Roosevelt's Last Message

President Roosevelt delivers his last official “message” to Congress in Washington, which focuses on “corporations and other subjects of prime importance.”

Washington, Dec. 9 -- More than ordinary interest was evinced in the last regular message of President Roosevelt to congress before his retirement from office next March, which was read simultaneously in the senate and house. The document, which was temperate in tone and about 200,000 words in length, reiterated the president’s policies concerning corporations and other subjects of prime importance. He made no mention of the tariff. In dealing with corporations, President Roosevelt expressed the belief that it was worse than folly to attempts to prohibit combinations. The Sherman antitrust act, he said, worked almost as much hardship as good, and he strongly advocated the substitution of a law that would expressly permit combinations which were in the interest of the public, but would permit the national government to exercise full power of control and supervision over them. Publicity, he declared, should be the chief feature of government control over corporations and he recommended executive rather than judicial action in putting a stop to corporation evils. Commenting upon the railroads, the president said they should be removed entirely from the domain of the antitrust law and placed completely under the interstate commerce commission. He advocated increasing the powers of this commission so that it could exercise supervision and control over the issue of securities as well as over rates. The president favored traffic arguments between railroad corporations and said power to make such agreements should be explicitly conferred upon the railroads, with permission of the interstate commerce commission and providing the details of the agreements were published in full. A summary of the message is as follows: “The financial standing of the nation at the present time is excellent, and the financial management of the nation’s interests during the last seven years has shown most satisfactory results. But our currency system is imperfect, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the currency commission will be able to propose a thoroughly good system which will do away with existing defects. I believe it is worse than folly to attempt to prohibit all combinations, as is done by the Sherman antitrust law, because such a law can be enforced only imperfectly and unequally, and its enforcement works almost as much hardship as good. I strongly advocate that instead of an unwise effort to prohibit all combinations, there shall be substituted a law which shall expressly permit combinations which are in the interest of the public but shall at the same time give to some agency of the national government full power of control and supervision over them. One of the chief features of this control should be securing entire publicity in all matters which the public has a right to know, and furthermore, the power, not by judicial but by executive action, to prevent or put a stop to every form of improper favoritism or other wrongdoing...

“Roosevelt's Last Message,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed December 11, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/788.