What did he do while he was President? What laws were passed by
Congress, which he advocated or urged, and which he approved by
his signature? Here are some of them as they are given by Mr.
Washburn, [Footnote: Washburn, "Theodore Roosevelt," p. 128.] a
Congressman of that time:
The Elkins Anti-Rebate Law, to end unjust business dealings of the
railroads.
The creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor.
The law for building the Panama Canal.
The laws to prevent impure and poisonous food being sold under
false labels; and the law to establish the proper inspection of
meat.
The creation of the Bureau of Immigration.
The law limiting the working hours of employees and protecting
them in case of injury in their occupations.
The law against child-labor in the District of Columbia.
The reformation of the Consular Service.
The law to stop corporations from giving great sums of money for
political purposes at election time.
You will notice that these were not laws to enable a few rich men
to get richer still at the expense of the many; neither were they
designed to help dishonest labor leaders to plunder the employers.
They were aimed to bring about justice between man and man, to
protect the weak.
There was, when Mr. Roosevelt became President, a long standing
dispute between this country and England and Canada about the
boundary of Alaska.
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