Railroad Empire Built on Shaky Ground: Senator Newlands Exposes Transportation Woes

In a scathing speech, Senator Newlands, chairman of the Inland Waterways Commission, slammed the American railroad industry, accusing it of crippling the nation’s transportation system. Speaking in Columbus, Nebraska, on October 30, 1907, Newlands returned from a trip down the Mississippi with President Theodore Roosevelt and the commission, determined to expose the rot at the heart of the railroads. He claimed that investor confidence had been shaken, both domestically and abroad, and that improvements were desperately needed to keep the country moving. Newlands proposed a commission dedicated solely to transportation, comprising experts in financing, operations, and state governance, to bridge the gap between the transportation managers and the public. After heated debate, the nation was shocked to discover how few the points of contention really were.