OCR Text |
Show NO ERRORS IN REPORFS FIGURES Charges of Inaccuracy in Statistics of Interstate Commerce Commission Disproven. WAPHINGTOX. Feb. 5. The Interstate Inter-state Commerce commission, in a report to the. Senate todav. says that Charles 8. Hanks and George W. Harnman had failed to substantiate their charges of errors in the commission's statistics. They failed to show says the report, that", the freight and passenger rates of the country could be reduced an average av-erage of 10 per cent without reducing wages or dividends. Harriman and Hanks investigated the commission after several conferences with the President, in which they as-enred as-enred him they could revolutionize the work of the commission. The report states that Hanks and Harriman were afforded every facility in their investigation investi-gation and that they were continued in that service until the commission was convinced "that their criticisms were without merit and that they had no suggestions to make which had not already al-ready been anticipated." Accompanying the commission's report re-port is the report of Charles P. Nei II. Commissioner of Labor. James R. Oar-field, Oar-field, Commissioner of Corporations, and Mr. Starck, a bank examiner, who. at the direction of the President, made a thorough investigation of the charges peferred against the statistics department. depart-ment. These declare Hanks and Harriman Harri-man "were unable to present anything to the commission which successfully attacked the integrity of the statistical work of the commission or vitiated its general results." Also appended to the commission's report is a sharp letter from President Roosevelt to Mr. Hanks, dated January 31 last, in which it is stated that their charges are completely disproved, and the President adds that it would be simply sim-ply folly for him to pay any further heed to any of the allegations in regard re-gard to the "work of the Interstate Commerce Com-merce commission made by Messrs. Hanks and Harriman. |