The position now taken by the Government is absolutely destructive of legitimate business, because they outline no rule of conduct for business of any magnitude.
 Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt; an Autobiography (1913). copy citation

Context

“Throughout the time that I had charge of the investigation, and while we were in Washington, I do not know of a single instance where the Steel Company refused any information requested; but, on the contrary, aided in every possible way our investigation.
"The position now taken by the Government is absolutely destructive of legitimate business, because they outline no rule of conduct for business of any magnitude. It is absurd to say that the courts can lay down such rules. The most the courts can do is to find as legal or illegal the particular transactions brought before them. Hence, after years of tedious litigation there would be no clear-cut rule for future action.” source

Meaning and analysis

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