“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly
Subject(s): Flies, Governmental investigations, Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848-1909, Spiders, United States. Interstate Commerce Commission
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A spider labeled “Interstate Commerce Commission” has caught in its web labeled “The Law” a large fly labeled “Harriman.”
Comments and Context
As the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) recently had been empowered with teeth — or, in Udo J. Keppler’s cartoon analogy, pincers and a fuller ability to weave webs — it really was unknown whether the railroad trusts or government regulators would prevail in the early showdowns.
Of all American trust magnates, few were more powerful than Edward Henry Harriman, whose empire included the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Illinois Central railroads, and Wells Fargo Express, among other companies. At his death in 1909, his wealth was estimated at $200-million.
But this cartoon was 1907, when the ICC challenged Harriman’s many and interlocking monopolies and commercial alliances. The point, the question posed by Puck, is in the relative sizes of the spider, the web, and the fly. The spider, the ICC, is quite small; and the insect (with a remarkable resemblance to Harriman) overwhelms the image, and the spider, but is drawn as already somewhat enmeshed in the sticky web.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-06-19
Creator(s)
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly. [June 19, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285758. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. “Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly. [19 Jun. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285758.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1907, June 19]. “Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285758.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
