Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was bigger than life and masterful with his words or rhetoric and his image branding. Some of his more well-known quotes are, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” and “I have always been fond of the West African proverb ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.’ In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard!” With these words, one can see he was artful with his words and actions.
Roosevelt was masterful in creating an image that he was a trust buster. His actions are determined by his beliefs. He believed that large growth within a business or industry was not innately wrong nor did it demonstrate incorrect behavior or business practices. In fact growth might be a direct result from a business or industry demonstrating excellent efficiencies, competitive prices and reliable services and therefore, advancing itself over its competitors.
Roosevelt believed the government needed to be watchful and enforce the “rules of engagement” to ensure fair business practices. He did not believe in governmental interference as long as a company was experiencing growth because of fair and competitive practices. If it was determined that growth was obtained because of unfairness, then the government should intervene on behalf of the country’s economy.
An example of Rosevelt’s trust busting, was the regulation of the railroad. He enlarged the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Some of the new power came through laws such as the Elkins Anti-Rebate Act, which denied carriers from extending rebates to large shippers for freight tariffs. The outcome of this law allowed the railroads to administer its rates. Another law, the Hepburn Act, granted power to set maximum rates. The ICC could investigate rates and shippers could challenge rates.
William Taft initially was mentored by Roosevelt, and they had similarities yet differences. Taft also possessed a large personality which matched his overall physical stature. He was known to be cheerful and friendly but also became more quiet as his presidential years progressed.
He was more strict than Roosevelt when it came to trust busting, which is ironic since Roosevelt is known as the “great trust buster.” He catapulted more antitrust cases and surpassed Roosevelt’s number by reviewing 99 cases by utilizing the Sherman Act, which was a federal statute that restricted interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace.
Roosevelt advocated for the executive branch to govern or regulate the trust activities, whereas Taft took a lesser stance of this perspective. Taft believed the regulation should come more from the legal court system. In fact, the Supreme Court used the “rule of reason” as the guiding light in determining if a company’s expansion was fair. Two of the more well-known cases during Taft’s presidency were one involving Standard Oil and the other one involving the American Tobacco company. Each company was found to have become too large unfairly and ordered to be broken up into smaller components. Taft also was victorious in breaking up the “sugar trust” against the American Sugar Refining Company for fixing sugar prices.
Even though Taft was at one time Roosevelt’s protegee, Taft suffered criticism from his former mentor for being unable to discern the difference between “good’ and “bad” trusts.
Eventually, Taft slowed down his antitrust efforts succumbing to the criticism from conservative business supporters as he also became wary of the long-range effect of trust-busting on the economy of the nation.
Both men were instrumental in trust busting and helping to eliminate national monopolies, and therefore, grant the opportunities for economic growth and fair business practices.
