"It may well be that the determination of the government to punish certain malefactors of great wealth has been responsible for something of the trouble; at least to the extent of having caused these men to combine to bring about as much financial stress as possible, in order to discredit the policy of the government and thereby secure a reversal of that policy,so that they may enjoy unmolested the fruits of their own evil-doing.... I regard this contest as one to determine who shall rule this free country—the people through their governmental agents, or a few ruthless and domineering men whose wealth makes them peculiarly formidable because they hide behind the breastworks of corporate organization."
- Theodore Roosevelt, August 1907, commenting on bankers' responsibilities for the Panic of 1907
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