Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt

Subject(s): Adams, Henry C. (Henry Carter), 1851-1921, Austin, Oscar P. (Oscar Phelps), 1848?-1933, Harriman, George W. R., Interstate commerce, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, Neill, Charles Patrick, 1865-1942, New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Company, Railroads, Railroads and state--Law and legislation, Railroads--Corrupt practices, Stocks--Prices--Law and legislation, United States. Department of Commerce and Labor, United States. Dept. of Commerce and Labor, United States. Interstate Commerce Commission

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Charles Stedman Hanks gives his opinion on what will make the Hepburn Act more successful and what constitutes a legal merger of railroads. Hanks cites various examples of suspicious stock prices, mergers, and rates of sales for land that indicate the Hepburn Act can be tightened to be more effective in regulating the railroads. He claims that a large percentage of Americans believe that railroad traffic rates are too high.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-10

Creator(s)

Hanks, Charles Stedman, 1856-1908

Recipient

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Page Count

9

Production Method

Typed

Record Type

Multi-image

Resource Type

Letter

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:

Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt. [January 10, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o55177. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Hanks, Charles Stedman, 1856-1908. Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt. [10 Jan. 1907]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o55177.

APA:

Hanks, Charles Stedman, 1856-1908., [1907, January 10]. Letter from Charles Stedman Hanks to Theodore Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o55177.

Cite this Collection

Chicago:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.

APA:

Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.

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Rules for playing the terminal game

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Charles Stedman Hanks details what he views as problematic statistical inaccuracies practiced by railroad companies and their statisticians that will interfere with the effectiveness of the Hepburn bill. In his letter, Hanks describes the “terminal game” document as a “hypothetical case” based on facts he had Mr. Harriman work out, which he hopes will impress upon President Roosevelt what the railroad terminal situation means as applied to the statistical reports and to the regulation of rates by the Commission. The document includes an illustration.

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Letter from Charles Patrick Neill and James Rudolph Garfield to Theodore Roosevelt

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Collection

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Creation Date

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Report on the employment of Charles Stedman Hanks by the Interstate Commerce Commission

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In this appendix to a letter to President Roosevelt, Commissioner of Labor Neill and Commissioner of Corporations Garfield report facts and figures that refute the claims made by Charles Stedman Hanks in his January 10 letter to Roosevelt. Hanks explained his view of the corrupt practices of railroad company statisticians, especially in regard to altering the sworn returns of the railroads. The examples in this document, however, fact check Hanks’s claims in regard to the figures reported to the Interstate Commerce Commission. The examples are in relation to the Lake Superior Terminal Company, the Seaboard Air Line, and the duplication of tracks.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-30

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