The public be damned

Cultural  

1. Words attributed to William H. Vanderbilt, a railroad executive of the late nineteenth century. They were supposedly spoken to a newspaper reporter.

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“The public be damned” has often been recalled when business leaders have been accused of shirking responsibility toward the public.

Example Sentences

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The public be damned

People were reminded of piratical old Commodore Vanderbilt's phrase: "The public be damned."

From Time Magazine Archive

Labor's attitude seemed to be: "The public be damned; let's get ours."

From Time Magazine Archive

No captain of any great industrial enterprise dares now to say, "The public be damned," even if he ever said it—which I much doubt.

From Love, Life & Work Being a Book of Opinions Reasonably Good-Natured Concerning How to Attain the Highest Happiness for One's Self with the Least Possible Harm to Others by Hubbard, Elbert

The old motto of Boss Tweed, the Tammany leader, was, "The public be damned," and the Government of New South Wales seems to have adopted it for its tramway department.

From The Awful Australian by Desmond, Valerie

Asked by a reporter why he did not consider public convenience in the running of his trains, he blurted out, "The public be damned!"

From Great Fortunes from Railroads by Myers, Gustavus