I answered that, while of course I could not advise them to take the action proposed, I felt it no public duty of mine to interpose any objections.
Sincerely yours, (Signed) THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
HON.

CHARLES J.BONAPARTE, Attorney-General.
Mr.Bonaparte received this note in about an hour, and that same morning he came over, acknowledged its receipt, and said that my answer was the only proper answer that could have been made, having regard both to the law and to the needs of the situation.

He stated that the legal situation had been in no way changed, and that no sufficient ground existed for prosecution of the Steel Corporation.

But I acted purely on my own initiative, and the responsibility for the act was solely mine.
I was intimately acquainted with the situation in New York.

The word "panic" means fear, unreasoning fear; to stop a panic it is necessary to restore confidence; and at the moment the so-called Morgan interests were the only interests which retained a full hold on the confidence of the people of New York--not only the business people, but the immense mass of men and women who owned small investments or had small savings in the banks and trust companies.