Source: Ida M. Tarbell, *The History of the Standard Oil Company*, 1904
"But the Standard Oil Company did not stop with securing rebates. It demanded and received drawbacks on the oil shipped by its competitors. For every barrel of independent oil carried by the railroad, the railroad paid a portion of the freight charge directly to the Standard Oil trust. This secret alliance between the transportation lines and the combination of capital successfully choked off competition. To the average citizen, this appeared not as the legitimate reward of business efficiency, but as a subversion of democratic principles through corporate privilege."
The corporate practices described in the excerpt most directly prompted which of the following responses during the Progressive Era?
- AThe government takeover and public ownership of the nation's railway networks.
- BA constitutional amendment outlawing federal intervention in private contracts.
- Increased federal regulation of business monopolies and unfair trade practices.Cevap
- DThe establishment of emergency federal job-creation and relief programs.