A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

The line contrasts petty theft with the far larger, often legalized forms of wrongdoing made possible by wealth, status, and technical expertise. It suggests that education and social position do not guarantee virtue; they can instead furnish the tools, credibility, and access needed to commit “respectable” crimes on a grand scale—such as corporate fraud, monopolistic manipulation, or political corruption. Attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, the sentiment aligns with Progressive Era anxieties about concentrated corporate power and the capacity of elites to evade accountability. The aphorism’s bite lies in its inversion of expectations: the more “refined” thief may be more dangerous precisely because his theft can be systemic and hidden behind institutions.