Sublime

The three decades between 1869 and the end of the century were a Republican era in the White House as well as in the Senate. Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Harrison—all were Republicans. The Republican philosophy—that Congress should be stronger than the President, and the Senate stronger than the House—ruled.

he was one of the first to comprehend that the day of independent regional roads was coming to an end, that only transcontinental systems offering low through-rates would survive as independent systems. Regional roads, even prosperous ones like the Manitoba, would be swallowed up by the transregional railroads.

Hence, antitrust law was serving as a new kind of limit: a check on private power, by preventing the growth of monopoly corporations into something that might transcend the power of elected government to control. His pursuit of this goal makes it fair to call Roosevelt the pioneer of political antitrust.

Two courses are open to a new concern like ours—1st Stand timidly back, afraid to “break the market” [or] . . . 2nd To make up our minds to offer certain large customers lots at figures which will command orders—For my part I would run the works full next year even if we made but $2 per ton.

Charles Murphy had taught Roosevelt the importance of disparate political alliances and Democratic solidarity: “They may be sons-of-bitches, but they’re our sons-of-bitches.” Daniels taught him to be a team player—a lesson TR never learned.

An eminently practical man, the courtly Perkins knew well what Hill had earlier ascertained: that even profitable regional roads like the “Q” must either expand to the sea, in order to secure the transcontinental through-rates they needed to compete, or be absorbed by other such systems. He knew that it would be wiser for the Burlington to consolid