It improved city live, working conditions, and increased popular control over the government. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Renowned American Federation of Labor union leader, Samuel Gompers, declared the Clayton Act the Magna Carta of labor. He stayed the course of his predecessor by signing the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, which extended the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission over telephones and telegraphs. The following year he was elected to a five-year term of his own, the only time he ever attained office via popular vote other than his election to the presidency. As president, Taft frequently claimed that politics makes me sick. Never eager for the office, he had been prodded to pursue it by his wife, Helen Herron Taft, whom he had married in 1886. Still, the mine owners were reluctant to negotiate until Roosevelt, threatening to use his big stick, declared that he would seize the mines and operate them with federal troops. Similarly, T.R.s celebrity, and the popularity of the Progressive doctrine of the peoples right to rule, tended to subordinate the more populist to the more plebiscitary schemes in the platform, such as the initiative, the referendum, and the direct primary, which exalted not the grass roots but mass opinion. Trust-busting forced industrialists and monopolistic corporations to consider public opinion when making business decisions. He did prove to be a vigorous trustbuster, however, launching twice as many antitrust prosecutions as had his progressive predecessor. Taft never truly campaigned for the post, did not deliver a single speech, and did not seem like a serious contender. However, there was a small but vocal population who had a great deal of concern for the environment. Taft fired Pinchot, a move that widened the gap between him and the former president. Wilson eventually intervened more than either Taft or Roosevelt. What was the "triple wall of privilege" that Wilson set out to deal with in his first term as president? Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault. The Republican Party, for instance, would never be the same. Taft fired Pinchot, a move that widened the gap between him and the former president. And Taft was no slouch, so he resented it terribly.. He also advised Progressive candidates, wrote Progressive propaganda, and actively campaigned for the party. Roosevelt was leaning towards social activism while Wilson sought to tweak the system rather than revolutionize it. As the 1908 election approached, Roosevelt was at the height of his popularity among the American public, if not among the big businesses and conservative leaders of his own Republican Party. Wilson considered two proposals: one calling for a third Bank of the United States, the other seeking a decentralized bank under government control.