ROOSEVELT(S) REFORMS
By the early 20th century, most of the larger cities and more than half the states had established an eight-hour day on public works . Equally important were the work- man’s compensation laws, which made employers legally responsible for injuries sustained by employees at work . New revenue laws were also enacted, which, by taxing inheri- tances, incomes, and the property or earnings of corporations, sought to place the burden of government on those best able to pay .
It was clear to many people — notably President Theodore Roosevelt and Progressive leaders in the Congress (foremost among them Wisconsin Senator Robert La Fol- lette) — that most of the problems reformers were concerned about could be solved only if dealt with on a national scale . Roosevelt declared his determination to give all the American people a “Square Deal .”
During his first term, he initiated a policy of increased government su- pervision through the enforcement of antitrust laws . With his back- ing, Congress passed the Elkins Act (1903), which greatly restricted the railroad practice of giving rebates to favored shippers . The act made published rates the lawful standard,
CHAPTER 9: DISCONTENT AND REFORM
OUTLINE OF U.S. HISTORY
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and shippers equally liable with railroads for rebates . Meanwhile, Congress had created a new Cabi- net Department of Commerce and Labor, which included a Bureau of Corporations empowered to investi- gate the affairs of large business ag- gregations .
Roosevelt won acclaim as a “trust-buster,” but his actual atti- tude toward big business was com- plex . Economic concentration, he believed, was inevitable . Some trusts were “good,” some “bad .” The task of government was to make reasonable distinctions . When, for example, the Bureau of Corporations discovered in 1907 that the American Sugar Re- fining Company had evaded import duties, subsequent legal actions re- covered more than $4 million and convicted several company officials . The Standard Oil Company was in- dicted for receiving secret rebates from the Chicago and Alton Rail- road, convicted, and fined a stagger- ing $29 million .
Roosevelt’s striking personality and his trust-busting activities cap- tured the imagination of the ordinary individual; approval of his progres- sive measures cut across party lines . In addition, the abounding prosper- ity of the country at this time led people to feel satisfied with the party in office . He won an easy victory in the 1904 presidential election .
Emboldened by a sweeping elec- toral triumph, Roosevelt called for stronger railroad regulation . In June 1906 Congress passed the Hepburn Act . It gave the Interstate Commerce
Commission real authority in regu- lating rates, extended the commis- sion’s jurisdiction, and forced the railroads to surrender their inter- locking interests in steamship lines and coal companies .
Other congressional measures carried the principle of federal con- trol still further . The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited the use of any “deleterious drug, chemical, or preservative” in prepared medi- cines and foods . The Meat Inspec- tion Act of the same year mandated federal inspection of all meat-pack- ing establishments engaged in inter- state commerce .
Conservation of the nation’s nat- ural resources, managed develop- ment of the public domain, and the reclamation of wide stretches of ne- glected land were among the other major achievements of the Roosevelt era . Roosevelt and his aides were more than conservationists, but giv- en the helter-skelter exploitation of public resources that had preceded them, conservation loomed large on their agenda . Whereas his predeces- sors had set aside 18,800,000 hect- ares of timberland for preservation and parks, Roosevelt increased the area to 59,200,000 hectares . They also began systematic efforts to pre- vent forest fires and to re-timber de- nuded tracts .