Samuel Rea to Woodrow Wilson

Title

Samuel Rea to Woodrow Wilson

Creator

Rea, Samuel, 1855-1929

Identifier

WWP17676

Date

1913 April 17

Description

Samuel Rea writes to Woodrow Wilson about signing the Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill

Source

Wilson Papers, Library of Congress, Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia

Subject

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence

Text

My dear President Wilson

I sincerely hope that the despatches from Washington, stating that you will not refuse to sign the Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill, with a rider attached exempting workmen and farmers from the Anti–Trust Act, are untrue.
To secure legislation of this kind through the irregular and vicious mode of attaching a rider to an appropriation bill, is wrong, and to exempt any class of people from the Anti–Trust Act is also wrong. It is well–known and has been stated by Senator Edmunds, who was one of the chief framers of the Act, that it was not intended to apply to railroads, yet when it was considered by the Courts they decided that the Anti–Trust Law was universal in its application, and the Joint Traffic Association of Railroads was thereupon dissolved.
Every well–thinking person sympathizes with the effort to better the condition of labor, but there any many other interests in this country as well as the laborers, organized and unorganized, and the farmers, and when the railroads are coerced by legislation such as the labor unions are securing in many of the States, notably the Extra Crew Laws in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, thus providing places for men in idleness at the expense of the private Companies to whom have been confided the construction and operation of the railroads, it is time to scrutinize all such acts carefully and not allow our sympathies generally to outweigh our judgement. The editorial I enclose from the New York “Evening Post”, (April 15th, 1913) covers the situation quite fully, and I believe is endorsed by all good citizens, many of whom, like myself, are members of the Democratic Party and against “special privileges”.


Samuel Rea

Hon. Woodrow Wilson,
President of the United States,
The White House,
Washington, DC

Original Format

Letter

To

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Temp00117.pdf

Citation

Rea, Samuel, 1855-1929, “Samuel Rea to Woodrow Wilson,” 1913 April 17, WWP17676, First Year Wilson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.