InFebruary，1908，theyandvariousotherrailwaysannouncedthattheyintendedtoreducethewagesoftheiremployees。Ageneralstrike，withalltheattendantdisorderandtrouble，wasthreatenedinconsequence。IaccordinglysentthefollowingopenlettertotheInter-StateCommerceCommission：
February16，1908。
“TotheInter-StateCommerceCommission：
“Iaminformedthatanumberofrailroadcompanieshaveservednoticeofaproposedreductionofwagesoftheiremployees。Oneofthem，theLouisvilleandNashville，inannouncingthereduction，statesthat’thedrasticlawsinimicaltotheinterestsoftherailroadsthathaveinthepastyearortwobeenenactedbyCongressandtheStateLegislatures’arelargelyorchieflyresponsiblefortheconditionsrequiringthereduction。
“Undersuchcircumstancesitispossiblethatthepublicmaysoonbeconfrontedbyseriousindustrialdisputes，andthelawprovidesthatinsuchcaseeitherpartymaydemandtheservicesofyourChairmanandoftheCommissionerofLaborasaBoardofMediationandConciliation。Thesereductionsinwagesmaybewarranted，ortheymaynot。Astothisthepublic，whichisavitallyinterestedparty，canformnojudgmentwithoutamorecompleteknowledgeoftheessentialfactsandrealmeritsofthecasethanitnowhasorthanitcanpossiblyobtainfromthespecialpleadings，certaintobeputforthbyeachsideincasetheirdisputeshouldbringaboutseriousinterruptiontotraffic。Ifthereductioninwagesisduetonaturalcauses，thelossofbusinessbeingsuchthattheburdenshouldbeandis，equitablydistributedbetweencapitalistandwage-worker，thepublicshouldknowit。Ifitiscausedbylegislation，thepublic，andCongress，shouldknowit；andifitiscausedbymisconductinthepastfinancialorotheroperationsofanyrailroad，theneverybodyshouldknowit，especiallyiftheexcuseofunfriendlylegislationisadvancedasamethodofcoveringuppastbusinessmisconductbytherailroadmanagers，orasajustificationforfailuretotreatfairlythewage-earningemployeesofthecompany。
“Moreover，anindustrialconflictbetweenarailroadcorporationanditsemployeesofferspeculiaropportunitiestoanysmallnumberofevil-disposedpersonstodestroylifeandpropertyandfomentpublicdisorder。Ofcourse，iflife，property，andpublicorderareendangered，promptanddrasticmeasuresfortheirprotectionbecomethefirstplainduty。Allotherissuesthenbecomesubordinatetothepreservationofthepublicpeace，andtherealmeritsoftheoriginalcontroversyarenecessarilylostfromview。Thisvitalconsiderationshouldbeeverkeptinmindbyalllaw-abidingandfar-sightedmembersoflabororganizations。
“Itissincerelytobehoped，therefore，thatanywagecontroversythatmayarisebetweentherailroadsandtheiremployeesmayfindapeacefulsolutionthroughthemethodsofconciliationandarbitrationalreadyprovidedbyCongress，whichhaveprovensoeffectiveduringthepastyear。TothisendtheCommissionshouldbeinapositiontohaveavailableforanyBoardofConciliationorArbitrationrelevantdatapertainingtosuchcarriersasmaybecomeinvolvedinindustrialdisputes。Shouldconciliationfailtoeffectasettlementandarbitrationberejected，accurateinformationshouldbeavailableinordertodevelopaproperlyinformedpublicopinion。
“Ithereforeaskyoutomakesuchinvestigation，bothofyourrecordsandbyanyothermeansatyourcommand，aswillenableyoutofurnishdataconcerningsuchconditionsobtainingontheLouisvilleandNashvilleandanyotherroads，asmayrelate，directlyorindirectly，totherealmeritsofthepossiblyimpendingcontroversy。
“THEODOREROOSEVELT。”
Thisletterachieveditspurpose，andthethreatenedreductionofwageswasnotmade。Itwasaninstanceofwhatcouldbeaccomplishedbygovernmentalaction。Letmeadd，however，withalltheemphasisI
possess，thatthisdoesnotmeananyfailureonmyparttorecognizethefactthatifgovernmentalactionplacestooheavyburdensonrailways，itwillbeimpossibleforthemtooperatewithoutdoinginjusticetosomebody。Railwayscannotpayproperwagesandrenderproperserviceunlesstheymakemoney。Theinvestorsmustgetareasonableprofitortheywillnotinvest，andthepubliccannotbewellservedunlesstheinvestorsaremakingreasonableprofits。Thereiseveryreasonwhyratesshouldnotbetoohigh，buttheymustbesufficientlyhightoallowtherailwaystopaygoodwages。Moreover，whenlawslikeworkmen’scompensationlaws，andthelikearepassed，itmustalwaysbekeptinmindbytheLegislaturethatthepurposeistodistributeoverthewholecommunityaburdenthatshouldnotbeborneonlybythoseleastabletobearit——thatis，bytheinjuredmanorthewidowandorphansofthedeadman。Iftherailwayisalreadyreceivingadisproportionatereturnfromthepublic，thentheburdenmay，withpropriety，bearpurelyontherailway；butifitisnotearningadisproportionatereturn，thenthepublicmustbearitsshareoftheburdenoftheincreasedservicetherailwayisrendering。
Dividendsandwagesshouldgouptogether；andtherelationofratestothemshouldneverbeforgotten。Thisofcoursedoesnotapplytodividendsbasedonwater；nordoesitmeanthatiffoolishpeoplehavebuiltaroadthatrendersnoservice，thepublicmustneverthelessinsomewayguaranteeareturnontheinvestment；butitdoesmeanthattheinterestsofthehonestinvestorareentitledtothesameprotectionastheinterestsofthehonestmanager，thehonestshipperandthehonestwage-earner。AlltheseconflictingconsiderationsshouldbecarefullyconsideredbyLegislaturesbeforepassinglaws。
Oneofthegreatobjectsincreatingcommissionsshouldbetheprovisionofdisinterested，fair-mindedexpertswhowillreallyandwiselyconsiderallthesematters，andwillshapetheiractionsaccordingly。Thisisonereasonwhysuchmattersastheregulationofrates，theprovisionforfullcrewsonroadsandthelikeshouldbeleftfortreatmentbyrailwaycommissions，andnotbesettledoffhandbydirectlegislativeaction。