Government was bound to treat union and non-union men exactly
alike. His action in causing Miller to be reinstated was final.

Another instance which illustrated Roosevelt's skill in handling
a difficult situation occurred in 1908 when the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad and certain other lines announced a reduction
in wages. The heads of that particular road laid the necessity
for the reduction at the door of "the drastic laws inimical to
the interests of the railroads that have in the past year or two
been enacted." A general strike, with all the attendant
discomfort and disorder, was threatened in retaliation. The
President wrote a letter to the Interstate Commerce Commission,
in which he said:

"These reductions in wages may be justified or they may not. As
to this the public, which is a vitally interested party, can form
no judgment without a more complete knowledge of the essential
facts and real merits of the case than it now has or than it can
possibly obtain from the special pleadings, certain to be put
forth by each side in case their dispute should bring about
serious interruption to traffic. If the reduction in wages is due
to natural causes, the loss of business being such that the
burden should be, and is, equitably distributed, between
capitalist and wageworker, the public should know it. If it is
caused by legislation, the public and Congress should know it;
and if it is caused by misconduct in the past financial or other
operations of any railroad, then everybody should know it,
especially if the excuse of unfriendly legislation is advanced as
a method of covering up past business misconduct by the railroad
managers, or as a justification for failure to treat fairly the